Timber Producer Certification in Michigan: Self-Regulation vs. State Regulation
Which form of regulation is better for solving problems, protecting consumers and the environment and encouraging rational economic planning-regulation by government or regulation by industry through free markets and incentives? Michigan State University Forestry Professor and Mackinac Center Scholar Dr. Potter-Witter argues for a self-certification model that could be applied to other industries. She also provides a thorough review of the Michigan timber market and a timely survey of literature on occupational licensing. 23 pages. … more
Doing More With Less: Competitive Contracting for School Support Services
Competitive contracting can provide schools with expertise, flexibility, and cost efficiencies not always available with in-house service provision. If they are properly designed and monitored, contracts between schools and private providers can help school administrators do more with less. Includes step-by-step guidelines for the "make or buy" decision, tells how to avoid pitfalls, and suggests measures for contractor evaluation. 26 pages. … more
Making Schools Work: Contracting Options for Better Management
Can America's public schools be improved? Unquestionably. Without additional spending, school administrators can take advantage of the expertise of the private sector, introducing innovations that will make a world of difference. This study reveals dozens of examples of private companies now providing management, instructional, and support services to public schools across America. A must-read for anyone interested in changing public education by putting competition and the profit motive to work. 28 pages. … more
Ecorse: The Fall and Rise of a Michigan City
Ecorse, a Michigan community south of Detroit, gained a national reputation in the late 1980s as a town that took privatization seriously. Over a four-year period, Louis Schimmel, court-appointed receiver, privatized most city services, cut the city's work force more than 60 percent, and eliminated a $6 million budget deficit. Daddow's review of the city's efforts to correct its fiscal problems through spending discipline and privatization is a must-read for every city official who wants to learn lessons from a city that's been to the brink and back. 99 pages. … more
Child Foster Care in Michigan: A Privatization Success Story
Few issues are more emotional and controversial than how states care for children who are removed from families because of neglect, abuse or abandonment. This extensively documented report finds that it is less costly to place children in foster care supervised by private agencies than for this service to be provided by Michigan's Department of Social Services. Privatization of this important social service serves as a model for other states. 16 pages. … more
Responding to Municipal Fiscal Crisis: Bottom Line Lessons from Ecorse, Michigan
Ecorse, one of seventeen communities in the Downriver Detroit area, became the first Michigan city to be placed in receivership. Court-appointed Receiver Louis Schimmel turned the city's finances around through aggressive policies of cost cutting and privatization. He privatized the entire Department of Public Works for a minimum annual savings of $400,000. Other cities such as nearby Detroit have much to learn from the Ecorse experience. 13 pages. … more
Ann Arbor, Michigan: A Privatization Profile
The city of Ann Arbor has a successful privatization track record: vehicle towing, street and sidewalk repair, snow removal, janitorial services, and tree trimming. More can be done and DiGiuseppe specifies possible savings that could be achieved if solid waste collection, landfill management, and parking structures were privatized. 14 pages. … more
Road Map For a Michigan Renaissance
In the aftermath of the 1990 gubernatorial election, innovative proposals for a new incoming administration and legislature were needed. In a 20-point program, The Mackinac Center calls for a Michigan Grace Commission, welfare reform, trucking deregulation, privatization, repeal of the Prevailing Wage law, and specific tax and spending cuts. … more
Regional Economic Development: Downriver as a Case Study
The seventeen communities of the Downriver Detroit area have traditionally been economically vibrant. Their decline in recent years is due in great measure to excessive tax burdens and the politicization of community services. The authors explain how this area can revive by rolling back property taxes, privatizing a number of municipal functions, avoiding government-directed economic development schemes, and making certain improvements to the transportation infrastructure. The many lessons from the Downriver experience are applicable to communities all across Michigan. 32 pages. … more
Jail Overcrowding in Michigan: A Public Problem With a Private Solution?
Strapped for cash and experiencing soaring costs to maintain over crowded jails, Michigan counties are overdue for privatization. Van Eaton cites substantial cost savings in more than a dozen other states where jail operation and management has been privatized. Michigan state government should allow our 83 counties the freedom to employ this promising option. 26 pages. … more
