MacIver Monday - Aug. 25, 2025

WISCONSIN (MacIver Institute) -- Welcome back to another MacIver Monday for the last official week of summer. Try to put in a good few days before checking out for Labor Day Weekend. There won't be a newsletter on Labor Day, so we'll see you in a couple weeks.

Spotlight

MI Report: MacIver's Verdict on the 2025-27 State Budget

The state budget isn't just a short-term news story or an opportunity for legislators and the governor to put out press releases patting themselves on the back for their "good work." Its impact will last long into the future, affecting families all across the state. And that future looks bleak.

This future is outlined in a new MacIver Report, "MacIver's Verdict on the 2025-27 State Budget."

The findings:

• The budget tees the state up for a significant long-term structural deficit, putting the state's welfare in a precarious position -- and a downright dangerous one if there were to be an economic downturn. The next state budget will start out facing a $2 billion structural deficit.
• The state's Medicaid spending is out of control and will continue to drive higher costs for all non-Medicaid enrolled citizens of the state.
• Unelected bureaucrats in the Legislative Fiscal Bureau increased spending by hundreds of millions of dollars beyond what lawmakers on the Joint Committee on Finance approved.

Read the full report here, and keep an eye out for more budget coverage later this week and in the weeks to come.

Let's face it. This is in-depth budget analysis you're not going to get anywhere else -- and it's just the latest in our ongoing budget coverage that's included:

• Detailed department by department budget reports;
• A first-of-its-kind comprehensive and searchable database of every appropriation in the budget;
• Strategic reforms to improve the overall budget process; and
• Post-passage deep analysis of the budget process and what is in store for future budgets.

This work is critical to get the state back on track because for the last six years under Tony Evers It's Not Working. Your donation today will help ensure we can continue the hard work holding the Evers administration and the Madison status quo accountable.

Deep Dive

How Progressives Hijack Democratic Governance (yet another way!)

Richard Moore pulls the curtain back on privately-funded lawfare in the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The scheme isn't new and may not even be illegal, but outside groups like the New York University's State Energy and Environmental Impact Center pay to have special assistant attorneys general in the Department of Justice to pursue their own ideological interests. That same circumstance is playing out now in a direct effort to attack the state's dairy industry.

Read more here.

You Should Know

Milwaukee’s Mayor Latest to Support Democrat Redistricting

Democrats are lining up to run for Governor now that Tony Evers has announced he will not seek reelection next year. One possible candidate is Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who last week came out in support of California-style radical redistricting to give Democrats more seats in the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation. Watch for more liberals to take this stance as the governor's race unfolds.

Quick Clicks

WEC Chair Calls President’s Mail-in Ballot Focus "casserole" of "conspiracy theories"

The head of Wisconsin’s Elections Commission is dismissing President Trump’s promised end to mail-in ballots as a “red meat” issue for voters. She explained that Wisconsin is one of three dozen states that not only allows for mail-in voting, but has seen huge support for mail-in votes in the past two presidential elections.

About MacIver Institute: The MacIver Institute is a Wisconsin-based think tank that promotes free markets, individual freedom, personal responsibility, and limited government. Through research, analysis, and community engagement, we work to advance these principles and positively impact the lives of all Wisconsinites.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher, its employees, or any affiliated organization.