Wisconsin must steer away from demographic cliff

Wisconsin is chugging away toward a demographic cliff and drastic measures are needed to change the course.

At last week’s state of the state address, Gov. Tony Evers proposed shoring up the childcare industry. He called for increased investment and helping to subsidize childcare providers as a way to help guarantee services and reduce costs for working families.

In his response, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos instead repeated his desire for tax breaks for senior citizens and the elderly as a way to encourage older residents to stay in Wisconsin rather than becoming snowbirds or moving from the state entirely.

When it comes to choosing where to live, working families look at things like quality of schools, safety of communities, opportunities for recreation and quality of life.

According to the DC Fiscal Policy institute, “Evidence shows that people choose where to plant roots based on job opportunities, family, and the cost of housing.” Local and state tax levels are minor considerations at best.

This is important to consider, especially as the state addresses a growing demographic crisis.

The number of older residents is exceeding that of younger people statewide. This is a dangerous trend that must be reversed if rural communities are to remain viable. Lack of young people impacts the economic health of the state with fewer people available to fill jobs.

The median age of Wisconsin residents is 39.9 years. This is up from a median age of 38.5 years a decade ago. Half of Wisconsin residents are over 39.9 years old.

For rural portions of the state such as this area, there is an even grimmer picture. In Taylor County the median age is 44.1 years old. In Chippewa County the median age is 41.7 years old. In Marathon County the median age is 41.2 and in Price County things are even worse with a median age of 52.5 years old. The only demographic bright spot is in Clark County where the median age is 37 years old and has actually dropped in the past decade.

The factors behind those numbers are varied. For example, Clark County has a large population of Amish residents who typically have many more children per family than other communities. Others are simply seeing fewer children and younger people leaving and not coming back.

This matters because without new workers to replace those leaving the workforce due to retirement, manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare and other businesses cannot survive.

Wisconsin must work to be a state where young people and families want to come to raise children. State leaders should be looking at innovative approaches to incentivize people, or at least remove barriers, to encourage families to have more children. To do this the state needs to ensure access to affordable childcare. It must make continued investment in schools and education and the things that young families care about.