James M. Hohman, Assistant Director of Fiscal Policy [Mackinac Center]

Michigan State University President Lou Ann Simon has characterized proposed state aid cuts as "brutal," although she gamely acknowledges "We can make this work." … more

Posted on March 24, 2011 at 12:30pm

Detroit Free Press Editor Points out Film Incentive Flaws

As Detroit Free Press editor Stephen Henderson points out, the film incentive was meant to generate a film industry in Michigan that would exist without special favors. In light of this goal, the incentive has so far been only an expensive failure. … more

Posted on March 1, 2011 at 2:09pm

Governor Looks At Public Employee Compensation

In his executive budget, Gov. Rick Snyder recommends reforms to the compensation offered to employees by Michigan’s state and local governments. Considering that employment costs are a primary reason why government continues to grow, this is a commendable move. … more

Posted on February 18, 2011 at 9:05am

More Good News for Michigan’s Economy

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provided some encouraging news that indicated Michigan’s economy continues to recover. The state’s private sector added 221,292 jobs in the second quarter of 2010 and lost only 184,025. … more

Posted on February 4, 2011 at 3:11pm

Detroit Public Schools Contracts Out Custodial Services

Mlive.com reports that Detroit Public Schools signed contracts with private vendors to clean and maintain the district’s buildings. DPS will join 145 other school districts in Michigan that contract out for these services. … more

Posted on January 28, 2011 at 5:00pm

How Bad is Detroit’s Detroitification?

Mackinac Center analyst Jack McHugh has called the long process of hollowing out a private economy to prop up an unsustainable government, "Detroitification." Detroit's most recent comprehensive annual financial report shows just how much the title-city itself has been hollowed. … more

Posted on January 21, 2011 at 1:39pm

Michigan Posts Record Drop in Unemployment Rate for December

According to data released by the Michigan Office of Labor Market Information today, the state’s unemployment rate dropped by 0.7 percentage points from 12.4 percent in November 2010 to 11.7 percent in December 2010. This is a record for this data series that began in 1976. … more

Posted on January 19, 2011 at 4:25pm

Bonuses Included, Michigan Government Benefits Exceed Private Sector by $5.7 Billion

In an article in The Detroit News, Michigan Sen. Vincent Gregory, D-Southfield, states that government workers get generous health and pension benefits in lieu of bonuses, apparently implying that the two offset. Thankfully, there are data on the issue to check his theory. … more

Posted on January 3, 2011 at 11:50am

Gov. Granhom Claims Ignorance of MEGA Failures

If a person sits through Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s video portrait, they might think that the governor is interested and aware of her economic development programs. She spends nearly the entire production on her efforts to foster job creation. Unfortunately, a recent MIRS interview (subscription required) shows that she is blind to the failures of the programs she supports. … more

Posted on December 22, 2010 at 3:45pm

The Mackinac Center Is not 'Pro-Business'

The Mackinac Center is pro-free markets, not necessarily “pro-business.” The following excerpt from an article by Luigi Zingales does a good job of describing the difference (although the Center is not a lobbyist, either). Zingales is a professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. … more

Posted on December 20, 2010 at 4:20pm

Michigan Falls to Bottom 10 in Key Economic Measure

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released a key measure of economic growth today that showed that Michigan has gone over a decade without increased production. New gross domestic product figures, a measure of the value of an area’s goods and services production, showed that Michigan’s economy produced 8 percent less in 2009 than it did in 2000 when adjusted for inflation. The nation rose 15 percent during this period. … more

Posted on November 18, 2010 at 10:45am

Wishful Reporting of Governor’s Investment Missions

In Gov. Jennifer Granholm's weekly radio address, she ballyhoos her investment missions abroad by claiming that they're responsible for creating or retaining 20,000 Michigan jobs. Unfortunately, she continues to mistake job announcements for job creation. … more

Posted on November 12, 2010 at 3:35pm

Michigan’s Economy: From Worst to Average

There's no question that Michigan's economy has performed poorly over the past decade. Essentially, the state lost one out of every five jobs since employment peaked in 2000. However, Michigan's economic trends have changed in recent months. It is no longer the worst performer in the country. In fact, since the end of the U.S. recession, Michigan's performance is average. … more

Posted on November 3, 2010 at 1:43pm

Assistant Director of Fiscal Policy

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By James M. Hohman