MacIver Institute

Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, joins MacIver's Matt Kittle to talk about the status of worker freedom on Labor Day. It's an exciting time for workers who want freedom from unions and compulsory union membership - Mix gives us an update on recent victories and ongoing challenges for worker freedom.  Read More MacIver Report Extra: Celebrating Worker Freedom on Labor Day

By Chris Rochester - Wisconsinites hunting for back-to-school deals are out of luck for yet another year thanks to the state’s minimum markup law, which outlaws sale prices that are too low.  Read More 2018 MacIver Annual Price Check: Common Back-to-School Items Are 14-146% More Expensive In Wisconsin

MacIver's Matt Kittle joins Vicki McKenna and surprise guest Senator Ron Johnson to discuss the proposed Kimberly-Clark bailout. Some of the company's employees oppose the proposal, including one company insider who compared the bailout to "legalized extortion" and said taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for propping up the profitable paper product manufacturing plants.  Read More “Legalized Extortion” – Kimberly-Clark Company Insider Opposes Bailout

Free from the fetters of union driven health plans thanks to Act 10, school districts have turned to innovative and cost-saving health insurance options for their employees. Changes made possible by Gov. Walker's signature reform have allowed school districts to save $3.2 billion in benefits costs alone - much of that on health benefits.  Read More MacIver News Minute: How School Districts Use Act 10 to Save Billions on Health Insurance

A MacIver News Service article highlights a Kimberly-Clark corporate insider who says the company’s Neenah Cold Spring facility is profitable and that the proposed incentives are “legalized extortion.” As a follow-up to the story, MacIver Institute President Brett Healy issued the following statement...  Read More Kimberly-Clark Employees Remind Us Why Bailout Is A Bad Idea

By M.D. Kittle - While there has been a big political push to pass a $100 million bailout to keep two Kimberly-Clark plants open, the proposed deal has its critics from inside the northeast Wisconsin factories.   Read More Kimberly-Clark Bailout Like ‘Legalized Extortion,’ Company Insider Says

By M.D. Kittle - While Wisconsin's 2015 right-to-work law is clear on penalties for violators, apparently enforcement has yet to be tested.   Read More What Are You Going To Do About It? Enforcement Appears Lax in Right To Work Abuses

Special Guest Perspective by Dan O'Donnell - Why is Milwaukee so perfect for the Democratic National Convention? Because Milwaukee is the inevitable result of Democratic leadership; Milwaukee is what happens when Democrats govern with unchecked and unbroken control for more than a century.  Read More Why Milwaukee is the Perfect Place for the Democratic National Convention

Attorney General Brad Schimel's legal team scored a major victory in one lawsuit challenging Obamacare. In this conversation with MacIver's Matt Kittle, originally airing on News/Talk 1310 WIBA, Schimel announces that Wisconsin won a judgment for nearly $90 million after a District Court ruled one hefty Obamacare tax was an illegal tax on states. Just hours later, the mainstream media followed and reported the story. Schimel discusses that and a second lawsuit challenging Obamacare's constitutionality in this week's MacIver Report Extra podcast.  Read More Wisconsin Wins Big Judgment Against Obamacare – AG Brad Schimel Gives Us An Update on Two Lawsuits

MacIver Communications Director Chris Rochester joins Oliver Burrows on WXCO in Wausau for a weekly update on all things MacIver. Up this week: new membership numbers show the decline of Wisconsin's largest teachers union following Act 10; Medicare-for-All's empty promises and astronomical costs; and Mayor Tom Barrett fails to get serious about Milwaukee's crime problem.  Read More News And Views: The Decline of WEAC, Medicare-for-All, Barrett’s Paint Job

Gov. Walker's signature reform, Act 10, gave public employees the freedom to choose whether to be in a union - and teachers continue to vote with their feet. The latest numbers show Wisconsin's largest teachers' union, WEAC, continues a long and steep decline. Since its pre-Act 10 heyday when educators were forced to join and pay into the union coffers, WEAC has lost 67% of its members.  Read More MacIver News Minute: WEAC Leads The Nation in Membership Decline, Again

By Ola Lisowski - One major innovation that has sprung up since Act 10’s passage comes in the form of high deductible healthcare plans. Rather than using traditional plans where the employer - in this case, taxpayers - pick up the vast majority of employee healthcare costs, high deductible health plans are an increasingly popular way for districts to keep costs down.  Read More After Act 10, Innovations in Health Care

MacIver Communications Director, an avid Star Trek fan, joins Matt Kittle on the Vicki McKenna Show to talk about an equally engaging topic - the decline of WEAC. Since Act 10 gave public employees the choice of whether to join and pay their money toward a union, many have voted with their feet. The union's membership has dropped 67% since 2011, new numbers show.  Read More On the Vicki McKenna Show: The Decline of Wisconsin’s Largest Teachers’ Union

WISN host Jay Weber talks about MacIver's recent update on the declining membership of WEAC, Wisconsin's largest teachers union. New numbers show the union has lost about 67% of its membership since Act 10, which allowed public employees to choose whether they want to be part of a union.  Read More Jay Weber Discusses MacIver’s Story on WEAC’s Declining Membership Rolls

MacIver News Service - Wisconsin’s largest teachers’ union again is a national leader in membership losses.  Read More Wisconsin Teachers’ Union Leads Nation Again in Membership Losses

Broadband boondoggles litter the big government landscape. All across the country, cities have tried to build their own high-speed internet infrastructures only to fail spectacularly, and taxpayers have paid the price. Will city leaders in Madison learn the lesson these other cities didn't as they pursue their own fiber optic flop?  Read More MacIver News Minute: Will Madison Learn from the Broadband Failures of Others?

Now that the big primary election is over and Democrat Tony Evers is officially his opponent, Gov. Scott Walker's campaign is in full gear and barreling toward November 6th. The governor joins MacIver's Matt Kittle to talk about his opponent, his campaign, and the taxpayer success during his first two terms in office. The king of those success stories is Act 10, which MacIver recently reported saved school districts $3.2 billion just in benefits costs by allowing them simply to shop around.  Read More MacIver Report Extra: Gov. Scott Walker Kicks Off Re-Election Campaign

MacIver President Brett Healy joins John Muir on his show on WTAQ in Green Bay to break down the latest Marquette University Law School poll, the first after last week's big primary.  Read More On The John Muir Show: New Marquette Poll Show Tight Races for Governor, Senate

MacIver President Brett Healy discusses last week's big primary election and a brand new Marquette University Law School poll - the first focusing on the general election - that finds a dead heat between Tony Evers and Gov. Scott Walker and a close race between Leah Vukmir and Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Matt Kittle guest hosts for Jay Weber on News/Talk 1130 WISN.  Read More On Jay Weber: Brett Healy Discusses Primary Election, New Marquette Poll

Special Guest Perspective by Dan O'Donnell - The violence couldn’t have come at a worse time for Mayor Barrett: Officials from the Democratic National Committee are coming to scout Milwaukee as a possible location for the 2020 Democratic National Convention.  Read More Mayor Barrett’s Paint Job