Likely candidates to replace Breyer are Ketanji Brown Jackson, Leondra Kruger, and J. Michelle Childs.

Republican politicians in Madison want to wait over a year to return budget surplus to taxpayers.

MADISON, Wis. — Thanks to Governor Evers’ steady leadership, Wisconsin now has a projected record-breaking $3.8 billion budget surplus — and Wisconsinites have still received a 15% tax break. While Gov. Evers has proposed getting working families the help they need right now, Republican leaders have indicated they’re going to wait over a year to return taxpayers’ money.

Gov. Evers’ plan directs taxpayer dollars back to Wisconsin families now to help them pay bills and address rising costs. Specifically, the governor has called on the legislature to give a portion of the surplus back to Wisconsinites through the following programs:

• $150 tax rebate for every Wisconsin tax filer and each of their dependents
• Expand the Child and Dependent Care Credit, giving an average of $274 back to more than 100,000 Wisconsinites
• Create a new $100 million Caregiver Tax Credit, benefiting approximately 370,000 tax filers
• Nearly $750 million to improve education quality while keeping property taxes down

In response, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler released the following statement:

“Governor Tony Evers has proven that doing the right thing pays off. In addition to this record budget surplus, Wisconsin now has the lowest unemployment rate and the lowest number of unemployed people in state history. The governor has put Wisconsinites first with every decision — from quickly directing federal relief money to small businesses to following through on his promise to cut taxes and increase education investments.

“Now, Wisconsin has the opportunity to give even more money back to working families. While Wisconsin’s economy is miles ahead of the rest of the nation, families are still struggling with rising costs. That’s why Governor Evers has called on the legislature to pass his plan to give money back to the people, right now. He knows that the right thing to do is to invest this budget surplus back into the economy and directly into Wisconsinites’ pockets.

“Unfortunately, Republicans have threatened to hold taxpayer dollars hostage for the next year, in the hopes that someone from their political party will be in charge by then. This shouldn’t have anything to do with who is signing the checks or who gets the credit — this is about giving money back to Wisconsin families and continuing to help our economy be one of the best in the nation. If Wisconsinites’ money collects dust for the next year — it’ll be on Republicans to explain why they’ve chosen to put their selfish political agenda above helping families put food on the table.”

President Biden and Governor Evers have worked tirelessly to put money directly in the pockets of working families and help Main Street businesses, say Democrats.

MADISON, Wis. – To put it simply, President Biden and Governor Evers’ economic agenda is working – and the numbers speak for themselves:

1. Today’s GDP numbers show that the U.S. economy grew by 5.7% in 2021 – and grew by 6.9% in the final three months in the year – marking the fastest economic growth in a single year for nearly four decades.
2. Last week, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate hit a new low of 2.8% – the lowest unemployment rate in state history.
3. In 2021, President Biden added 6.4 million jobs to the US economy – the highest single-year growth in U.S. history.

“Under Democratic leadership, Wisconsin’s economy is strong – and only getting stronger,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Rapid Response Director Julia Hamelburg. “Despite the best efforts of Republicans in Congress to block critical pandemic relief, President Biden and Governor Evers have worked tirelessly to put money directly in the pockets of working families and help Main Street businesses recover. While there is still work to be done, Wisconsin is bouncing back stronger than ever, and Wisconsinites won’t forget that it was Democrats who led this historic recovery.”

Read more about President Biden and Governor Evers’ economic progress here:

Beloit Daily News: Lowest jobless rates of year reported in area

“Beloit, Janesville and Rock County reported some of their lowest unemployment rates of the year in November and December.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Wisconsin jobless rate fell to a record low of 2.8% in December

“Wisconsin's unemployment rate fell to a record low 2.8% in December, the state Department of Workforce Development said Thursday.

“It edged downward from 3% in November, the previous state record.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/kamala-harris-vp-getty-s442.jpgVice President Harris visited Milwaukee Monday to highlight the $841 million over the next five years Wisconsin is receiving for clean water projects.

Plan connects more than 3,600 locations with new fiber broadband service.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/marijuana-hemp-dairy-farmers-wi-s5.jpg

Legislative attempt to legalize marijuana in Wisconsin for responsible adult usage voted down on party lines.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/wind-farm-wi-wpr-s5.jpgSen. Jeff Smith writes about the new ideas and strategies that will help us build more resilient communities and a sustainable future for Wisconsin in the 21st Century.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/coronavirus-ppe-tufts-04-s5.jpgIncludes more than 533,000 pieces of PPE distributed to school districts across Wisconsin this year.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/mitch-mcconnell-s5.jpgMost in Wisconsin support plan and climate provisions are essential as we move forward say group.

2.8% in December a 173-year low.

MADISON, Wis. — Thursday, Governor Tony Evers and the Department of Workforce Development announced that Wisconsin’s unemployment rate reached 2.8% in December — the lowest level in state history as the economy continues to grow under Gov. Evers’ common sense leadership.

In the state’s 173-year history, the unemployment rate has never been lower and Gov. Evers has been hard at work doing what’s right for Wisconsin by creating jobs, filling openings, investing in small businesses, and attracting cutting edge companies. During his first term, Gov. Evers has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in small businesses and workforce development programs that are powering the state’s economic growth and filling job openings across the state.

Gov. Evers’ Main Street Bounceback program has delivered grants to more than 2,000 small businesses and Gov. Evers’ workforce development programs, which total over $130 million, have created long-term skills training and job opportunities for workers in every corner of the state. There is still more work to be done, that’s why in December, Gov. Evers announced 12 regional workforce development projects that are designed to create local solutions for workers across the state. Wisconsin’s labor force participation rate was 66.4% in December, 4.5 percentage points higher than the national rate of 61.9%. 

Wisconsin is leading the way with one of the lowest unemployment rates and highest labor force participation rates in the nation — a stunning accomplishment that even the Republican National Committee has previously complimented Gov. Evers on.

See below for more on Wisconsin’s 173-year low unemployment rate. 

AP: Wisconsin unemployment hits record low of 2.8%

Wisconsin’s unemployment rate hit a record low of 2.8% in December, after tying the previous low of 3% in November, the state Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday.

The state rate is below the national unemployment rate of 3.9% for December. Wisconsin gained 5,300 private sector jobs in December. The number of people counted as unemployed in Wisconsin, 86,200, also hit a record low, the department reported.

[...]

Gov. Tony Evers has also devoted federal pandemic relief money toward the worker shortage problem, including $130 million for job training programs and local efforts to develop long-term solutions to the labor shortage and $60 million for workforce development grants.