Michigan lawmakers may yet fix the state’s roads without raising taxes. As they consider a plan that would put the state on course to fix roads faster than they fall apart, legislators are relying on Mackinac Center work.
The Mackinac Center worked with RMG Research in November 2024 to find messages that worked with voters about the state’s ineffective business subsidy programs. Through it, we found that 84% of voters would rather have the state spend its money on roads than corporate welfare.
Michigan’s Republican majority House leaders must have paid attention to our poll results. They put together a road plan in March 2025 that redirects money away from the state’s business subsidies and toward roads.
“We prioritize roads over corporate giveaways,” Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall said. “Instead of giving the big corporate giveaways to the eight or ten most connected corporations in Michigan, we can fix the roads by treating everyone the same.”
It’s not just a popular policy; it’s a good idea. Subsidizing select firms is a waste of taxpayer money. The handouts rarely pan out; major deals deliver just 9% of the jobs that get announced, according to Mackinac Center research.
Meanwhile, it is the state’s responsibility to ensure that the roads it owns, and the roads local governments own, are kept in good working order. Most people in the state get where they want to go through the road network.
While we’ve done much to criticize business subsidies over the past few decades, we’ve also done a lot to show that the state doesn’t need to raise taxes to fund its priorities. State taxes collect much more revenue than they did before the pandemic.
The bills to transfer money from corporate welfare to roads got some bipartisan support: Seven of the state’s 52 Democratic House representatives joined with Republicans to pass them.
That may matter because the bills will need the support of a Democratic-majority Senate and the state’s Democratic governor.
Moving the money earmarked for corporate welfare to the roads ought to get broad bipartisan approval. It’s a better use for money and better for the state economy. People would appreciate having better roads without higher taxes.
