The MacIver Report: Wisconsin This Week

MacIver Intern Courtney Graves describes how the assassination of Charlie Kirk has energized conservatives on UW-Madison campus and is driving record interest in groups like the College Republicans and Young America’s Foundation.

The new Wisconsin state budget has now been in effect for almost 2 months, and the MacIver institute just released its in-depth report about it. This is the 9th state budget that we’ve reviewed, and in many ways, it the worst one we’ve ever seen. We’ll be talking about this for a while, so I just highlight one thing for you today. In last budget, the state promised to give local governments a 20% cut of its sales tax revenue. But the state has yet to make room for that transfer in its budget. So instead, it’s paying the locals out of the general fund surplus - about $1.6 billion a year. You probably remember a lot of people talking about a $4.4 billion surplus earlier this year – well that’s where it’s going. And because of it, we’re expected to end this biennium with just $714 million in the account. That's definitely not enough to keep paying the locals $1.6 billion a year. That means we’ll be going into the next budget cycle with another multi-billion structural deficit, but one that the state won’t be able to cover up simply by dipping into its savings. We’ll have a lot more to say about the budget in the coming weeks, and what the state could do to get us out of this mess.

Do you ever wonder where the mainstream news media gets its news. Well, here’s a clue. On Sunday, Gov. Tony Evers tweeted that he authorized the National Guard to help with the flooding response in Milwaukee. MacIver wanted more details, especially since the governor hadn’t declared an emergency at that point. He didn’t visit the area or declare an emergency until Monday afternoon. The National Guard’s public affairs office promptly responded to MacIver’s inquiry. It explained that only the Wauwatosa Fire Department had requested help from the guard. That was the request that Gov. Evers had authorized, hence the tweet. However, only a handful of guardsmen were activated, and it turned out that Wauwatosa cancelled its request before that could get on the scene. No other communities had asked for help, and so, as of Monday morning, the guardsmen were sitting in an armory in Madison just in case. Meanwhile, most news stations across the state reported that Gov. Evers had sent in the National Guard, even though he didn’t. There had been no press releases and no executive actions. The only place anyone wouldn’t gotten that idea from, is Twitter. So now you know where the mainstream media gets it news.

So, Governor Evers has decided to hang it up. Don’t think for moment that it’s because he couldn’t win a third term. That’s the kind of misplaced confidence that won him a first and a second term as governor. Liberals are playing the long game here, and they haven’t exactly been secretive about their strategy. They fully expect that a democrat will be elected president in 2028. The president’s party is always at a disadvantage in the midterms, which is when Wisconsin always holds its gubernatorial election. The left wants a strong democrat incumbent in the governor’s office for that 2030 election, and there is no way that Governor Evers was going to run for a fourth term that would keep him working well into his 80s. And so, the Democrats are taking a calculated risk now for long term gains. It’s a perfect example of giving up a bird in the hand for two in the bush, leaving republicans with a golden opportunity if they can figure out how to exploit it.

Ron Johnson tells MacIver why he ultimately supported the Big Beautiful Bill, even though it doesn't go nearly far enough to correct the country's long term fiscal problems.

The new state budget is in effect. A lot of people on both sides of the aisle claim it’s a conservative budget, but the numbers tell a different story. The last budget was $100 billion. Evers wanted 120 billion this time. It wound up at $114. That’s a 15% jump in spending. The biggest increase in at least 20 years. We started this budget with a $4.4 billion surplus. We’ll end it with just $700 million. And yet, this budget still borrows $3.2 billion. That’s four-and-a-half times more than in the last budget, and the highest level of borrowing since Jim Doyle was governor. Sure, you’re getting a $1.5 billion tax cut, but your healthcare costs are going up $2 billion, your property taxes are going up 3-quarters of a billion dollars, drivers fees are going up $150 million, and even camping fees are going up 6 million bucks. If all that adds up to a conservative budget, I shudder to think what a liberal budget would look like.

Would you believe that the state legislature writes the state budget every two years without using a spreadsheet? We couldn’t believe it either. That’s why MacIver did it for them. But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Bill and Mike explain exactly how the state assembles its budget, and why everything about it is wrong. At the end of the day, the state knows exactly where it gets its money from, but it only has a vague idea of where it goes… Bill and Mike also share the 400-year history of American tax uprisings, and why Americans don’t share their ancestors’ sense of outrage over out-of-control government. All that and more on this episode of the MacIver Report.

Governor Evers thought he’d play a game of chicken with the legislature over school funding, and last week, he lost big time. Unfortunately, Evers wagered your property taxes. When he pulled that line-item-veto stunt last session, Evers enabled school districts to increase their revenue limits by $325 per student every year for the next 400 years. That comes out to about a quarter of a billion dollars each year with the state’s current student population. School districts can get that extra money through one of two ways: more state aid or higher property taxes. Evers thought it was a safe bet that lawmakers would increase state aid, so that most taxpayers would never have a clue about his unprecedented power grab and his absurd 400-year-line-item veto. Instead, the legislature took a pass and left Evers holding the bag. So now when you get that higher property tax bill this December, be sure to thank gov. Tony Evers.

The legislature made a key decision on the state budget last night when it choose to make Gov. Evers own the real world consequences of his 400-year-veto stunt. Bill and Mike talk about what that means for your property tax bill next year and every year after that for the next 400 years. Also, don't forget the left has a big rioting plans for this weekend. We tell you where in Wisconsin they plan to make a scene on this edition of the MacIver Report.

The negotiations between republican lawmakers and governor Evers over the state budget broke down last week and it’s just as well. Republicans had nothing to gain and Evers had nothing to lose. Republicans wanted assurances from Evers that he wouldn’t veto their tax cut plan, and Evers wanted to increase total spending by 20 billion dollars (20% more than the current budget). Even if republicans got assurances from Evers, his word is worthless. He stabbed them in the back after they had assurances for the last state budget. Anyone remember the 400-year-veto stunt? As far as Evers is concerned, he doesn’t need to convince republicans to increase spending. They’re already doing it. So far, they’ve just gotten low cost, routine items on the budget, and they’ve already increased spending by $1.3 billion. Looks like the budget was going to balloon with or without negotiating. Check mate, Evers.