Despite Walker's and WisGOP's efforts, UW System still gives a huge boost to Wisconsin

This didn’t get much notice after the big primary elections, but this week, the University of Wisconsin System had its annual economic impact report released.

It's not necessarily news to hear that an employer of tens of thousands of people has a large economic impact in the state. And indeed, everyday UW operations along with the wages and salaries earned by UW workers account for about half of the $24 billion impact that the study says the UW generates. What’s perhaps more interesting are the other ways the university system adds our state’s economy. Much of it comes from spinoff businesses that use what is learned and produced on the UW to become strong entitites themselves.

The second largest contributor to UW System’s economic impact is UW Hospitals and Clinics, an organization long affiliated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison. UW Hospitals was established as a public authority in 1996 but has deep and continuing ties to the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. UW Hospitals accounted for $3.5 billion of UW System’s overall economic impact in the 2016-17 fiscal year.

The third largest contributor to UW System’s economic impact is startup companies, many of which are founded by professors and staff conducting research at the UW System. The data in this calculation comes from startups out of UW-Madison. Approximately 350 startups came from UW-Madison (not including those in UW Research Park) in the 2016-17 fiscal year and accounted for $3 billion of the UW System’s overall economic impact.

Additional startup and established companies located in UW Research Park in Madison, Wis., accounted for $1.1 billion of the UW System’s impact on Wisconsin’s economy in 2016-17.

2 other big areas that add to the UW’s impact on the state are student spending on everyday items ($2.2 billion) and visitor spending for conferences, college sports, college visits, and other campus tourism-related events ($2.0 billion, visit the beer gardens on Regent Street in 2 weeks if you need an example).

And not only does the UW System’s analysis note that the UW System is responsible for 92,000 jobs itself, and its activities lead and/or support 75,000 other jobs, but that those jobs pay better than the typical Wisconsin job.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s publication “American Fact Finder” reports Wisconsin’s median earnings at $31,195. These are reported earnings without fringe benefits. Adjusting for a fringe benefit rate of 30% would push median labor income to about $40,553, compared to the average overall labor income of jobs generated by UW System economic activity of $55,502.

That better pay and better-educated work force raises tax revenue (to the tune of $1.1 billion in 2016-17), and the study’s author noted that the relatively small amount of money state taxpayers kick in to the UW results in a major bang for the buck.

“The breadth of UW System activity is striking,” said Dr. David J. Ward, CEO of NorthStar Analytics, which conducted the study. “With the state contributing slightly over $1 billion to the university system’s budget in fiscal year 2016-17, Wisconsin taxpayers are realizing a substantial return on their investment in the UW System.”

The 2018 UW System Economic Impact Study by NorthStar Analytics refreshes a 2002 economic impact report prepared for the UW System by the firm then known as NorthStar Economics. The new study shows the UW System’s economic impact measures have more than doubled in the years since. Ward will present the report to the Board of Regents at its next meeting on Aug. 23 in Madison.

“The biggest change since 2002 is the economic development activity the UW System is now involved in,” Ward said. “There is very significant startup activity, and it’s beginning to spread across the state.”

UW System President Ray Cross noted that the overwhelming number of graduates of UW schools stay in the state, which helps Wisconsin employers in particular.

Each year, the UW System confers more than 36,000 degrees, and a very high percentage of recent graduates (more than 80 percent) stay and work in Wisconsin. “This continuing stream of new college graduates helps to replenish the talent base of Wisconsin’s workforce and provides skilled employees for Wisconsin businesses,” Cross said.

Additional data show that UW System graduates with bachelor’s degrees are filling key shortages in health care, science, and engineering fields. In 2016-17, there were 9,716 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) graduates, and 3,460 health-care graduates.

Wow. Sounds like we get a heckuva deal with the UW System. Which leads to my question for President Cross. Why haven’t you done a thing to stop the WisGOPs and Scott Walker’s lackeys on the Board of Regents from trying to turn the UW into a second-rate system?

Throughout Cross’s tenure as president, right-wing haters of independent thought in the State Legislature and Governor’s Office have taken numerous steps to injure the UW. This included defunding the schools (the System gets $20 million less from the state than it did in 2011), eradicating tenure (which hurts its ability to recruit and retain talent), and giving an unfunded mandate to freeze in-state tuition (leading to more budget cuts and non-competitiveness).

In addition, Cross has allowed it to be used as a punching bag in the resentment politics that get regressive WisGOPs elected in non-UW towns across the state. Not only has Cross not spoken out against that or other GOP attacks on the UW, he’s even supported some of their absurdity. That includes Cross giving a full-throated defense of a Fox-con that will likely lead to more reductions in funding to the UW due to the state not having enough money to go around.

Given the clear economic boost that UW gives, why has the “business lobby” of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce not defended something that pays them back in spades? Instead, those greedheads have not only stayed silent, but continue to throw millions of dollars in support of the same Wisconsin GOP politicians that are driving the UW into mediocrity, and they've had hundreds of million of dollars in tax cuts kicked back to them, which have drained the state treasury of available funds.

And with the reduced amount of funds remaining, Walker and WisGOP have chosen to give those scarce dollars to agencies other than the UW. Let me bring back this chart from last week, which shows that we are slated to have the Corrections get over $140 million in Wisconsin taxpayer dollars than the UW will this year, and we will nearly pay as for write-offs in state property taxes (which overwhelmingly go to richer homeowners) as we will for a System that adds $24 billion to the state’s economy.

The burdens and defunding that has been imposed on the UW is what’s makes this economic impact report all the more remarkable. It somehow continues to be a boon to Wisconsin despite the efforts of the jealous WisGOP trash at the Capitol and the dopes who have kept them in office, and is one of the few reasons this state hasn't fully devolved into a cold-weather Mississippi. Can you imagine how good it would be if educator Tony Evers and pro-UW Dems were put in charge, restored the investments to the higher levels of the 20th Century, and restored the respect we used to have for science and college educators?

The crossroads are here for the UW System, and for the state. If you value it, you’d better choose wisely in November.