Is Detroit’s economic plight a bellwether for the nation? “Detroitification,” a phrase coined by my colleague, Jack McHugh, is defined as the hollowing out of the private economy to prop up unsustainable (and often unresponsive) government establishments. Is this an apt description of Washington’s policies?

The president of the Michigan Education Association stated on the radio recently that school employees have "given and given and given and given." Comparing teacher salaries to personal income demonstrates that the taxpayers bearing school employee costs have "given" a lot more.

Lou Schimmel, a Mackinac Center adjunct scholar, has been appointed to a committee that will investigate whether the city of Pontiac should contract with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office for police services or maintain its own department.

Schimmel has written previously about Pontiac's financial woes, and this issue of Michigan Privatization Report focused exclusively on the city, including this commentary about the Pontiac Police Department.

Even though the state Legislature voted to defund the Michigan Home Based Child Care Council in the current budget, the agency is still operating, and the Department of Human Services, which oversees the MHBCCC, won't tell the Legislature where the money is coming from.

DHS cites a lawsuit filed by the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation as its defense for remaining tight lipped.

One state legislator, however, isn't happy with the "non-answer" answer.