This article originally appeared at Reason November 8, 2024.
Industrial policy is having a moment. This is the idea that the government—state or federal—can provide a boost to "strategically important" industries. This is sometimes for national security reasons, but more often, it is done in the name of a country's economic future and competitiveness.
Interest groups have a strategy that gets them what they want whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge of the government. They get legislators to ignore their own self-interest in the policies they’re pitching and instead pretend that these favors are about expanding assistance programs or cutting taxes.
All Michigan employers — private, nonprofit and public — had to prepare for changes to minimum wages and paid sick leave rules that would have gone into effect on Feb. 21. Then legislators changed those rules at the last minute to mitigate their expected harms.
The federal government gives states money to do things they wouldn’t do otherwise. And it also gives states money to do things they would do without federal support. This is bizarre when you think about it. It’s all money that comes from taxpayers.
Federal government transfers to state government are large and growing. Around 40% of Michigan’s budget comes from Washington, up from around 30% two decades ago. Michigan and other states depend more and more on federal money to support their budget. This gives Congress more power over policies in the states.
Businesses across the country are grappling with labor shortages, and unnecessary licensing requirements only make matters worse. Lee McGrath, former director of legislation, and Meagan Forbes, the current director of legislation at the Institute for Justice, discussed the Institute’s efforts to push the Overton Window toward reforming occupational licensing on The Overton Window Podcast.
By Jason Hayes
The Mackinac Center recently joined a coalition letter signed by more than 50 free-market groups. The coalition has asked Congress to prioritize repealing the Green New Deal provisions of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.
The Act introduced over $1 trillion in subsidies to promote a transition from reliable fossil fuel and nuclear energy sources to variable, weather-dependent sources such as wind and solar. These subsidies distort energy markets and create other problems for anyone who depends on electricity:
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel refuses to give up her campaign of lawfare against oil companies, pushing allegations that oil and gas companies cause global warming and thus inflict damage on the state. Nessel recruited three out-of-state private law firms that specialize in activist litigation to bring the case on behalf of the state. Nessel claims that climate change, most of which occurs outside of the state’s borders, will decrease Michigan tourism, harm state agriculture and deplete Michigan’s tax base.
It seems like Michigan lawmakers have been fighting about road spending for forever. This is because the state is responsible for keeping roads in good working order, and that requires political solutions. There has been a never-ending debate over what those solutions should be. The latest disagreement is between House Republicans, whose Speaker Matt Hall of Richland Township wants to spend more on roads without raising taxes, and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who wants to spend more on roads by raising taxes.
Michigan is now operating under the 2025 state budget that was enacted by the Democratic legislature and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last June. The budget is the largest in the state’s history, and it includes nearly $994 million in pork spending as calculated by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
By Molly Macek
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive budget proposal would cut funding for schools serving some of the state’s neediest students. It would also fund preschool for all the state’s four-year-olds even though many parents have no interest in enrolling their children. Worse still, the budget fails to fix the dire state of Michigan’s K-12 education system.
We can understand why people think tariffs are a good idea. People who favor higher taxes on imports believe that raising the costs of goods from other countries will help the local economy. The idea goes that in the short term, people and companies will be more likely to buy from American companies that make the same products as foreign ones.
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News January 21, 2025.
The state’s new paid sick leave mandate, scheduled to go into effect Feb. 21, will do more than drive up costs for small businesses. The impending changes will devastate the state’s soup kitchens, food banks, domestic violence shelters and other charities. Michigan lawmakers should consider these effects as they reform the ill-conceived Earned Sick Time Act.
The ongoing debate in Wisconsin over the role of citizen-led initiatives and referendums in lawmaking has sparked tension. Patrick McIlheran, Director of Policy at the Badger Institute, opposes instituting referendums, while other organizations support this move as a means of empowering the electorate. McIlheran breaks down his reasoning on The Overton Window Podcast.
Some people think that the way for their city or state to get ahead is for the state and local governments to make economic bets on technocrats. If officials give these fountainheads of growth the bike lanes and light rail they want, the cities or states will thrive. Or they could win by luring the next big thing to open within their borders, offering big checks from the treasury if necessary.
Restraint gives Michigan lawmakers more power than spending every dollar they have. They can prepare for an uncertain future. They can pay down existing debts. They can afford to let people pay less in taxes. Unfortunately, restraint has not been a priority for elected officials.
By Molly Macek
Michigan’s reading and math scores failed to return to pre-lockdown levels, according to the latest results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. With only six states trailing Michigan in fourth-grade reading, it’s time for lawmakers to consider bold solutions to this growing education crisis.
Michigan’s Republican House majority and Democratic Senate majority face an early test of whether they can agree with each other. That’s because there will be a paid sick leave mandate coming in late February, along with increases in the minimum wage. Some lawmakers want to change the laws before they go into effect. They want to reduce the likelihood that these laws result in unintended consequences, such as job losses for low wage workers and complications for overregulated small business.
It’s taken nearly a decade to turn a vacant school building into a plan for apartments in mid-Michigan. It has taken years to get initial approval, constant modifications to garner extra government assistance and consistent permitting and review delays. This all says something about why the cost of housing keeps going up.
By Jason Hayes
President Trump’s first day in office sent reverberations throughout the policy world. Protecting and promoting American energy production was chief among the President’s early actions.
Revisiting a common theme from his first term, the president renewed the focus on American energy dominance. With a string of executive orders, Trump turned the nation’s focus away from the alleged climate crisis (with its associated spending on wind, solar, and batteries) toward rebuilding supplies of affordable, reliable and secure energy. Trump promised to “end the Green New Deal” and ensure increased production of the “liquid gold” — the nation’s vast oil and gas resources — needed to power the new focus.
The federal government funds internet access through 133 different programs, and states have their own internet subsidy programs as well. Michigan has at least three, administered by the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office, or MIHI. Some local governments in the state also operate their own internet networks with taxpayer funds.
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News January 14, 2025.
Driving through Montana on a family vacation, we took a wrong turn.
The correct road, which normal people use, would have taken us around several mountain ranges. Instead, our GPS pointed up a mountain road. Once we went that direction, the GPS waved goodbye. Our cell phones lost all signals.
Most of America and Canada are at elevated risk of blackouts and power outages in the next five to 10 years, according to the North American Electricity Reliability Corporation's 10-year outlook report. The report, which was released last month, highlights the inadequacy of wind and solar to replace traditional energy generation like coal.
Over 30 years old, the federal 340B drug pricing program requires drug manufacturers to sell their products at a huge discount to hospitals with a certain percentage of low-income patients. The idea was that this would allow hospitals to earn money reselling those discounted drugs in order to improve service for patients.
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News January 7 2025.
The 2024 lame-duck legislative session provided fuel for the argument that Michigan should end its practice of holding sessions during the period between the election and the inauguration of a new Legislature. The Democrats’ slim majority in the House blew apart in acrimonious finger-pointing. Several House Democrats skipped session days, depriving Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, of a quorum. House Republicans walked off the floor. Attorney General Dana Nessel threatened to prosecute absentee lawmakers, earning rebukes from legislators in both parties.
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News December 17 2024.
Have you seen those law firm advertisements where the resolute lawyer stares straight into the camera and asks if you’ve been injured in an automobile accident? Then, he invites you to call the toll-free number on your TV screen and says you may be entitled to compensation.
