MacIver Institute

By Ola Lisowski - A group of protesters led by the Wisconsin Public Education Network spent the weekend marching to Madison, calling for more education funding and rallying against the Joint Finance Committee budget package. To have a truly honest debate, let’s cover some basic facts about education finance.  Read More Top Five Things You Should Know About Education Funding in Wisconsin

By M.D. Kittle -- As she prepares to retire, liberal justice Shirley Abrahamson will be remembered by many for shredding the constitutional rights of her political enemies on the right, and for prizing her judicial power over the will of the voters.   Read More The Shirley Abrahamson I Remember Clung To Power, Crushed Civil Liberties

By M.D. Kittle -- Demanding that Republican lawmakers “stop playing politics with our kids,” left-wing activists prepared Friday for a highly political, 60-mile march to the state Capitol.   Read More Liberal Activists March For More Public Ed Spending, $12.3 Billion Not Nearly Enough

Like stubborn children who don't want to clean their room, members of the liberal Madison Common Council don't like recent laws reforming the use of Project Labor Agreements - and they don't want to follow them. A Madison city attorney had to remind them that giving union shops exclusive access to public projects is illegal now. Rules are rules, and the law's the law, even for liberals who would prefer otherwise.  Read More MacIver News Minute: Stubborn Madison Liberals Try Getting Around Labor Reform Laws

By M.D. Kittle -- In a ruling solidifying the authority of the First Branch, the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday vacated a liberal lower court’s decision declaring unconstitutional the Republican-controlled Legislature’s “extraordinary” session in December.   Read More Winners And Losers In Supreme Court Ruling Upholding Extraordinary Session Laws

This week, another Republican Senator came out against the JFC budget while MacIver brainstormed 10 ways to improve it; Trump rolled back the Obama-era Clean Power Plan; and the Fed left interest rates steady. Before you kick off the official start of summer, here are some important articles for the fiscal conservative, in case you missed it.  Read More In Case You Missed It: Another GOP Senator Comes Out Against The Budget, Trump Rolls Back The Obama Clean Power Plan, And The Fed Leaves Interest Rates Steady

By M.D. Kittle - It’s long been clear that Big Labor-backed Democrats despise Wisconsin’s worker freedom laws. Now it appears a top Democrat lawmaker has no compunction about breaking state law.   Read More Dem Leader Hintz Hints At Breaking The Law

By M.D. Kittle -- Gov. Tony Evers won’t say whether he’ll veto the entire Republican budget bill. The Democrat on Thursday told reporters he won't decide until he knows what’s in the $81.6 billion biennial spending plan, until the Republican-controlled Legislature passes it next week.  Read More Evers, Liberals Kind Of Like Republican Budget — Is There Something Wrong With This Picture?

By Ola Lisowski - Learn about the differences between Gov. Tony Evers' budget proposal and the package passed by the Joint Finance Committee with the help of some handy charts.  Read More ChartSmart: Comparing Gov. Evers’ Budget Proposal with Joint Finance’s Package

By M.D. Kittle - And then there were two. State Sen. Dave Craig confirmed this morning on the Jay Weber Show that he will not vote for the Republican biennial budget plan.   Read More Another Republican Senator Says No To Republican Budget

At a recent press conference and in debate at the Joint Finance Committee, it has been suggested that Gov. Tony Evers’ budget is a better value for taxpayers because it cuts taxes more than the JFC-passed budget. But that suggestion doesn’t hold water when Evers’ spending proposal is viewed as a whole.  Read More A Tale of Two Tax Cuts – Evers Cuts Taxes For Some By Raising Taxes On Others

This week, Dan O'Donnell writes that without the fiscal father figure of former Gov. Scott Walker, legislative Republicans are throwing a big-spending house party.  Read More Home Alone

By M.D. Kittle - Some liberal lawmakers still can't seem to accept Wisconsin’s worker freedom laws. And plenty of unions refuse, too.    Read More Big Labor-Friendly Madison City Council Has To Be Reminded Union Exclusivity Contracts Are Illegal

Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee are a lot like Rolaids - They spell relief: Tax relief. The tax cut-package passed last week by the Republican-controlled JFC totals more than $530 million in relief for Wisconsin taxpayers. That’s on top of the $8 billion-plus the conservative majority delivered in the previous eight years.  Read More MacIver News Minute: $536 Million Tax Cut Package More Relief For Taxpayers

While we’re all ready swap our business suits for swim suits, Wisconsinites are relying on the Legislature to pass a responsible, taxpayer-friendly document. The following 10 ideas would improve the JFC budget.  Read More Top 10 Ways to Improve the Joint Finance Budget

This week, the JFC beefed up statewide building projects; Trump offered relief to the biotech industry; and a hefty transportation package was passed through the JFC, which worried some fiscal hawks, but an effort is also afoot to offset those concerns with DOT reforms. Before you tune into the U.S. Open, here are some important articles for the fiscal conservative, in case you missed it.  Read More In Case You Missed It: JFC Beefs Up Statewide Building Projects, Trump Offers Relief To The Biotech Industry, And Hefty Transportation Package Offset By DOT Reform

By M.D. Kittle - State Sen. Kathy Bernier doesn't think much of a Democratic Party of Wisconsin resolution that waters down Wisconsin's voter registration law. Voter registration is voter integrity, Bernier tells MacIver News Service.   Read More MacIver Newsmakers: Sen. Kathy Bernier Says Wisconsin Has A ‘Vulnerability’ In Its Voter Registration System

By Ola Lisowski - Republicans in the Joint Finance Committee voted to cut taxes by more than $530 million Thursday, finishing their work on the 2019-21 budget and passing the document out of committee. The vote follows more than a month of JFC meetings on Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal.  Read More Finance Committee Passes $536 Million Tax Cut Package, Finishing Its Work on 2019-21 Budget

By Ola Lisowski - Welcome to ChartSmart. Today, we're focusing on taxes.   Read More ChartSmart: Taxes

In one of the bigger Big Government ideas coming from ostensibly free-market conservatives, the Legislature’s budget-writing committee wants to track your vehicle’s mileage. The committee last week approved a state transportation budget explores a mileage-based fee system. Whether that would entail self-reporting, or technology that creepily tracks motorist mileage, the proposal puts Wisconsin on the road to Big Brother Land. Even more troubling, the language gives the Joint Finance Committee, not the full Legislature, the authority to approve or deny any mileage tracking plan that comes out of the study committee. That’s too much control in the hands of a few, and it has Big Brother riding shotgun.  Read More MacIver News Minute: Budget Committee Wants To Explore “Big Brother” Mileage Tracking Fee Scheme