Earlier this year, the Mackinac Center published a study on Overcriminalization in Michigan with the Manhattan Institute. The report discussed ways to reduce spending on prisons and shrink the prison population without jeopardizing the health and safety of Michiganders. In June, the CAPPS Report reiterated the need for reform in Michigan, and an article discussing the issue was recently published in the Lansing State Journal.
After seven years of subsidizing the film industry, Michigan's movie incentive program is over. Taxpayers contributed a total of $450 million to the industry between 2008 and 2015.
Gov. Rick Snyder signed the bill eliminating the subsidies on July 10. As a long-time critic of the program, the Mackinac Center's James Hohman commented on the outcome in the Detroit Free Press:
By Jack McHugh
While the legislature is in a two week recess with no votes to report, the Roll Call Report examines some recent constitutional amendment proposals of general interest.
House Joint Resolutions A and K, and Senate Joint Resolution F: Repeal constitutional ban on graduated income tax
The Mackinac Center has joined with groups from across the political spectrum, including the ACLU of Michigan and FreedomWorks, to push back against Michigan's civil asset forfeiture laws.
Civil asset forfeiture is a practice that allows law enforcement to take possession of private property without charging the owner with a crime. Some states, as well as the federal government, have taken steps to curb this injustice in recent years, but Michigan's laws were recently rated a 'D' by FreedomWorks in a national survey of forfeiture laws.
State Rep. Jim Townsend wants to amend Michigan’s constitution to allow a graduated state income tax, and raise the maximum rate to 10 percent. This would hurt the state as a whole, including those he wants to help.
The prosperity of this and every other state is determined by its rate of economic growth. And for growth, what matters is not the average tax rate but the marginal tax rate. That is, the amount of extra taxes an individual must pay on his or her next dollar of income. The higher the marginal rate the less incentive a person has to work overtime, study to get a better job, make an investment or take the risk of starting a business.
The national grassroots group FreedomWorks, which has 6.9 million members and supports limited government, gives Michigan a “D” in a new report about civil asset forfeiture.
The report card, “Civil Asset Forfeiture: Grading the States,” bases their ratings on the standard of proof the government must meet to forfeit property, who has the burden of proof (the state or the individual), and what percentage of forfeiture funds go to law enforcement.
By Kahryn Riley
An individual’s right to pursue an honest occupation without arbitrary governmental interference has been promoted and protected throughout Anglo-American history. But today that right is being reinterpreted and compromised, largely due to the overuse of protectionist occupational licensing schemes. Occupational licensing is often used as a tool to stifle competition and to limit disfavored groups. Unfortunately, it also has a long history of being abused to perpetuate racial inequality, including attempts to exclude the Chinese from construction jobs on California railroads and African-Americans from skilled trades such as plumbing. Even in the absence of racism, however, a legal construct known as the “rational basis” test makes it very difficult for entrepreneurs to successfully challenge the constitutionality of licensing laws in court.
Albion Superintendent Jerri-Lynn Williams-Harper is asking nearby school districts to stop providing transportation to Albion students who have chosen to enroll in a different district through "Schools of Choice." Most districts throughout the state participate in SOC and have opened their doors widely and sought to serve disadvantaged students from other districts.
The Michigan state budget is $54.5 billion — so why can’t legislators find an extra $1.2 billion or so for road funding?
That’s the question MLive tries to answer in a video. But they buy into a bad argument in their explanation.
Many proponents of raising taxes to increase road funding often say that the total budget number of $54.5 billion is misleading and that lawmakers have “only” about $10 billion to work with. MLive accepts this argument and assumes new spending for roads can only come from this portion of the state budget.
Michael LaFaive, Director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative at the Mackinac Center, recently joined Keli'i Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute and host of E Hana Kakou, to discuss personal and economic freedom and its impact on everyday life.
An MLive.com editorial criticizes the state Senate's road funding plan, stating “It is cowardly and irresponsible for [Sen. Arlan] Meekhof and his colleagues to refuse to outline what, exactly, they will cut.”
Michigan tax revenues are growing, and both the House and the Senate road plans mean some of that expected growth would fund roads. Some $1.6 billion in expected revenue increases over the next two years would be more than enough to avoid any spending reductions while still devoting more income tax revenue to roads.
House Bill 4615, Increase gas and diesel tax: Passed 19 to 19 in the Senate
To increase gasoline and diesel fuel tax rates to 34 cents per gallon by Jan. 1, 2017, up from 19 cents and 15 cents respectively. With sales tax this would give Michigan the nation's second highest gas tax. The bill would also tax “alternative fuels” burned by vehicles at comparable levels. The Lieutenant Governor broke the tie with a "yes" vote.
The news from England this week made my heart heavy. Sir Nicholas Winton has passed away.
The Mackinac Center first learned of Nicky when our then-President Lawrence W. Reed met and interviewed him. I will be forever grateful to Lawrence W. Reed for bringing his story to Michigan and inviting me to visit England with him to meet this exceptional man.
In May, the Idaho Legislature unanimously passed a bill to increase transparency in collective bargaining. House Bill 167 amended the Idaho Open Meetings Act to bring negotiations between cities and unions into the daylight.
Mackinac’s sister think tank, the Idaho Freedom Foundation says “the collective bargaining law might be the best in the nation.”
Since 2008, Michigan taxpayers have subsidized movies to the tune of nearly $500 million. The film incentives program was supposed to create jobs and bring a new industry to the state, but failed to do either. Fortunately, the demise of film incentives seems imminent, with Gov. Rick Snyder expected to sign a bill eliminating them this week.
When it comes to choosing a school in Detroit, families are faced with a wide variety of school applications. Making it more difficult for parents, these applications require different information and are due at different times. To make it easier for families, some are advocating for a "common enrollment" system. With common enrollment, families would fill out a single application to apply at any school in Detroit.
The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief in the case of Friedrichs v California Teachers Association, a case recently taken up by the Supreme Court. Their decision could extend the right to work to all public sector employees in the country.
The state House of Representatives recently cut funding for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation with the goal of freeing up money for roads. This reprioritization of spending is prudent, but it faces opposition in the state Senate.
A good deal of empirical evidence supports the case that government economic development policies — otherwise known as corporate welfare — are ineffective at achieving their goals of faster economic growth, increased employment and greater diversification.
Bringing Financial Transparency to Michigan's Public Sector Unions, a recent study published by the Mackinac Center, explains how holding public sector unions to the same standards as their private sector counterparts could result in less corruption and transparency for members and the general public. The study outlines several examples of private sector union corruption exposed by disclosure laws and offers a way to implement the same laws for public unions.
House Bill 4226, Expand technology business subsidies: Passed 33 to 4 in the Senate
To increase from three to nine the number of areas in which “certified technology parks” (previously dubbed "smart zones") are allowed to expand by creating a "satellite" zone. These entities use “tax increment financing” schemes to provide infrastructure or other subsidies to technology-based businesses.
For the past several years, the Mackinac Center has written about policies written into school contracts that allow teachers to work for the union full- or part-time, despite being paid with public funds. Research conducted in 2011 showed that release time cost tax payers over $2.7 million.
A recent ruling by the California Labor Commissioner’s Office could change the way that popular ride-sharing services such as Uber operate. The Seattle Times noted the decision that classified one of Uber’s drivers as an employee “may turn out to be an even bigger roadblock to the company’s business than regulatory changes because it could change Uber’s cost structure, requiring it to offer health insurance and other benefits, as well as paying salaries.”
Almost everyone has a plan for fixing what ails Detroit Public Schools: the governor, a coalition of special interest groups, and several advocacy groups. While each group differs in its approach — the governor's proposal would split the district in two, while the coalition's plan would limit school choice — every plan would require creating a new law specifically for DPS and Detroit-area charter schools.
MIRS Capitol Capsule (subscription required) reports on the debate between a Mackinac Center policy analyst and the Oakland County sheriff over the issue of civil asset forfeiture.
The 14th District Republican Executive Committee recently overwhelming voted to support a resolution that would effectively end Michigan's civil asset forfeiture laws. The decision came after hearing testimony from Oakland County Sheriff Michael BOUCHARD, who spoke in favor of the notion of civil asset forfeiture and the Mackinac Center's Jarrett SKORUP, who spoke against the idea.
Detroit Public Schools has been in financial trouble for a long time, and ensuring that DPS can pay its bills is likely to require further state funding. As plans for fixing DPS are debated, school officials throughout Michigan have begun to worry that their state funding will be reduced when a bailout for DPS is finalized.
