Michigan’s economy is experiencing the consequences of the state’s two years of Democratic policymaking.

Michigan’s Democratic lawmakers passed a lot of bad laws in 2023. They now force workers to pay unions. They voted to stop using the state’s already paid-for power plants and move to unreliable wind and solar. They increased the costs of government construction for no other reason than to hand construction unions a favor. And they gave out billions in pork projects.

It’s no way to run a state or serve its people. It’s no way to put the state ahead, either. Michigan’s economy has fallen behind since the new laws went into effect last February.

Michigan’s unemployment rate is veering in the wrong direction, rising from 4.0% to 5.5%, the third worst in the nation, behind only Nevada and Washington D.C. While most of the country is scrambling to fill jobs, in Michigan, it’s getting harder to find one.

The majority of states, 38 of them, have added jobs over the period. The number of people employed in Michigan is down, and its losses are the 10th worst among the states.

More people left Michigan in 2025 than came to stay. There were greener pastures elsewhere.

Democrats worsened the business climate, and the economy has suffered from it.

They had a plan to create jobs by writing big taxpayer-funded checks to big companies. They authorized $4.7 billion in business subsidies, the most since 2008.

It’s a great strategy to get a politician’s name in the papers, but it’s a terrible way to grow the state. That’s because the subsidies rarely deliver the jobs lawmakers promise. Politicians brokered major deals from 2000 to 2020 that promised thousands of jobs but only produced a measly 90 for every 1,000 announced — a staggering 91% failure rate.

As Michigan’s economic trends indicate, the state fell behind in growth as lawmakers were awarding select companies hard-earned taxpayer cash.

Lawmakers should look at the states that are growing to see what works.

The states that are adding the most jobs are South Carolina and Idaho. It’s no coincidence that their states have some of the freest economies among the states.

Economic growth doesn’t come from the guidance of lawmakers. Rather, it emerges from the people trying to find the best way to serve their customers. They don’t need handouts. They don’t need complex and restrictive regulations that choke innovation. They don’t need new rules that only benefit some at the expense of others. They just need the basics.

Politicians can let new residents ply their trade without state government permission.

They can go back to cheap and reliable energy.

They can let taxpayers keep more of what they earn.

There are many policies to encourage growth in Michigan. The state could be doing so much better.

Democrats instead embraced special interests at the cost of the public and this has hurt the state’s prospects. It doesn’t have to be this way.

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