Strong winds and heavy rain, accompanied by half a dozen tornados, damaged areas of Michigan about three weeks ago. Hundreds of thousands of people lost power for days, but fortunately, casualties were minimal.
In response, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for some areas of the state. But the governor has since unilaterally extended those emergencies, in a manner similar to what she tried to do during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
This article appeared July 9 2023 at American Institute for Economic Research.
Since 2008 we have published (with the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation) estimates on the degree to which cigarettes are smuggled, by state, including those exported to Canada or imported from Mexico. New rules to ban menthol cigarettes being considered by the Food and Drug Administration may dramatically hike cigarette smuggling.
By Molly Macek
Michigan public school students recently performed below pre-pandemic levels in reading and math, according to the latest statewide standardized tests. This happened even though schools received record funds to help students recover learning losses incurred during school closures.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Federation of Teachers regularly pushed to keep schools closed. The Detroit chapter — the Detroit Federation of Teachers — even approved a strike to stop the district from reopening classrooms.
The union has changed its tone since, but it was a strange position to argue that in-person teaching, the core job of its membership, wasn’t all that important.
This article originally appeared in the Detroit News May 22, 2023.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced during her “State of the State” address that she wants to expand taxpayer-funded pre-K to all of Michigan’s four-year-olds and is proposing more than $250 million “toward the goal” of universal pre-K. But preschool for every child would be costly, primarily benefit higher-income families, is unlikely to result in educational gains and will harm lower-income Michigan families.
Government is good at funding services – not too hard, given its ability to tax – but not all that great at providing them. It is slow to respond to demand. Lawmakers are bad at anticipating the future. Well-intentioned laws end up delaying projects and stifling growth. There are many competing priorities among different government officials – and true cost-benefit analyses are rare.
Lawmakers in every state offer cash and other favors to select companies. Often the companies and politicians sign nondisclosure agreements that oblige both parties to keep quiet about negotiations. Pat Garofalo is appalled by this lack of basic transparency. Garofalo directs state and local policy at the American Economic Liberties Project, working with a coalition of groups and lawmakers to outlaw legislative nondisclosure agreements. I speak with him about his efforts for the Overton Window podcast.
Wayne County, which includes the city of Detroit, has long run a program where it seizes cars and cash from people police say might be involved with illegal drugs or prostitution. The problem? Most are never criminally convicted of or even charged with a crime.
Teen anxiety and depression are on the rise. And that’s not just since the COVID pandemic – it is a trend that’s been happening for more than a decade.
Experts disagree on the extent and causes of the problem. But most agree on the solution: building up resiliency. Adults, teens, children – it’s important for everyone to have the ability to be able to bounce back from problems and even tragedy.
This article originally appeared in the Detroit News July 13, 2023.
There are efforts underway in Michigan to prematurely expand Michigan Reconnect, a taxpayer-funded college scholarship program that is ripe for abuse.
Under the program, state residents who have not obtained a college degree can take community college classes without paying tuition. The program used to be limited to people 25 and over, but lawmakers recently appropriated federal funds in the FY23-24 state budget to make it open to those 21 and older.
This article originally appeared in Bridge Michigan June 22 2023.
Michigan Senate bills to hand out fresh millions to brownfield developers follow a familiar corporate welfare script: Multiply benefits, ignore costs and declare success.
Senate Bill 289, which recently passed the Senate with bipartisan support, would remove the $1 billion limit on how much the state can authorize in subsidies. This “transformational” legislation has the support of Gov. Whitmer and received the support from seven Republican senators and the opposition of two Democratic senators.
By Jason Hayes
In today’s “What’s Next” speech, the governor doubled down on her commitment to an energy policy that is making Michiganders colder, poorer, and more vulnerable to the cruelty of nature.
“We can achieve 100 percent clean energy while balancing reliability and affordability,” Whitmer said in a speech touting wind, solar and some “other common-sense sources” she chose not to define.
By Jason Hayes
This article originally appeared in the Washington Examiner July 12, 2023.
Big government mandates are forcing the national transition to electric vehicles. Consumer demand doesn’t appear to matter.
Government is doling out billions in special loans and subsidies to select companies and twisting tax policy to make EVs appear cheaper. At the same time, heavy-handed mandates are making traditional, reliable cars more expensive and harder to produce.
Michigan’s government spends a lot more than it used to.
The budget was $58.3 billion prior to the pandemic. Of that, $23.5 billion came from the federal government and $34.4 billion from state taxes, with local and private money making up the difference.
When policymakers want to paper over problems and avoid difficult issues, they will often pull out a distraction. That’s what we’re seeing with a new advertising campaign from the state of Michigan.
The media portray this campaign as a pitch for people with so-called blue state preferences, with Michigan advertising new policies from its Democratic-controlled Legislature. “The message from MEDC is clear,” one media outlet wrote. “If you value diversity and reproductive freedom, Michigan may be the state for you.”
Elected officials cannot enact whatever legislation they like. They find themselves bound by what is popular or at least their sense of what is popular. They can only pass laws in a narrow band of ideas, and that range is called the Overton Window. It is named for the late Joseph P. Overton, a vice president at the Mackinac Center. Joe Overton’s work still influences Mackinac Center decisions and is the inspiration for the Overton Window podcast.
Wind and solar energy do not generate much electricity, but they have a great power to cloud people’s minds. It is now fairly well known that wind and solar can pose serious threats to the nation’s wildlife — from endangered right whales to tens of thousands of bird deaths each year from solar. But optimistic green energy advocates still don’t realize the many environmental impacts associated with manufacturing, maintaining, and disposing of solar panels and wind turbines.
A number of states have begun offering parents of school-aged children scholarships that they can use to improve their child’s education as they see fit. Utah is now one of those states. Jon England, an Education Policy Analyst with the Libertas Institute in Utah, is trying to help businesses, nonprofits and families launch different educational options to meet what he thinks will be a growing market. My colleague Molly Macek speaks with him about it for the Overton Window podcast.
Michigan has a housing problem. The costs of rent and mortgages have increased substantially in recent years. Lawmakers want to do something about it, but, unfortunately, many of their proposed solutions will simply make the problem worse.
Dozens of bills have been introduced in Michigan this year relating to housing issues. Some are good, some are bad, most are minor. The media coverage of this issue has been decidedly uncritical.
Michigan’s Democratic governor announces that the state is set to become “a center for advanced battery production,” with the industry a key part of a “new Michigan economy.” Thousands of new jobs will be fueled by hundreds of millions and even billion in taxpayer subsidies.
“Let’s keep our foot on the accelerator,” Gov. Whitmer said in July to announce the $800 million expansion to the Transformational Brownfield Fund, a program to give select developers subsidies to build buildings.
The law has been added to the Mackinac Center’s business subsidy scorecard. Legislators have so far approved $4.1 billion in new business subsidies this year.
By Ewan Hayes
On July 20, the Mackinac Center hosted an event titled “Can Michigan buy its way to growth?” in Wyandotte, Michigan. James Hohman, director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center, and Vance Ginn founder and president of Ginn Economic Consulting, spoke on efficiency and the state budget.
Gov. Whitmer boasted last week about handing out $19 million in subsidies plus other favors to companies that pledged to create 1,900 jobs. There is a big difference between job announcements and job growth. One is about appearances. The other is about performance.
Michigan experienced complaints of “algal conditions” in 102 different water bodies in 2020, according to the Department of Environment, Great Leaks and Energy. The department also listed eight lakes as impaired by nutrients, and it targeted twelve for additional sampling.
Employers are having a hard time finding skilled workers, and lawmakers are trying to do something about it. They spend a lot on job training programs like the recent $55 million allocation to Going PRO, a program that provides awards to small businesses for employee development.
