“Unemployment grew because more people came into the labor market than were taken out of it by work,” said Laura Dresser, associate director of COWS, a research and policy organization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. …
Year: 2021
Wisconsin Workers and the Economy – Laura Dresser Speaker
Tuesday, May 18, 2021 AFSCME Retirees Subchapter 52 Meeting “Wisconsin Workers and the Economy” Laura Dresser, Speaker 10:30a CT
Workforce shortage challenges reemerge as Wisconsin businesses dig out of the pandemic
Laura Dresser, associate director of COWS, a UW-Madison liberal think tank, agreed, adding that limited access to child care has kept many individuals, largely women, from returning to work. “The pandemic exposed and exacerbated every …
Report: $15 Minimum Wage Would Increase Racial & Gender Equity In Wisconsin
“While it moves wages for 3 in 10 Wisconsin workers, it moves wages up for half of Hispanic workers and half of Black workers in the state, and 37% of women,” says Laura Dresser, associate …
Health Equity for Municipal Government
Health Equity for Municipal Government Training Opportunity Friday, May 21st 1-2:30 p.m. CT From sidewalks to zoning, municipal governments have a huge impact on health and well-being. This virtual, 90-minute training will discuss how municipalities …
Kids Forward CEO Michele Mackey Embraces Equity Mission
Kids Forward Chief Executive Officer and COWS Senior Fellow Michele Mackey is interviewed about the group’s emphasis on racial equity, and how there is no rural-urban divide and the governor’s proposed budget. Kids Forward is …
New Report Says Raising Wisconsin’s Minimum Wage Would Help 30% of Workers in the State
Laura Dresser says the current state minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is simply not enough, and has been the same for more than a decade. “It just gets less and less meaningful, and less …
Wisconsin’s $7.25 minimum wage has not increased since 2009. It’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
A new report from COWS, a UW-Madison-based think tank, found that raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025 would raise the earnings of 30 percent of Wisconsin’s workers. It would also increase earnings …
These UW-Madison students solve problems across the state
In an interview, UniverCity director Gavin Luter said the program undertakes about 60 projects per year across the state. The proposed state budget funding would allow the capacity to increase to about 100 per year.
As COVID-19 crisis increases wealth gap, WI must reform social welfare programs
Laura Dresser, who specializes in labor economics at UW-Madison, said these disparities come because most workers of color in Wisconsin work low-income jobs. Obviously, an economic recession could only worsen their situation. https://badgerherald.com/opinion/2021/03/18/as-covid-19-crisis-increases-wealth-gap-wi-and-uw-must-cooperate-on-social-welfare-reform/