The MacIver Report: Wisconsin This Week

Twenty-five years ago, America was attacked. Nearly three thousand lives were lost. First responders and ordinary citizens of every background ran toward the danger. Partisan lines vanished. We were simply Americans.

Democrats and Republicans stood together on the Capitol steps and sang “God Bless America.” Communities across Wisconsin and the nation flew the flag and stood as one. That unity recognized a simple truth: liberty, self-government, and the courage to defend them matter more than our differences.

The challenges today are different, but the duty is the same. A free people do not sit on the sidelines. Honor those who died and those who still serve by staying engaged. Study the issues. Show up. Vote. Demand accountability, because self-government works only when citizens exercise it.

Patriotism belongs to no single party. On this anniversary, remember the unity present in the days and months after September 2001, then put it to work in life and at the ballot box.

Wisconsin just learned that tax collections came in higher than expected last fiscal year—about $450 million above earlier estimates. That could push the state’s projected surplus toward $3 billion.

That sounds like good news -- but it is not a license to spend.

At MacIver, we have warned for months that a projected surplus does not erase Wisconsin’s long-term budget problem. The state still spends more than it takes in on an ongoing basis. One-time extra revenue can paper over that gap for a while. It does not fix it.

We’ve seen this movie before. Strong collections hide a structural shortfall. Then lawmakers treat a surplus as permanent money—new recurring spending, new commitments, and a weaker starting point for the next budget. That is how a surplus becomes a crisis.

Sound budgeting means living within our means, protecting taxpayers, and refusing to lock in spending the state cannot sustain. A larger surplus is a chance to get this right—not a reason to get it wrong.

Wisconsin’s citizen voters must be assured that their votes count. Central Count continues to be the core problem behind Wisconsin’s chronic election night delays, technical failures, and eroded public confidence. 

The result is a high-volume operation that routinely runs deep into the night, delivering sudden batches of votes after most of the state has already reported. It has become a predictable pattern that destroys public confidence. 

On August 11, Milwaukee Central Count’s long-running problems resurfaced, pushing final reporting past 1 a.m.

Most of Wisconsin processes absentee ballots at the local ward. That distributed approach keeps ballots close to the voters, makes fraud more difficult, and costs taxpayers less.

Returning absentee processing to the wards and eliminating Central Count will restore timely results, provide local accountability, and the election integrity Wisconsin deserves.

New York City plans to open 5 government-run grocery stores by late 2027, funded by a minimum of $70 million of taxpayer dollars. Mayor Mamdani promises a 30 percent markdown on essential food, like meat and milk.

It sounds great, yet it’s not. 

Government-run stores undercut the family-run and local grocery stores and bring you higher taxes. Jobs will be lost; more families will struggle.

Many young people think the Democratic Socialists of America promises of big government are just what they need.   But big government has no incentive to control costs.

Wisconsin beware.  Similar promises, in Kansas City and Chicago, lost millions and the stores closed. 

These schemes have never improved the lives of people.  

Relief comes from smaller government and true competition.  Keep asking the question – do the false promises of socialism increase freedom or government? 

In 1989, the Berlin Wall came crashing down. Behind it: shortages, secret police, and the shattered promise of equality. Germans were in no rush to cross over and experience socialism.

The Soviet experiment collapsed under the weight of central planning, coercion, and economic ruin.  And we know the examples of Cuba and Vietnam of government control over private industries and land ownership. Americans need to keep our eyes wide open.

Promises of fairness and prosperity ultimately collide with reality.

The pattern never changes. Socialism reassigns ownership of the means of production from free individuals to the state. It sounds compassionate until the incentives vanish, shortages appear, and liberty truly erodes.

Wisconsin does not need another experiment. America doesn’t need bigger government. Socialism has failed every time it’s been tried, and history keeps the receipts.

Let freedom prevail!  

Democrat Socialists are promising Americans a better way.  Free almost everything.  But is it?

Increase minimum wage, and you eliminate entry-level jobs.

A 32-hour week with full pay reduces hiring and increases automation.

The free childcare program in New Mexico is tens of millions of dollars over budget.

Free college and debt cancellation for you, inflates the cost of tuition, and burdens others who paid their own way.

Free groceries and healthcare shift costs onto taxpayers and limits choice.

Hillary Clinton called for these cradle-to-grave policies, and voters soundly rejected her.

It all sounds good at first, but ask yourself: do these policies increase government or freedom? Please choose freedom. 

America’s founding principles of natural rights and limited government conflict with Democrat Socialism. 

Socialism: it sounds compassionate, but history shows it always fails. America's very first socialist experiment right here in the Midwest proved it.

That utopia abolished private property, and promised perfect equality, but collapsed in under two years.

Venezuela, once rich, embraced socialism and plunged into poverty. The Soviet Union, Cuba, and others delivered bread lines, not prosperity.

Today, the Democrat Socialists of America are making gains across the nation and in Wisconsin.

Socialism creates big government and redistributes scarcity.

Wisconsin must remain a firewall against the DSA's failed promises. Smaller government, Individual liberty, and risk-taking entrepreneurs built America.

Choose freedom and opportunity.  America’s Bill of Rights is better than the DSA failed platform.

Wisconsin voters deserve better. 

For the second time this year, the Green Bay City Clerk’s office mailed duplicate absentee ballots to voters due to yet another printing error.

In April, 152 voters received duplicates ahead of the spring election. Now, just months later, an unknown number in multiple wards have been sent extras ahead of the August primary. 

Once is a mistake. Twice is a pattern that erodes trust.

Voters deserve a full investigation by the Wisconsin Elections Commission, full public disclosure of the numbers involved, and concrete steps to ensure only one ballot per voter is counted. Vague promises aren’t enough.

Election integrity matters. 

Every valid vote must count, and every failure must be fixed with real accountability. 

Voter confidence is critical in securing and preserving freedom.

As America marks 250 years of independence, few states have done more to feed our growing nation than Wisconsin.

We are America’s Dairyland.  Wisconsin leads the country in cheese production, turning out billions of pounds each year. We are also number one in cranberries, ginseng, snap beans, and more. From corn and soybeans to potatoes and world-class bovine genetics, Wisconsin farms and processors power tables across the country and exports around the globe.

And it’s not just what we grow—it’s how we grow it. Wisconsin innovation has revolutionized American agriculture.  J.I. Case founded his company in 1842 in Racine and helped pioneer the mechanization of farming. His legacy of building rugged, reliable tractors put horsepower in the hands of farmers nationwide, boosting productivity and helping turn the heartland into the breadbasket of the world.

This agricultural strength is foundational to American independence and self-reliance.

As we continue to celebrate America 250 and Wisconsin’s unique place in our nation’s story, let’s raise a toast to liberty, freedom, and common sense.

For 13 long years, the 18th Amendment created an era of Prohibition across America.

But whatever good intentions might have been behind it, Prohibition led to bootleggers, speakeasies, and federal overreach.

In December 1932, former Governor and then Sen. John Blaine tapped into Wisconsin’s common sense. He authored the original resolution to repeal Prohibition and led the way to the 21st Amendment.

Wisconsin ratified it quickly, signaling it was time to Roll Out The Barrel.

Blaine’s push reminded the nation that liberty includes the freedom to make personal choices without Washington’s heavy hand turning neighbors into criminals.

So in celebrating America 250, raise your glass, and toast Wisconsin for your freedom to enjoy a beverage of your choice.

A victory for limited government and common sense in the land of the free.