This post originally appeared at https://www.badgerinstitute.org/economics-the-rodney-dangerfield-of-modern-politics/
Remember Rodney Dangerfield? The comic whose famous line was, “I don’t get no respect”?
One of his classics:
“My doctor told me I was overweight.
“I said, ‘I want a second opinion.’
“He said, ‘Okay. You’re ugly too!’”
These days, economics is the Rodney Dangerfield of public policy: It gets no respect. In both Washington and Madison, basic economic principles are routinely ignored, as if policymakers believe they can repeal the laws of supply and demand with campaign slogans.
With no incumbent running in 2026, Wisconsin’s governor’s race is likely to be one of the most competitive in the country. This creates a rare and meaningful opportunity for either party to restore a respect for economic sanity and make Wisconsin a model for the rest of the nation. We’ve done it before — Wisconsin has long been a laboratory for both policy innovation and reform, and in recent decades Wisconsin has moved from a “tax hell” to a more reasonable business climate while moving up the ranking of states by economic freedom.
It’s no surprise that Democrats have leaned into expansive spending and regulatory policies. Under the Biden administration, trillions were added to the national debt: $1.9 trillion for the American Rescue Plan, $1 trillion for the infrastructure law, and another $430 billion in the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act — all while the regulatory burden grew for small businesses, including Wisconsin’s family farms, manufacturers and community banks. Vice President Kamala Harris not only defended these policies as she ran for president, but called for federal price controls on groceries, insulin and rent.
But price controls don’t eliminate costs — they just hide them, distort the market, and eventually make shortages worse.
What’s more surprising — and should be more troubling for many Wisconsin conservatives — is how far the Republican Party has moved from its free-market principles. Once the party of Reagan and Friedman, Republicans now praise tariffs, subsidies and industrial policy as if economic nationalism were a cure-all. Recently, President Trump called on companies to eat the costs of tariffs, told Coca-Cola which sweetener to use, and proposed price caps on credit card interest rates. That might win applause at a rally, but it’s bad economics — and worse policy.
Wisconsinites know what happens when price controls fail. We’ve seen the consequences of government meddling with agricultural prices: surpluses, storage problems and taxpayer-funded bailouts. And we understand that inflation isn’t just some abstract national number — you don’t need a PhD to know something’s wrong when your dollar doesn’t stretch as far as it used to.
The deeper issue is this: Both parties have grown increasingly comfortable ignoring what economists have long understood. Government doesn’t create prosperity — it creates conditions in which prosperity can grow. Interfere too much, and the market breaks down.
Support for agricultural subsidies and protectionist trade policies has become bipartisan. So has the willingness to rack up debt while promising endless tax carveouts and spending increases. Even trade, one of the clearest economic wins, has fallen out of favor.
For over 250 years, economists have promoted free trade as a path to growth and innovation. Yet Democrats, under pressure from organized labor, resist new agreements, while Republicans now champion tariffs like 18th-century mercantilists. Wisconsin depends on trade — our dairy products, cranberries and machinery are sold around the world. Disrupting those markets doesn’t protect Wisconsin jobs; it jeopardizes them.
There are, thankfully, some glimmers of hope. The courts are now reviewing whether presidents should have unchecked authority to impose tariffs — a power that was widely abused. Recent rulings have also reined in the regulatory overreach of agencies such as the EPA, which is welcome news for Wisconsin farmers and manufacturers who’ve had to navigate ever-changing compliance rules. The Federal Reserve, while not perfect, has maintained enough independence to hold inflation in check. And advances in artificial intelligence could spark a wave of productivity — if we don’t strangle it with premature regulation.
Still, we can’t rely on judges or technology to save us. The real challenge is restoring respect for economics itself — among voters, candidates and public officials.
First, we must admit that the laws of economics cannot be repealed by popular demand. Tariffs, subsidies and distorted tax policies might sound appealing in a speech, but they inevitably backfire. If Republicans keep pushing for inflationary trade policies and gimmicky tax breaks, they may find themselves punished at the ballot box — especially in economically savvy swing-state Wisconsin.
Second, economics education needs renewal. The introductory college course should be more than a gateway to the major — it should be the one class where students, regardless of their major, learn how markets work and why economic freedom matters. And because not every voter attends college, we need strong economics education in K–12 schools. Economic literacy should be as basic as math or reading.
Third, we need to bring economic ideas to the public square. Programs like Economics for Opinion Leaders can equip journalists, clergy, educators and civic leaders to recognize good policy — and call out bad policy when they see it.
And we need more real-world examples. Wisconsin voters deserve to hear about the economic success stories — post-1980s China, Estonia, South Korea and now Argentina — as well as the failures: Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea and the old Soviet Union. These aren’t abstract case studies. They are evidence of what works and what doesn’t.
Economics may not get the laughs Rodney Dangerfield did — but it deserves our respect. If either party hopes to lead Wisconsin — and the country — toward greater prosperity, they must stop treating economics like a punchline and start taking it seriously. We’ve been a national model before. With the right leadership in 2026, Wisconsin can be again.
Scott Niederjohn is a professor and the director of the Free Enterprise Center at Concordia University Wisconsin and dean of the Batterman School of Business, and he is a visiting fellow of the Badger Institute.
Mark Schug is an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
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