You might have seen Samar Alatout’s name in the news last month.He is the faculty advisor for students for justice in Palestine at UW Madison.There are videos of him repeatedly attacking police when they tried to take down an illegal encampment there. He’s even seen interfering with an arrest.These are serious crimes, and Alatout was arrested that …

Every time there’s a problem somewhere, government’s knee jerk response is to throw money at it.Take the hospital situation in western Wisconsin for example. Two hospitals abruptly closed their doors this spring, creating a capacity problem in the emergency rooms there.The state is trying to figure out how to send $15 million in emergency grants to…

Joe Biden had a great day in Wisconsin last week.He showed up in mount pleasant to announce that Microsoft is building a new data center there, and everyone bent over backwards to give him all the credit, which was really tricky because he had nothing to do with it. But that’s why the mainstream media has told you next to nothing about the project.…

Wisconsin lawmakers will soon vote on a plan to bail out the City of Milwaukee.It would allow Milwaukee to create a special 2% sales tax to help with its unfunded pension liability.Lawmakers say the alternative means Milwaukee will go bankrupt, just like Detroit did in 2013, which they say would be devastating for the entire state.Well, we checked …

Wisconsin lawmakers are fast tracking a plan to bailout Milwaukee to prevent it from declaring bankruptcy. They claim it would be devastating for everyone in Wisconsin if that happened."We understand that bankruptcy for the City and County would be detrimental for the entire state," said Sen. Mary Felzkowski, one of the bill's authors. She says AB2…

Ranked choice voting - it’s hard to imagine a more complicated way to hold an election.Voters have the option of picking more than one candidate in each race.Clerks count one set of the votes, eliminate candidates, then count another set of votes, eliminate more candidates, then count yet another set of votes, and so on until they declare a winner.…

Governor Evers has a big problem with the Wisconsin Constitution.It goes back to 2020 when he shut down churches, tried to extend the term lengths for local elected officials, and continually invented new ways to declare public emergencies.This past summer, he used the Frankenstein veto to expand school funding increases for the next 400 years – ev…

As far as a liberal is concerned, government can never have too much money. So, it was no surprise when Governor Evers vetoed three tax cut bills that would have provided desperately needed relief to Wisconsin’s middle class (especially retirees.) What was surprising was his claim that those tax cuts would essentially bankrupt the state, and it wou…

It’s a dark day for constitutional government in Wisconsin.The constitution puts the legislature squarely in charge of drawing district maps. The left pulled no stops to make sure that didn’t happen this time around.A liberal-controlled supreme court threw the old maps out and created a new requirement out of thin air that’s not in the constitution…

Almost since day one of his first administration, Gov. Evers has led Wisconsin from one constitutional crisis after another.Most of those incidents have involved him trying to assume powers that the constitution specifically assigned to the legislature. Redistricting, confirming appointments, and, of course, the power of the purse.The legislature g…

In Wisconsin, Democrats might have more voters, but Republicans have more people, and lawmakers represent all people not just people who vote.This is why Democrats are so successful at statewide races, and why Republicans are so successful in legislative races. Of course, that’s completely unacceptable to the left.The liberal controlled state supre…

Wisconsin republicans hope to create a dilemma for Gov. Evers.Evers has said he will not give an inch on abortion, but Evers is also very fond of the motto, “the will of the people is the law of that land.”Republicans are trying to test that belief with their latest bill that could lead to ban on abortions after 14 weeks. It’s currently 20 weeks. T…

MacIver News Minute: New District Maps Could Change How Lawmakers Represent Wisconsin Residents by The MacIver InstituteBy The MacIver Institute

MacIver Newsmakers Podcast: Sen. Ron Johnson and Ranked Choice Voting by The MacIver InstituteBy The MacIver Institute

MacIver Newsmakers Podcast: Sen. Duey Stroebel and Ranked Choice Voting by The MacIver InstituteBy The MacIver Institute

MacIver Newsmakers Podcast: Rep. Glenn Grothman on Ranked Choice Voting by The MacIver InstituteBy The MacIver Institute

Happy new year Milwaukee. By now you’ve realized that your sales tax just jumped from 5.5 to 7.9%. It’s hard to feel sorry for you. After all, you voted for this, or rather you voted for the people who openly said they wanted to do this.For years, your local leaders have complained that Milwaukee was the largest city in the country without a local …

Wisconsin’s Christians are still celebrating the 12 days of Christmas leading up to Epiphany, and it’s a good thing they have thick skin. Otherwise, they might be really offended over Gov. Evers’ messaging over the past couple of weeks.First, just days before they celebrated the birth of the baby Jesus, Evers released a video message reaffirming hi…

A proposed amendment to the Wisconsin constitution would clarify that only US citizens can vote in our elections.I know what you’re thinking.Is there really anyone out there saying that non-US citizens should be voting in Wisconsin elections? You better believe it.There are people out there who think illegal aliens should even have that right. Just…

The current state budget included a pay raise for University of Wisconsin employees. They’ll get it as soon as the university eliminates its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusions (DEI) programs.The UW, however, is not budging. Meanwhile, lawmakers are under pressure to approve the pay raises anyway. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is offering a compromise.R…

The Wisconsin Constitution puts the legislature squarely in charge of redistricting.Gov. Evers really hates this, and he’s spent much of his time in office fighting it. He’s talked a lot about creating an independent commission to draw the maps, just like they do in Iowa. He’s been pushing that idea for years.This week, assembly republicans finally…

You know the motto “Never Forget.”Never forget 9/11.For those of us who lived through that day – how could we?The confusion at the first news reports of the day.The shock when the second plane hit.The horror when the towers went down.The disbelief when they got the pentagon.The exasperation when we heard about Pennsylvania.The panic over the fate o…

Before the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, a national organization called Moms for Liberty met downtown with its local members.They say two of the biggest problems in Wisconsin’s public schools are a lack of curriculum transparency and dismal math and reading scores. Moms for Liberty say parents can change that situation by getti…

In January, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) issued a rule making pistol braces illegal. Polk County Sheriff Brent Waak immediately pointed out the new rule contradicted other ATF rules. He argued the new rule was unconstitutional, and publicly announced he would not allow the ATF to enforce that rule in Polk County. O…

The new liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court wasted no time making big changes to how the Court operates. Within the first week, they fired the state court system director and established a committee that assumes the constitutional duties of the chief justice. Justice Rebecca Bradley says these changes violate the state constitution, pol…

Now that liberals have a majority on the state supreme court, it’s supposed to be game over. Right?From now on, they get to decide what the constitution says, and they’re going to make sure that liberals always like what they hear.So, you might as well just say goodbye to every law, rule and procedure that gets in their way.That’s what they want yo…

We hope everyone out there is having a good summer. We know the climate change lobby certainly is. All summer long headline after headline has been pushing its narrative declaring “record setting heat” and “hottest temperatures in history.” And the only way to stop it is by cutting carbon emissions.The public doesn’t even seem to question that conn…

Republicans negotiated a deal with Governor Evers over education funding.Evers stretched the limits of his veto authority to break that deal and create his own 400-year education funding increase.Republicans negotiated a deal with the City of Milwaukee to allow it to levy a 2% sales tax and stave off bankruptcy.The city now plans to sue the state t…

We don’t expect politicians to like each other. However, in a demographic society, we do expect them to be able to negotiate, find common ground, and compromise with each other.Those are things you can do with someone you consider to be an opponent or an adversary. Those are not things you can do with an enemy, which is apparently exactly what Milw…

Wisconsin taxpayers will never see it, but they certainly heard a lot of lawmakers bragging about a $3.5 billion income tax cut they put in the state budget.The same income tax cut that Gov. Evers promptly vetoed out of the state budget.Nobody should have been surprised by that.After negotiating with the governor to ensure they got more funding for…

Gov. Evers promised a 10% middle-class tax cut.No seriously, we have him on tape saying it in his budget address just five months ago."Under my plan, if you’re a single filer making less than $100,000 or a married joint filer making less than $150,000, the cornerstone of my tax plan will cut your taxes by 10 percent."Republicans tried to do him one…

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness...To secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, and whenever an…

Wisconsin’s republic lawmakers thought they had struck some great deals with the other side of the aisle.They were willing to give a little to get a little – and liberals told them they were too.And so, republicans passed a law allowing Milwaukee to raise its sales tax by 2% to avoid bankruptcy – but only if that money went to the city’s pension an…

After weeks of radio silence on cutting taxes in the next state budget, republican leadership had some big news to share at their state convention this past weekend.Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos say the plan is to cut income taxes by at least $3 billion. That would be the biggest income tax cut in state histor…

Not long ago, Wisconsin taxpayers had good reason to be excited.Lawmakers were starting their work on the next state budget with a projected $7 billion surplus… many of them agreed that meant the state collected $7 billion more from taxpayers than it needed.And they started tossing ideas around about how best to give that money back. The state sena…

If the state of Wisconsin bails out Milwaukee – do you think the city will learn its lesson about fiscal responsibility?Don’t bet on it.The legislature hasn’t even approved Milwaukee’s exclusive 2% sales tax yet – and Alderman Bob Bauman’s already trying to figure out how to get another 1% to support the trolley and clear the way for even more spen…

Title 42 is over and President Joe Biden says expect more chaos at the US southern border. Title 42 allowed the border patrol to people they caught trying to sneak across the border right back into Mexico. Now they’ll likely be released and allowed to stay in the US. There are already around 6 million illegal residents in the US.The crisis isn’t li…

The very first two bills introduced in the Wisconsin State Legislature this session would replace our antiquated progressive income tax with a 3.25% flat tax.The flat tax is simple and fair and, at 3.25%, everyone who pays income taxes in Wisconsin would see a tax cut.Lots of states of making this switch right now – and not just conservative ones.I…

Tax increment financing. TIF. As in TIF districts.Just the sound of it is enough to put any taxpayer to sleep, and local officials like it that way. They tell you TIF is basically free money.We take out a loan, use the money to lure in new developments, and then we tax those new developments to pay back the loans. Brilliant – right?What they don’t …

If all the nonstop and mindless campaign commercials weren't reminder enough, today is not just another Tuesday everyone, today is Election Day in Wisconsin. Top of the ticket is the race for control of the state Supreme Court, which has garnered national attention and millions of dollars from outside Wisconsin - not sure how donors from the East a…

The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 triggered riots all across the country. In Wisconsin, the worst violence broke out in Madison.After pillaging state street, looters swarmed an unattended police cruiser.They busted its windows and headlights, spray painted it, set it on fire and stole two assault rifles out of it. Believe it or now, …

Happy Act 10 Day everyone, the only true holiday that celebrates you, the Wisconsin taxpayer.It has been 12 years since Governor Scott Walker signed common sense collective bargaining reform into law here in Wisconsin and to date, this one tiny change, asking government employees at the state and local level to pay a small amount, minuscule really,…

Deep within the morass of Governor Evers' Budget lies his plan to give your hard-earned tax dollars to sports teams and other private businesses.Everyone has heard already about the Governor’s proposal to hand over $290 million for the Brewers so they can make improvements to American Family field.Not sure what all of the money we have spent on tic…

National school choice expert Corey Deangelis joins us on this edition of the MacIver Newsmakers Podcast to share all the good news about the school choice program around the country and what needs to happen in Wisconsin.By The MacIver Institute

On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal broke the news that the U.S. Energy Department has issued a report stating that the coronavirus likely spread to the public because of an accident at a lab in China. Oh really??!! It wasn’t that long ago that if you brought up the mere possibility that perhaps the covid virus could have started in, you know, the W…

While we warned you that Governor Evers was likely to introduce a state budget that was devoid of any common sense and a pathetic partisan hoax, even we were shocked at what he proposed last week.Despite sitting on a $7 billion surplus - again, its not really a surplus, it means you the taxpayer have been overtaxed - despite sitting on that $7 bill…

Gov. Evers presented his budget plan on Feb. 15th that included $1.6 billion in new taxes, a 16% increase in overall spending, and dozens of policy items that only appeal to the most extreme liberals. In short, it was not a serious proposal. It was merely a political statement, and ensured there was no opportunity for negotiations with the Republic…

Governor Tony Evers is set to introduce his 2023 2025 state budget this week and early indications suggest that it will be a spending tsunami.Despite having a $7 billion dollar surplus - it is not accurate to call it a surplus, it really means you the taxpayer have been overtaxed by $7 billion dollars - despite state government bursting at the seam…

With the state anticipating a $6.5 billion budget surplus, lawmakers have plans for a major overhaul of Wisconsin’s income tax structure. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu says the senate is currently working on plans for a phased-in 3.5% flat tax.Although championed by conservatives, the flat tax is not party specific. Wisconsin’s democrat str…

There is a new report out that details how federal covid grants are being spent by schools and Wisconsin, once again, is receiving national attention for all the wrong reasons.School Boards were supposed to use their billions in Covid funding to open our schools safely, keep the schools open and finally, fix the learning loss that many of our child…