Washington Post columnist George Will cites Michigan Capitol Confidential and its coverage of the SEIU dues skim that took $34 million from Michigan’s most vulnerable residents in a column today about a U.S. Supreme Court case involving a similar scheme in Illinois.
Imagine a state law that required supermarkets to get permission from the government to install a new freezer case or build a new store. Before they could proceed, managers would have to go hat-in-hand to a board consisting of political appointees, some of whom may even have ties to the store’s competitors.
Just before Gov. Rick Snyder began his State of the State address Thursday evening, a principal in Escanaba tweeted:
"When Gov Snyder claims school funding has increased keep in mind that Escanaba gets less money per pupil than in 2011"
The claim was popular, drawing retweets from Progress Michigan and Mark Schauer, the Democratic candidate for governor.
Every year, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy tallies up the policy recommendations made by Michigan's governor in his or her State of the State address, sorting them into two categories: Proposals to expand government vs. proposals to limit it.
Over the years this interesting (if unscientific) exercise has offered insights into the attitudes toward government of each governor. As Gov. Rick Snyder enters the final year of what he hopes will be his first term, the average number of government expansions vs. limitations in his four State of the State speeches is within the range established by the past five Michigan governors during their first full term* (though Gov. Jennifer Granholm was an expansion "outlier"):
House Bill 4866: Authorize new bicycle rider hand signals: Passed 36 to 1 in the Senate
To establish new signals for bicycle riders. Left turns would be indicated by extending the left arm straight out; right turns by either extending the right arm, or the left arm with forearm raised (which is the current standard), and slowing or stopping by “extending the left hand and arm downward.”
Fiscal Policy Director Michael LaFaive discussed the speech with Michael Cohen on WILS AM1320 in Lansing, and his tally on the number of government expansions and limitations offered by Gov. Snyder was detailed in the Grand Haven Tribune.
Education Policy Director Audrey Spalding told the Detroit Free Press that Gov. Snyder’s claims about increased education funding “is certainly consistent with our analysis.”
Dr. Ted Bolema, an adjunct scholar with the Center, writes in today’s Detroit News about the benefits customers can receive through competition in the electricity market. He will discuss the matter at an Issues & Ideas forum scheduled for noon on Jan. 22 in Lansing. You can read his policy brief on the topic here.
Research Associate Jarrett Skorup recently debated the topic, "Should Michigan raise the minimum wage?" as part of the Coffee House Debate Series at the Hauenstein Center at Grand Valley State University.
Last week, Eric Mosher of PIRGIM and I published a piece about how the state can increase transparency at the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
Legislative discussions about how to spend the projected state budget surplus show just how necessary it is to implement our recommendations. Much of the surplus is due to the timing of substantial refundable tax credits to specific companies, yet Michigan residents cannot be told who is being paid this taxpayer money or what the state is getting in return.
The recent announcement that philanthropic foundations may donate $330 million to help the Detroit Institute of Arts, which would also help city pensioners avoid the consequences of Detroit government mismanagement, sounds like great news.
Unfortunately, there may be a hook: A requirement that the state treasury contribute, which would convert voluntary private generosity into a coerced taxpayer bailout.
Mackinac Center board member Rod Lockwood was a guest on Fox Business Tuesday discussing his idea to turn Belle Isle into an economic powerhouse rivaling Hong Kong. P.J. O’Rourke also wrote about the idea recently in The Wall Street Journal.
Lockwood last year discussed the idea with John Stossel on Fox Business.
The story of a Michigan family battling multiple disabilities that has been devastated by Obamacare — as first reported by Michigan Capitol Confidential — is drawing national media attention.
The Daily Caller, Examiner.com, The Blaze and The Christian Post have all covered the plight of the Davert family from Bay City, Mich. The Bay City Times has also reported on the matter.
Labor Policy Director F. Vincent Vernuccio testified before a committee of the Missouri Legislature Monday on a proposed right-to-work law in that state, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Vernuccio dispelled several myths about right-to-work, explaining “All it does is give a worker the freedom to say, ‘Yes, my union is doing a good job and I want to support them,’ or ‘No, my union is not doing a good job,’” he said. “All this does is take a way a union’s ability to get a worker fired if they say, ‘No, I don’t want to pay you.’”
There have been many studies debating the merits of right-to-work legislation. Because state economies are so large and complex, it is difficult to tease out exactly how much of an effect different policies can have.
For example, consider that Michigan gains and loses approximately 800,000 jobs every year.
A corporate welfare scheme that sputtered during a downturn in the economy four years ago is back with a new name but the same premise — government spending tax dollars to try and pick winners and losers in the marketplace.
The idea, once called “Aerotropolis,” is now named “VantagePort” and has seven communities paying $25,000 each annually for marketing the areas around Detroit Metro and Willow Run airports for business development. Wayne and Washtenaw counties pay $50,000 each.Research Associate Jarrett Skorup told The Detroit News that if the idea is worthy, it should be backed by private investment.
The House and Senate opened the new year with a pro-forma session on Wednesday, as required by the Constitution, but no bills were voted on this week. This report contains several recently introduced bills of interest.
Senate Bill 626 and House Bill 4623: Repeal criminal penalties for marijuana possession
Introduced by Sen. Coleman Young (D) and Rep. Jeff Irwin (D), to repeal criminal sanctions on possession of one ounce or less of marijuana, and instead authorize a civil penalty of $25, and $50 to $100 for subsequent violations. The House version is cosponsored by four Democrats and two Republicans. Referred to committee, no further action at this time.
The Lansing City Pulse reported on a federal audit that shows the mismanagement of asset forfeiture funds by the Lansing Police Department.
Asset forfeiture is used by police to seize property from citizens. In Michigan, this can be done even if someone is not charged with, much less convicted of, a crime. Government agencies have seized at least $250 million worth of money and property from state residents since 2000.
In a recent blog post and longer essay I discussed the possibility and implications of a higher Michigan minimum wage (some politicians and unions are talking more than $9.00 per hour), noting that increasing mandated minimums hurt more people than they help.
Detroit’s bankruptcy has meant that the city’s pensioners may receive less than what they expected. This has angered a lot of people and blame has been pointed in many directions. There are a lot of reasons why Detroit’s pension systems are in poor shape and there is plenty of blame to go around.
While students in 23 states have access to private school choice, Michigan lags behind.
Not only is educational choice limited to public schools, but the Michigan Constitution actually prohibits any public benefit from being used to help students attend a private school (other than transportation). No other state constitution is more restrictive.
Media statewide reported on the 2013 “missed votes” tally for Michigan legislators compiled by Jack McHugh, editor of MichiganVotes.org.
The Detroit News in an editorial said the numbers make a good case for moving to a part-time Legislature. Michigan Radio, The Cadillac News, The Alpena News, The Flint Journal, the Grand Haven Tribune, the Downriver News-Herald and the Petoskey News-Review all wrote about the report.
Michigan Capitol Confidential reports that the state is giving a Hollywood studio that made more than $1 billion in profits last year $35 million to film the "Batman vs. Superman" movie to be filmed in Michigan.
In the past, we've looked at what this means to each individual income taxpayer. The most recent numbers from the state show there are about 4.5 million taxpayers, meaning each one is on the hook for $7.80 for the film. Perhaps taxpayers can request that amount off their ticket price when the movie is released in 2015.
Beginning last April, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and Michigan Capitol Confidential predicted that a minimum wage debate would likely take center stage in Michigan in 2014, and might even become a November ballot issue.
This appears to part of a nationwide political gambit that some speculate is intended to distract voters from Obamacare failures come November, among other issues.
There often is a tendency for those concerned about the size and scope of government to feel like everything is getting perpetually worse. But a full look at the evidence shows this isn't so.
While critics claim that free trade and globalization are merely a "race to the bottom," the world as a whole has been quietly reducing poverty, disease, famines and war by embracing the free market.
For many years the Mackinac Center has pointed out that on balance government employees do better financially than those who pay their bills.
This was driven home for me recently by new statistics reported by the Wall Street Journal. The gist was characterized by one snarky newsletter title, "Sorry About the Recession, America, But Don't Worry About Washington."
