What if the biggest thief raiding U.S. government benefit programs wasn't a fraudster down the street, but a state-sponsored criminal organization operating from overseas? That's the reality Haywood Talcove has spent nearly two decades trying to get Washington to confront.
Washington is on the verge of making a mistake with proposed legislation that would raise Washington’s cigarette excise tax by $2 per pack to more than $5. This would result in a 23-percentage-point increase in cigarette tax evasion and avoidance, an unintended consequence the state should avoid.
Supporters of a new package of tech bills in the Michigan Senate claim the legislation will protect children from online predation.
“We introduced Senate Bills 757–760 to better protect Michigan kids from the well-documented dangers of unfettered social media and AI usage,” Michigan Senate Democrats say on their Kids Over Clicks website. “Crafted in tandem with industry experts, advocates, and parents, this bill package holds Big Tech accountable for unethical practices, empowers Michigan parents with more control and transparency, and addresses emerging risks associated with AI and social media use.”
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News February 17, 2026.
Four Michigan governors, Jim Blanchard, Jennifer Granholm, Rick Snyder and John Engler, gathered on Feb. 4 to talk about civility in American life. Their conversation explored what civility looks like and its importance in self-government.
Looking to get rich betting against the market? A vintage press release suggests you might want to go short on deals that involve select business subsidies from Lansing.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in February 2023 that the Ford Motor Company would invest $3.5 billion to build batteries for electric vehicles and create 2,500 jobs in Marshall. The news release trumpeted five “other recent transformational electric vehicle and battery investments in Michigan.” Three years later, there is nothing to show for it.
Americans are understandably frustrated when they hear that drug costs in the United States are roughly three times higher than they are in Europe. But President Trump’s executive order requiring that drug companies set their U.S. prices at the lowest price available in other developed countries will damage the market while failing to bring down costs.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed a new budget Feb. 18 with $900 million in tax increases built in, including a 50% increase in Michigan’s excise tax on cigarettes. Her proposal, if adopted, would raise the tax from $2 per pack to $3 per pack. This tax hike, and others on nicotine users, would also raise Michiganders’ rate of tax evasion and avoidance, or what we call, “smuggling.”
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News February 3, 2026.
Football fans have enjoyed great games during the recent playoff season, at both the college and professional levels. Turn on any of those games and you were bombarded with prescription drug commercials.
It was great to see legislators refuse to pass any new business subsidies in 2025. But the state is still going to pay $533.1 million more to select companies this year based on deals made two decades ago. That’s not right, and that’s not how policy is supposed to work.
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News February 10, 2026.
Four former Michigan governors, two Democrats and two Republicans, appeared last week to discuss civility in American life. Jim Blanchard, John Engler and Rick Snyder spoke in person in Lansing, while Jennifer Granholm joined by video.
“If our population isn’t increasing, why does Michigan need more housing?”
That’s a question I frequently hear when I work on housing policy, and it's a very understandable one. Here’s the answer.
The price of housing changes for the same reason that the price of anything else changes: supply and demand. The demand for housing has increased faster than its supply, so prices have shot up.
Good policy is rarely accidental. It is usually the result of careful study, patient advocacy, and sustained engagement — a process Donald Bryson knows well.
Donald Bryson, president and CEO of the John Locke Foundation, a free market think tank in North Carolina, joins the Overton Window Podcast to pull back the curtain on how policy is really made.
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News January 27, 2026.
Michigan enters 2026 at a crossroads. This year will shape the state’s direction for the next decade or more.
This is Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s last year in office, so her proposals and decisions will most likely be focused on unfinished business and legacy items.
By Molly Macek
Proposed legislation would expand Michigan’s Schools of Choice law to K-12 students statewide. Opposition from one of the state’s wealthiest districts threatens to block it, which would prevent some of the state’s neediest students from accessing better public schools.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s final proposal for the state budget calls for a sales tax holiday on “school supplies, clothes and certain electronics,” pitched as immediate relief for parents. Lawmakers should reject the idea. Sales tax holidays are politically attractive but economically weak and poorly targeted, often benefiting households that may not need such assistance.
Michigan lawmakers want to do something about high property taxes. They should note that voters already get to decide whether property taxes are worth it when they vote on new local millages. But the deck is often stacked against taxpayers, and legislators should give them a fairer shot.
Valentine’s Day, a time in which we celebrate companionship alongside the loved ones in our lives, often involves buying flowers, purchasing small bits of cardboard embossed with cheesy poems, and paying for overpriced meals. Over time, however, those activities become routine and lose their luster. If you’d like to shake things up but aren’t sure how to do it, the Mackinac Center is here for you. Below are several options, which should wow that special someone.
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News January 20, 2026.
The Michigan Legislature enacted only 74 public acts in 2025. Is that a problem?
Many pundits and politicians say it is.
“This is staggering,” political commentator and former lawmaker Bill Ballenger told MIRS. “We have a lot of problems in this state and the fact the Legislature can’t get together to help solve these problems is pathetic.”
Gov. Whitmer is proposing a property tax break that would provide refunds of up to 10% for Michigan senior citizens. The governor is one of many politicians seeking solutions to homeowners’ high (and rising) property tax burdens.
But targeted tax breaks for favored voting demographics will not solve the problem. Michigan imposes heavy property taxes, and state leaders should lower that burden for everybody. Owners’ effective rates remain 27 percent higher than the national average, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
President Trump’s January Truth Social post calling for a one-year 10% cap on credit card interest has sparked a vigorous debate that crosses partisan and right/left lines. I recently signed onto a coalition letter opposing price controls through either credit card interest caps or the misnamed Credit Card Competition Act, which is pending before the U.S. Congress.
By Molly Macek
New legislation would allow students across Michigan to enroll tuition-free in the public school that works best for them.
House Bill 5310 would strengthen Michigan’s Schools of Choice law, which the Reason Foundation ranked 38th among the states last year based on flexibility and transparency. The bill’s provisions would raise the law’s letter grade to an ‘A+’ — “making it the best school transfer law in the nation,” according to testimony submitted by Reason. The legislation would make it easier for students to access the public school that’s the right fit for them, which was the intent behind the state’s original choice law.
What does social mobility mean, and how should it be measured?
“If you ask 100 people, you're gonna get 100 different answers,” says Justin Callais, chief economist at the Archbridge Institute and co-editor of Profectus Magazine. Callais discusses Archbridge’s new social mobility report on The Overton Window Podcast.
As health care gets more expensive and Michigan struggles to fill positions, lawmakers have explored different ways to make it easier to work. This includes easing some licensing burdens, expanding scope of practice and creating some sub-categories of licensing.
All living former Michigan executives teamed up to discuss civility with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy Wednesday. Former Gov. Jennifer Granholm remotely joined former Govs. Rick Snyder, James Blanchard and John Engler at the Lansing Hilton DoubleTree to demonstrate the value of communicating clearly, respectfully, and truthfully in a hotly contested political environment.
Texas power grid faces potential new crisis
Nearly five years after the Lone Star State’s historic power outage, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. is increasingly vulnerable to winter power outages, the Texas Public Policy Foundation reports, and the state’s risky gamble on solar power is to blame. “The core problem is a mismatch between the types of generation being added and what the grid needs for winter reliability,” writes Brent Bennet. “Since 2021, ERCOT has added 31 GW of solar and 17 GW of battery storage but only 3 GW of natural gas generation. By 2030, approximately 60 GW of new solar, batteries, and wind will be added at a cost exceeding $60 billion, yet these resources will contribute only about 9 GW of firm power during peak winter hours.”
