MacIver Institute Kicks Off a Month-Long Celebration of Act 10 and the Wisconsin Taxpayer

For Immediate Release
February 8, 2016

[Madison, Wisc…] It’s working, Wisconsin. Taxpayers in the Badger State continue to benefit from Act 10 – collective bargaining reform – a full five years after Gov. Scott Walker introduced the landmark law.

To celebrate a half decade of taxpayer savings thanks to Act 10, the MacIver Institute is kicking off a month-long celebration of Act 10 and the Wisconsin taxpayer.

Gov. Walker introduced collective bargaining reform legislation on February 11, 2011 and signed Act 10 into law on March 11 of the same year.

This week and throughout the month, the MacIver Institute will remind the public of the amazing story of Act 10. From the chaos at the Capitol, to its opponents fleeing the state, to the tremendous savings to taxpayers and flexibility for local units of government, Act 10 has benefitted working Wisconsin families in the years since its passage.

Later this week, the MacIver Institute will announce a new grand total of how much the law has saved Wisconsin taxpayers at every level of government.

“Act 10 has proven to be one of the most important public policy ideas ever introduced in Wisconsin and clearly the most successful,” said Brett Healy, president of the MacIver Institute. “Big labor and its special-interest allies all tried to scare the Wisconsin public, claiming the sky would fall if Act 10 passed. They were wrong, and Wisconsinites deserve special credit for standing up to the labor bosses and seeing through their lies.”

“Wisconsin taxpayers owe Governor Walker and the legislators who voted for Act 10 a special debt of gratitude for all the abuse they took,” Healy continued. “If Governor Walker and the Republican legislators had not stood their ground, if they had not blocked out the threats and verbal abuse from the professional protesters, the Wisconsin taxpayer would be billions of dollars worse off today – billions of dollars!”

“Now, thanks to Act 10, government employees in Wisconsin contribute a modest amount towards their health insurance and their retirement,” Healy said. “School districts can competitively bid out their health insurance business, personnel decisions are based on merit instead of seniority, and teachers with expertise in sought-after fields are seeing a greater demand for their services and their salaries are on the rise.”

“That’s why we’re celebrating February 11 – March 11 as ‘Wisconsin Taxpayer Appreciation Month.’ That time of turmoil yielded a long period of budgetary calm that Wisconsinites will enjoy for as long as they continue to elect fiscally responsible leaders,” Healy said.

“After five years, Act 10 is still working for the hard-working taxpayers of Wisconsin.”

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Contact: Chris Rochester
608.237.7290
crochester@maciverinstitute.com