Vindicating Property Rights
The Michigan Supreme Court restores individuals' defenses against government seizures of their property. … more
Make America Safer by Making Government Smaller
Government will fail to do what it is supposed to do if it does too much of what it is not supposed to do. … more
The Better Choice for School Choice
The National Conference of State Legislatures hosted Joseph Lehman to compare vouchers and tuition tax credits. … more
Detroit Schools’ Deficit Appears Linked to Staffing
A review of Detroit Public Schools figures suggests the district engaged in unrealistic hiring as enrollment declined. … more
Michigan Education Digest
ISD reforms signed; Detroit enrollment drops while employment grows; vouchers vs. tax credits; remedial costs. … more
'Offshoring' State Services Benefits Michigan
Preventing the state from using foreign companies results in higher costs, fewer services, or both. … more
Union Subjects Religious Objector to Modern-Day Inquisition
A teacher trying to exercise her rights finds herself forced to substantiate her religious beliefs to a panel of her peers. … more
Michigan Education Digest
Michigan teachers paid 2nd-highest; NCLB progress; Detroit union may sue to stop charters; grants for failing schools; EMU construction scandal. … more
Zogby/Mackinac Center survey: Union members question union organizing tactic
A national survey of union members suggests that a majority would prefer the current secret-ballot system for unionizing a workplace to the “card check” favored by union officials.
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Proposed Electricity Bills in Lansing Would Harm Consumers and Decrease Reliability of Supply
Bills introduced this month in the state Senate threaten to end the lower prices and improved service enjoyed by Michigan’s electrical consumers since deregulation in 2000. … more
Lansing Bureaucracy Threatens New Telecommunications Technology
Impending regulations could stifle Internet phone calling, killing high-tech jobs and slowing economic growth. … more
Eminent Domain Extremism Runs into Judicial Brick Wall
A Michigan Circuit Court Judge stopped Grosse Ile township supervisors from seizing a privately owned bridge, recognizing limits to government’s use of eminent domain power. … more
Do Economic Development Programs 'Feed the Sparrows through the Horses?'
Fiscal Policy Director Michael LaFaive outlines four problems with state-directed economic development programs. … more
Playing Monopoly with Detroit's Kids
Detroit's student enrollment falls while school employment grows. Only a monopoly education system can behave this way and avoid accountability. … more
Michigan Education Digest
California districts withhold special ed cash from charters; school property taxes go back up; superintendents testify under threat of subpeona; teachers with fake degrees dismissed. … more
Cities that Cry Poverty Should Sell Their Money-Losing Ski Slopes
Traverse City's budget has a million-dollar deficit, 8% of which is due to its money-losing ski area. … more
Detroit Should Take Advantage of Teacher Placement Program
Michigan’s largest school district has stopped using one of the most promising ways to get good teachers into the classroom. … more
Calling the Bully's Bluff
The Institute for Justice explains how its attorneys helped the Mackinac Center defeat the MEA's attempt to silence free speech. … more
Michigan Education Digest
Feds tell states to spend cash; Michigan ranks low in college grads; Detroit drains 'rainy day' fund; voters could dissolve ISDs. … more
When Will Conventional Public Schools Be as Accountable as Charter Schools?
Last week a charter public school was closed for financial and educational problems. If only the rest of the public schools were held to the same standards. … more
Are Targeted Tax Incentives Constitutional?
Does it violate the Commerce Clause when states offer some businesses special deals to lure them to locate inside their borders? … more
The True Meaning of Patriotism
Real patriotism is rooted in the ideas that gave birth to a nation -- the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- and a government limited to protecting those rights. … more
Michigan Privatization Report "Around the State"
Privatization initiatives, opportunities and controversies gleaned from headlines around the state. … more
Michigan Education Digest
Colorado high court rejects voucher plan; charter school dissolves itself; voters could eliminate intermediate districts; college aid up. … more
New Cigarette Tax Should Have Gone Up in Smoke
On July 1 Michigan's cigarette tax will become the second-highest in the nation. The new tax will hamper economic recovery and encourage more unnecessary state spending. … more
Should We Pay Sales Tax on Services Too?
One group recommends more than 200 consumer services that could be newly taxed. See the list here. … more
Beggars Can Be Choosers
Adjunct Scholar Dr. Robert Murphy refutes the claims of a reporter that charitable gifts to poor countries makes them poorer. … more
Prison Privatization: A Growing National Trend
Michigan could join other states that are saving millions of dollars by privatizing an increasing share of their prison operations. … more
Michigan Education Digest
Teachers prepare to strike illegally; Kentwood imposes contract; protesters disrupt Detroit board meeting; and fraud charge in 'wired' classrooms. … more
Is Affirmative Action the Right Fight?
No one would be talking about affirmative action in education if we had a market-driven school system that produced good results. … more
Competing for Prize Launches the New Space Race
Private teams vying for a $10 million prize are about to prove that space travel is not the exclusive province of government. … more
Improving Michigan's Air Permitting Program
Businesses will create fewer jobs in states where they cannot predict when, or if, the state will grant them air emissions permits for new plants. (pdf) … more
Lower Gas Prices by Scrapping Counterproductive Regulations
The governor can't control OPEC, but she can help eliminate the most costly regulations that add little or no benefit. … more
Cut Train Subsidies to Re-connect Rural Michigan
The lack of bus service between cities in most of Michigan is about to get worse because of competition from government-subsidized trains along populated bus routes. … more
The U.S. Economy Is Booming
Mackinac Center Adjunct Scholar Dr. Mark Perry argues that the economy is gaining strength, against the opposite view presented by California Congressman George Miller.
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Government Policies and Gas Prices
In a recent survey, three-quarters of respondents said that high gas prices are because of a desire to boost profits. Are they right?
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'Smart Growth' Does Not Equal Intelligent Planning
Diane Katz, writing for the Michigan Townships Association, explains why central planning in land use leads to poorer choices and less freedom. (pdf) … more
Strange Lessons in School Discipline
Odd outcomes are the result of zero-tolerance discipline policies coupled with a dearth of real educational choices.
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Bioavailability Study Needed for Dioxin
The DEQ is threatening to declare a large portion of the city of Midland 'contaminated' without understanding the health effects of dioxin. … more
On the Passing of Ronald Reagan
Reagan's legacy means Americans can look to the future with the hope and optimism that he gave us reason once again to embrace. … more
Education for All: Choice, Reform, and Optimism
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige delivered a special policy address to the Mackinac Center's boards of advisors and directors in Ann Arbor on June 4. … more
Will We Run Out of Energy?
Mackinac Center Adjunct Scholar Mark Brandly explains the economics that govern energy supplies. … more
State Stops Subsidizing Its Ski Resort
After the Mackinac Center revealed how much the state could save by privatizing its ski resort, DNR officials contracted out management of the facility. … more
Michigan Education Digest
Teacher health insurance stalls contract talks; Detroit leaves schools without power; students may work longer hours; and University of Michigan minority admissions down. … more
A Setback for Workers
The Granholm administration decides to stop informing state workers of their legal rights. … more
Why Limit Government?
On Memorial Day we honor those whose military service protected our freedom from foreign aggression. But why must we also limit our own government? … more
Michigan Education Digest
Sin taxes for schools; new MEA member fees; non-union school construction; and disruptive students. … more
Give MDOT a Potty Break
The state should sell its 68 highway rest areas and 13 welcome centers to save millions of dollars annually. … more
Downtowns Need Less Government, Not More
Proposed new tax districts would just give downtown residents and businesses more ways to tax each other – without lowering a single government barrier to enterprise. … more
Homeschooling: An 'Encouraging and Robust' Movement
Up to 100,000 Michigan children learn at home, achieving high academic marks and saving taxpayers $600 million annually. … more
