Natalie Yahr cites a University of Wisconsin Survey of families with young children.
Conducted by the UW Survey Center and analyzed by UW-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs, the survey went to around 3,500 people across the state. Researchers compared the responses of participants who have children under age 6 with those who don’t.
Of those with young children, more than a third said it’s challenging to cover their monthly expenses. Less than a quarter of families without young children said the same. Sixty percent of families with young children said they weren’t confident that they could cover an unexpected expense, compared to 50% of those without.
The survey also asked respondents about food insecurity, or the worry that they might run out of food before they have money to buy more. Around 40% of families with young children said they have that worry, compared to roughly 25% of all respondents. Families with young children and incomes under $50,000 were particularly likely to experience food insecurity, with around 66% citing it as a concern.
Families with young children were also more likely to worry about inflation, with 75% citing it as a concern, compared with 63% of other households. There’s a credentialism battle underway, with cost and access implications.
Perhaps future surveys might dive deeper, and consider:
- Health Insurance cost explosion. Lauren Ward:
Monthly premium costs
For monthly premiums, the overall average cost was $1,178. But that number can change a lot based on age. For instance, a 21-year-old paid a monthly average premium of just $397, while a 50-year-old paid an average of $712.Deductibles
The average yearly deductible for an individual was $5,101. That number more than doubles for families, who had an average deductible of $10,310 per year.Maximum out-of-pocket expenses
The maximum out-of-pocket expense for individual policyholders averaged $8,335. It doubled for families, averaging $16,672 per year. - Utilities. Madison residents have long paid the highest electric rates in Wisconsin. Why?
- Water/Sewer rates. “Madison Water Utility gets huge rate increase, criticism“. More.
- Property tax burden growth and bang for the buck (schools, city, county and Madison College Programs). Jessie Opoien:
Wisconsin is set to see its largest increase in property taxes since the Great Recession — but the actual effect on homeowners will be cushioned by a boost to two state tax credits that lower the amounts homeowners and businesses must pay.
In 2023, city tax collections increased by 5.6% to $273.7 million, compared with a 1.2% hike in 2022.
- Stealth taxes such as the Urban Forestry fee and Madison’s wheel tax.
- Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway has mentioned a local sales tax increase recently, as well.
- Food costs (something positive!). Perhaps competition explains this?
On a more positive note, the data also found that Wisconsinites spend the least of any state on weekly groceries at $221.46 per week, nearly $50 below the national average. Iowa is the second-cheapest at $227.32 per week, and Nebraska is the third-cheapest at $235.12.
- “Madison’s airport the most expensive in the Country” – Gavin Escott
Readers may also consider the implications of Obamacare on healthcare costs (substantial increases with additional taxpayer subsidies) along with the $36B (!) backdoor electronic medical record federal taxpayer subsidy (deeper dive).
Both have affected Madison and Dane County.
The individual burden of these issues illustrates the challenges of using tax & spending policies plus regulation (Obamacare and the back door EMR subsidy) to address cost issues along with unintended consequences.
Consider the enormous family healthcare deductibles on top of cost increases. It would be useful to plot taxpayer healthcare spending along with hospital system growth, often via financialization.