Despite making the honor roll, Wisconsin received mixed grades in a recent report regarding economic disparity of the state.
The state ranked 10th nationally in asset inequality between race, with white households possessing 3.4 times as much wealth as non-white households, according to the Corporation for Enterprise Development's State Asset Development Report Card, which was released Tuesday. The CFED works to promote economic development in communities.
Robert Haveman, professor of Economics at UW-Madison, said he was surprised to find out that the state had a larger asset gap than California and Florida, ranked second and fifth respectively, which have a much larger minority population. However, Haveman offered a reason why the results disfavored Wisconsin.
\One of the things that causes the Wisconsin disparity to be higher is the existence of a lot of farmland,"" he said. ""Farmland enters as an asset into the portfolio of farmers and there's not a lot of minority farmers here.""
Tennessee had the smallest difference, with a factor of two separating the two groups, while in Virginia white-households possessed nearly five times the amount of assets as non-whites.
The study also praised Wisconsin's high number of individuals who have savings accounts. Nearly 80 percent of Wisconsin residents possess a savings account, first among all states.
Assets, such as stocks, land, homes and savings are important in the debate regarding poverty, according to Haveman.
""Assets have become an increasingly central issue in discussing poverty policy,"" Haveman said, adding that the gap between income levels is less extreme. ""Income disparity is much lower than the asset program.""
Despite earning an A, and being ranked ninth in asset outcomes, the study was cautious in its appraisal of the state's asset policy, despite receiving a B and being ranked 13th overall. Wisconsin was ranked seventh in the nation for its unemployment insurance benefit level, but only 38th for customized job training.
State Senate President Fred Risser, D-Madison, said he believes education was the key for a continued healthy state economy in Wisconsin.
""We've got to make education available to these disadvantaged groups and we should pay a little extra attention to education for them,"" he said. ""It's not just education, it's job training that needs help too.""
However, Risser said he disagreed with Haveman and that usable income was the main issue Wisconsin should deal with in terms of poverty.
""I think that income stream is the first order of priority,"" he said. ""Assets are just not liquid.""
Wisconsin and its neighbors fared better than any other region in the country, the study showed. At the same time, the South and Mountain West regions had the worst results.
""The Midwest posted the highest grades in the Asset Outcomes Index, with seven of the region's eight states receiving an A or a B. In addition, half of the states in the Midwest received an A or a B in the Asset Policy Index, and no state earned less than a C,"" according to the report.
