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Editor's Note: This article first appeared in The Detroit News on March 17, 2019.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer noted in her State of the State speech that Michigan government has “been plagued by a lack of transparency.” In an effort to bring more transparency to the executive branch of government, she issued an executive directive.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in The Hill on March 9, 2019. 

A new plan originating in the nation’s capital could aid states in their quest to help parents do what is best for their children. It does so by offering states both flexibility and extra funding.

The UAW keeps making headlines for betraying its members’ interests. In 2017 and 2018, UAW leaders were charged in a major corruption scandal. This month, charges were brought against Norwood Jewell, a former UAW official. And now the UAW’s “flower fund” is also under federal investigation.

Natural gas has been a vitally important energy resource for Michigan over the past century. It’s taking on a growing role in our electricity system, while it also remains one of the most affordable and reliable ways to heat homes. In fact, more than 75 percent of Michigan’s households rely on natural gas as their main source of heat. Considering its important role, it’s worth the effort to learn more about the history of natural gas use in Michigan and its prospects for the future.

It used to be illegal in Michigan to use taxpayer money to benefit a private person or group. This was the "Cooley Doctrine," established by one of Michigan's most revered Supreme Court justices, Thomas Cooley. It guided state and local policy from 1870 until it was brushed aside and ignored, starting in 1941. A recent Mackinac Center study explains this legal history in detail.

A few months back, a motivated reader critiqued my IMPACT magazine article, “Thirty Years of Climate Concerns.” This reader took issue with my arguments, critiqued the sources I had cited, and suggested that I needed to review my article, “with a view to scientific accuracy.”

Conventional wisdom says that if you’re trying for policy reforms, you had better get everything you want in the first attempt. Once the Michigan Legislature takes action on a certain topic, it considers the issue “fixed,” and its appetite to address other similar reforms greatly diminishes.

In today's deeply divided political climate, it may be tempting to rally behind an education budget proposal supported by governors from both major parties. But in the case of cyberschool funding, the point of agreement remains fundamentally misguided and unfair.

Editor's note: This article originally appeared in The Hill on March 2, 2019.

Labor leaders are enjoying a round of self-congratulatory press, claiming to have survived a Supreme Court ruling that these very leaders, just months earlier, were predicting could spell the end of the labor movement. Their celebrations ignore the country’s trend toward worker freedom.

Editor's note: This article originally appeared in The Detroit News on March 9, 2019. 

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for a $2.1 billion increase in state spending, supported mainly from a tax hike on fuel. A large fuel tax increase should come as no surprise from a candidate who ran on fixing the roads. But the extra revenue isn’t entirely going to be prioritized to roads.

Crain’s Detroit Business has named Patricia Benner, vice president of operations at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, among the “notable women in HR” for 2019.

The business magazine noted:

As legislators discuss how to respond to Gov. Whitmer’s plan to fix the roads by taxing fuel at the highest rates in the country, residents should know that Lansing has more money in this recovery to address state fiscal priorities.

The state is currently budgeted to spend $8.7 billion more in revenue from the income tax, the sales tax, fuel taxes and other state revenue sources than it did in 2010. This is a 14.5 percent revenue gain above inflation.

As part of her first budget proposal, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to shower more tax money on the state's preschool program. Yet this strategy offers very little hope of improving "early learning and literacy," as touted.

Whitmer's executive budget includes a call for an extra $84 million for the state's Great Start Readiness Program. GSRP is the state's program to subsidize preschool enrollment for 4-year-olds who are "educationally disadvantaged." The funding is distributed through the state's intermediate school districts. In 2018, ISDs used about 9 percent of GSRP funds for administrative and central office services.

If you want to teach at a public school in Michigan, including at a charter school, you’ll end up taking a lot of tests. Most of these will take place while you’re getting a college degree, but even when that’s done, the state mandates a series of other exams to get and stay licensed.

Quietly but effectively, Frontier International Academy has stood out in making a positive impact on the newer, less privileged American high schoolers who have enrolled there.

On the most recent edition of Mackinac Center's Context and Performance Report Card, Frontier ranked 11th out of 674 high schools statewide. A longer-term measure proved equally remarkable. Combining measured performance from the last 11 years, only five Michigan high schools earned a higher score.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to increase the state gas tax by 45 cents per gallon to finance road infrastructure repair and upgrades. The Mackinac Center ran this scenario through a Michigan-specific software package called the State Tax Analysis Modeling Program, or STAMP, to measure its impact on the economy.

Editor's note: This article originally appeared in The Detroit News on February 23, 2019.

The so-called “pension tax” affects a lot of people in Michigan. It’s why there’s been so much interest in it since it was passed in 2011 as part of a larger tax reform to reduce business taxes. With a new governor in office, there is interest in revisiting it. Especially so when you consider that 8 percent of taxpayers are subject to it.

Editor's note: This article originally appeared in The Hill on February 15, 2019. 

A deadly cold front recently swept through the Midwest, but thanks to nuclear energy, coal and natural gas, things did not turn out as badly as they could have. Most people stayed warm and safe because they trusted affordable, reliable and secure domestic energy sources that have served us for decades.

Some educational improvements don't require a drastic overhaul. Eau Claire High School's sure and steady climb in academic results shows how a persistent focus in a few key areas can reap rewards.

The southwest Michigan school fell short of expectations on Mackinac Center's 2012 Context and Performance Report Card, earning a D grade. But by focusing on a few key themes, the rural school has gradually risen from near the bottom to near the top. Eau Claire improved one letter grade on each subsequent report card, receiving an A on the edition released last month. The Center’s unique report card grades schools on multiple years of state test scores and adjusts these scores based on a school’s poverty rate.

Gov. Whitmer wants more college graduates in Michigan. It’s not clear how she wants to accomplish this, outside of a new scholarship. There’s one thing that clearly doesn’t work, however: blanketing state universities with more taxpayer spending.

In 2018, two Detroit funeral homes made national news when they were found to be violating state laws and even improperly storing the remains of dozens of infants. Michigan’s licensing agency is suspending their licenses and attempting to permanently ban their operators from ever being licensed again. But these incidents demonstrate how limited licensing laws can be in protecting the public.

The Michigan Legislature is considering bills that would require law enforcement officials to secure a criminal conviction before taking ownership of private property through civil asset forfeiture. Some police and prosecutors are fighting hard against this important reform. Their critiques, however, paint a distorted picture of how forfeiture is actually used in Michigan.

In a recent U.S. Supreme Court case, justices ruled unanimously that the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on “excessive fines” applies to the states and the federal government. It can also be considered in cases of civil asset forfeiture.

In her Feb. 12 State of the State speech, Gov. Whitmer claimed that climate change-induced extreme temperature swings were already endangering the health and well-being of Michigan residents. But a quick look at the science and at past temperature records indicates the governor’s warning may not be a cause for concern.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is currently reviewing the state business subsidy program known as the Texas Enterprise Fund, and he wants money back from companies that don’t create as many jobs as promised. But an article on his review includes an interesting comment. “The enterprise fund is widely considered the largest deal-closing incentive fund in the country, [emphasis added] meaning it’s designed to provide the final carrot that swings a decision on a corporate relocation or expansion.”