Viewpoint

Economics of the fist: Unions favor telling to asking with Wisconsin’s right to work

The strong-arm tactics of Act 10 antagonists

By Patrick McIlheran

Among the winks and nudges offered by Janet Protasiewicz on her way to the Supreme Court was that Act 10, the Gov. Scott Walker labor reforms, are toast. 

“I marched at the Capitol in protest of Act 10,” she said.  

Would she appropriately sit out a relitigation? 

“Maybe.” 

Wink, wink.

Democrat-friendly media spelled out that this isn’t just about public-sector unions at issue in Act 10, but a raft of policies that includes “an anti-union right-to-work law,” as a New York Times columnist put it.

Public Hearing: Joint Finance Committee

Photo: Senator Julian Bradley

The Joint Finance Committee of the Wisconsin Legislature held a public hearing Wednesday at the Waukesha County Expo Center. The Committee heard more than seven hours of resident testimony regarding priorities for the 2023-2025 state budget. Among the crowd were advocates seeking equal funding for choice and charter school students. The green shirts many wore read “#ParentPower” on the front and “Equal Funding for ALL KIDS!” on the back.

On average, public charter school students and students participating in one of Wisconsin’s parental choice programs are funded at 60% the value of traditional public school students. The Badger Institute has strongly advocated funding parity for choice and charter school students in our Mandate for Madison and our expanding collection of Choice Stories.

Photos: Rocketship Public Schools

Social Spotlight

Referendum Results

The human dignity of work was on Tuesday’s ballot, and it outperformed every other issue with 79.5% of Wisconsin voters voicing support for able-bodied adults to look for work as a condition of receiving welfare benefits.

Source: Wisconsin Spring Election Results

Related Podcast:

Ensuring Opportunity by Altering Wisconsin’s Safety Net

For decades, the federal government has assumed a larger role in funding and running safety net programs, leaving states with little ability to address flaws such as employment and marriage disincentives or make other changes.

Angela Rachidi — an American Enterprise Institute senior fellow, Badger Institute visiting fellow and Wisconsin resident who once led policy research at the New York City Department of Social Services — joins us to discuss why Wisconsin should demand more authority over federal safety net programs, including a willingness to take a larger funding role while assuming more responsibility.

Pertinent Pairings: Fathers and the Family

Essay: Our Lost Boys

“Any conversation surrounding the abatement of the boy crisis must include, if not be centered around, forming and maintaining families. Given the vicious cycle of fatherlessness, any conversation about encouraging family formation must also be one about how we can help our boys.”

Read more

Viewpoint: Family and school deterioration is a troubling combination

“There is never one cure-all for complex societal problems like poverty or morally, economically and emotionally untethered children. The first thing is to recognize the problem for what it is. The numbers make that easy.

Now for the hard parts – for starters, better schools and an acknowledgment that families really do matter.”

Read more

Video: Reconnecting men

Amid mounting pressures of pessimism and instability, communities must band together and strengthen the bonds of civil society.

Men play a crucial role in that kind of turnabout, but many often find themselves disconnected from their communities and the social engines that drive lasting change.

Watch the video

Weekly Survey: What is your top priority for Wisconsin’s 2023-2025 state budget?

Previous Poll Results:

What We’re Reading

• BizTimes: Howard Fuller talks about changing narratives, funding and business involvement in education

• Wall Street Journal: 2023 Is Already a Record Year for School Choice (paywall)

• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Seeing Wisconsin's rural drug addiction crisis through the eyes of a childhood friend in our hometown

• Foundation for Economic Education: Are Markets Immoral?

• WILL: Preserving Democracy Project

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