On the scale of human transgressions, littering probably doesn’t rise much above a white lie. Yes, it creates an eyesore but it seldom actually does any harm, and as such, many communities regard it as a simple civil infraction. But in Michigan, cities and townships can set their own criminal statutes and the result can be a hodgepodge of offenses and punishments. For example, if you miss the trash can in Ann Arbor, you could be guilty of a crime.
In the Friedrichs case before the U.S. Supreme Court, the core of union-supporters' argument is that government employees should be forced to pay fees to a union because they benefit from union activities. Not paying the union, they say, makes an employee a free rider.
On January 11, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which centers around public sector unions and the first amendment.
The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief in the case, arguing that when a union bargains with the government, all its activities are inherently political. Forcing a worker to subsidize those activities is therefore a violation of that worker's first amendment rights.
When an individual moves far away from the place where he or she may have grown up or lived for years, it means a lot. It’s also meaningful for economists, because migration may be the single best indicator of quality-of-life differences between states. People only move for important reasons, which can include following job and career opportunities, or just looking for a nicer climate or view.
The high cost of government pension plans are often dismissed by blaming them on either employees abusing the system for plush benefits or poor investment returns due to a temporary market blip.
Neither is correct. The real problem is the assumptions used to prefund future retirement benefits. To keep pension costs from draining resources meant to fund current services, Michigan politicians at all levels should address the pension underfunding crisis in 2016.
In a recent article about government control of alcohol sales and distribution, the Weekly Standard referenced a 2012 Mackinac Center for Public Policy report that found government control of alcohol sales does not always have the desired effect.
Governments that control the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages say it's necessary to fulfill their Prohibition-era mandate to restrict alcohol consumption. But a 2012 Mackinac Center report by Michael LaFaive and Antony Davies measured alcohol-related deaths by state and found that lightly regulated "license" states tended to have lower alcohol-related death rates than highly regulated "control" states. Eight of the 10 states with the lowest alcohol-related death rates are license states.
Several news outlets, including The Detroit News, recently covered an instance of union bullying first reported by Michigan Capitol Confidential. Local 412 of the United Auto Workers published in its newsletter the names of employees who have chosen to exercise their right to not belong to a union — as allowed by Michigan’s right-to-work law. In addition to printing nonmembers’ names, the union also urged remaining members not to “share any tools, knowledge or support for any of these employees who choose not to pay their fair share.”
By Ben DeGrow
As Detroit’s public school system spirals toward insolvency and Michigan political leaders talk of bailouts and whether the district should remain under state receivership, one key group remains largely voiceless: parents of the Detroit children whose futures depend on having access to quality schools, regardless of what political entity operates them.
The Michigan Legislature recently passed Senate Bill 571, which, among other things, would, “prohibit schools and local governments from sending any communication to residents that mentions an upcoming property tax millage election within 60 days of the vote.”
New numbers from the Census Bureau on how many people move from state to state underscore another aspect of the right-to-work debate that does not often take center stage: Americans continue to move to right-to-work states.
The Mackinac Center has long viewed changes in the number of people in a state as perhaps the single best tool for measuring the quality of life there. After all, there are reasons people pack up and move, and those reasons reflect an individual’s self-interest. Economic opportunities are a clear reason to move, as are amenities such as access to coastal waters or more temperate climates.
In Michigan, government entities, such as school districts, must pay all contractors union wages for construction projects — the so-called prevailing wage. This wage rate is established by the state and is based on wages collectively bargained for by unions in the region where the construction work is being done. Market wages set by open competition are explicitly forbidden. The law was first enacted in 1965 when a much larger portion of Michigan’s construction force was unionized, but today, in the construction industry, only one-fifth of workers belong to labor unions.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s Director of Labor Policy F. Vincent Vernuccio was quoted recently in The Detroit News’ latest coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association that could make all public sector employees right-to-work.
By Jack McHugh
Now with one click you can approve or disapprove of key votes by your legislators using the VoteSpotter smart phone app. Visit votespotter.com and download VoteSpotter today!
House Bill 4095, Authorize $51 million in new debt for college & university building projects: Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate
Editor's note: Gov. Rick Snyder has signed House Bill 4713 since this blog was first posted. It is now Public Act 250 of 2015.
The Michigan Legislature unanimously passed House Bill 4713 this week. The bill provides legal protections for individuals by clarifying how certain crimes may be prosecuted.
A recent report from Lansing-based MIRS News indicated that state tourism officials are closely monitoring the travel accommodations website Airbnb. The site brings together travelers looking for a place to stay and property owners willing to rent a room, apartment or house for a few days. These peer-to-peer exchanges are often compared to Uber’s ride-sharing service.
USA Today reports on the growing consensus across the political spectrum — from the Obama administration to the Koch brothers — that many occupational licensing laws are unnecessary obstacles to employment and do not provide any real benefit to public safety.
It is unfortunate that government employees are often blamed for underfunded government pension systems. When concerns are raised that retirement systems owe members billions more than has been saved, high-earners and early retirees are viewed as the culprits. Policymakers in return cut the generosity of the plans. Yet these policy reforms will not fix the basic problems faced by pension systems.
The 11th edition of the highly respected report Economic Freedom of North America has been released and it has good news for Michigan. In the index Michigan ranks 27th among the 50 states.
The 2015 freedom index — this year’s data runs through 2013 — attempts to measure the degree to which governments across Canada, the United States and Mexico restrict (or permit) economic liberty. It is produced by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian research organization, based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The “fix Detroit schools” discussion ought to begin and end with what best serves students and their families, rather than what serves school administrators, unions or any other interest group. A new report from a respected education reform group describes one feature that should be at the forefront of this conversation.
The Obamacare Medicaid expansion approved by the Michigan Legislature in 2013 may be on the verge of extinction, which could create a big problem for legislators. Unless the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services grants Michigan a waiver by the end of the year allowing the state to require some minimal copays from beneficiaries, coverage will cease next April 30 for the 600,000 people the expansion added to the state’s medical welfare rolls.
Michael LaFaive, director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative at the Mackinac Center, authored an op-ed published by The Detroit News today. In it, LaFaive discusses the ongoing debate surrounding a proposed incentive package intended to lure Switch, a data storage company, to set up shop in the old Steelcase Pyramid Building in west Michigan.
By Jack McHugh
Now with one click you can approve or disapprove of key votes by your legislators using the VoteSpotter smart phone app. Visit votespotter.com and download VoteSpotter today!
Senate Bill 481, Authorize school recreation millages: Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate
A recent article from National Public Radio reporting on a new Pew study says America has reached a tipping point because less than half the country belongs to the middle class. The first few paragraphs of the article makes things sound pretty bad. The story quotes Pew researchers: "The hollowing of the middle has proceeded steadily for the past four decades.”
Proponents of traffic law enforcement cameras on Michigan roads are nothing if not persistent. Hardly a year goes by without a group of legislators trying to empower local governments to contract with vendors of “automated, unmanned traffic monitoring devices" to increase traffic fine revenue.
This op-ed was originally published in The Detroit News on December 10, 2015.
There is a rush on by lawmakers to push through special legislation that would grant tax (or perhaps other) advantages to Switch, a data storage company, for a project in west Michigan. If the incentive bill is passed, it could see the company moving into the old Steelcase Pyramid Building. As I write, lawmakers are squabbling about the size of the fiscal Christmas gift they intend to present and whether it should be extended to other companies in the same industry.
