The newest edition of the Wisconsin Economic Scorecard poll finds that a majority of residents — 56 percent — say Wisconsin is “headed in the right direction,” but only 28 percent view the economy as “good” and just 1 percent say it is “excellent.”
The proportion of Wisconsin residents who characterize the state economy as “poor” increased to 23 percent, up from 18 percent last quarter. Forty-nine percent ranked the economy as “fair.” Overall, views on the state economy are increasingly polarized along partisan lines, with the largest differences emerging among relatively well‐off Democrats and Republicans; the views of less‐well‐off partisans have not diverged as much.
Also on the jobs front, public confidence in the ability of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to fulfill its mission of bringing jobs to the state has decreased from 52 percent in November to 40 percent in June.
The poll also asked registered voters about transportation issues facing the state, finding that delaying work on major road construction projects is the most‐preferred option for covering the shortfall in the state’s transportation fund.
Specifically, delaying an expansion of I‐94 between Milwaukee and Illinois is supported by a majority of registered voters.
Gasoline tax and passenger vehicle user‐fee increases and the introduction of toll roads on some Wisconsin highways are the least‐preferred options for covering the transportation fund shortfall.
The Wisconsin Economic Scorecard is a quarterly poll of Wisconsin residents conducted by the UWM Center for Urban Initiatives and Research, in cooperation with WisBusiness.com and Milwaukee Public Radio. The poll of 560 Wisconsin residents was conducted by the CUIR Survey Center at UW-Milwaukee from June 3-6. It has a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points. The transportation questions were asked of 537 respondents who said they were registered voters and have a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points.
