"The single most important thing we can do today to ensure a strong, successful future for Wisconsin is invest in our kids early - because what we do now will determine what kind of state Wisconsin will be 10, 20, even 50 years from now"
About this Quote
Jim Doyle, Wisconsin governor from 2003 to 2011, frames the future of the state as a long-term result of choices made for children today. By emphasizing investing early, he points to the period when interventions have the greatest payoff: early childhood education, health care, nutrition, family stability, and quality childcare. Decades of research show that dollars spent in the earliest years reduce later costs in remedial education, incarceration, and poor health while boosting graduation, earnings, and civic participation. The claim that it is the single most important thing is not mere rhetoric; it prioritizes foundational human capital over short-term fixes.
The horizon of 10, 20, even 50 years insists on a shift from election-cycle thinking to stewardship. It urges policymakers and communities to imagine the Wisconsin that will exist when today’s toddlers are shaping its economy and culture. The phrase what kind of state signals more than GDP. It points to the character of public life: whether the state will be equitable, innovative, and cohesive, or stratified and stagnant.
Doyle’s message fits Wisconsin’s progressive tradition and the Wisconsin Idea, which holds that public institutions should improve life across the state. It also speaks to practical challenges: an aging population, a manufacturing base in transition, rural-urban divides, and persistent racial disparities, especially in Milwaukee. Preparing a skilled, healthy, adaptable workforce begins long before college or apprenticeships. During his tenure, Doyle backed programs such as the expansion of 4-year-old kindergarten and access to health coverage through BadgerCare Plus, steps aligned with this philosophy.
There is a political edge too. Calling early investment the top priority is a bid to reorder budgets and resist the temptation to defer costs. The argument is ultimately optimistic: Wisconsin’s future is not a fate but a cumulative result of choices, and the most powerful lever is the well-being and development of its youngest residents.
The horizon of 10, 20, even 50 years insists on a shift from election-cycle thinking to stewardship. It urges policymakers and communities to imagine the Wisconsin that will exist when today’s toddlers are shaping its economy and culture. The phrase what kind of state signals more than GDP. It points to the character of public life: whether the state will be equitable, innovative, and cohesive, or stratified and stagnant.
Doyle’s message fits Wisconsin’s progressive tradition and the Wisconsin Idea, which holds that public institutions should improve life across the state. It also speaks to practical challenges: an aging population, a manufacturing base in transition, rural-urban divides, and persistent racial disparities, especially in Milwaukee. Preparing a skilled, healthy, adaptable workforce begins long before college or apprenticeships. During his tenure, Doyle backed programs such as the expansion of 4-year-old kindergarten and access to health coverage through BadgerCare Plus, steps aligned with this philosophy.
There is a political edge too. Calling early investment the top priority is a bid to reorder budgets and resist the temptation to defer costs. The argument is ultimately optimistic: Wisconsin’s future is not a fate but a cumulative result of choices, and the most powerful lever is the well-being and development of its youngest residents.
Quote Details
| Topic | Learning |
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