This article originally appeared in the Lansing State Journal May 14, 2025.
Voters rejected a second consecutive school bond proposal in St. Johns and by a larger margin than the first. There appears to be a disconnect between the priorities of voters in the St. Johns School District and those of school officials.
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News November 17, 2025.
A recent admission by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer casts doubt on her aggressive COVID-19 lockdown decisions. Appearing on Financial Audit, a popular podcast with 2.65 million YouTube subscribers, the governor talked primarily about Michigan’s finances. During the interview, host Caleb Hammer pressed Whitmer on her “weird” lockdown policies.
This article originally appeared in Crain’s Detroit Business June 25, 2025.
Sheetz, a Pennsylvania-based company that sells gasoline and made-to-order food, wants to expand its footprint in Michigan. The chain, which offers a wide selection of decent meals at a low cost, has plans to add dozens of new stations in metro Detroit.
The Michigan Senate voted to authorize spending $1.9 billion on a program to support developers and their building projects. If enacted into law, the bill would be the first addition to the business subsidy scorecard in 2025. The program, advocates say, secures “transformational” buildings. But it has failed to deliver on its promise, and lawmakers ought to have higher standards before giving it more to spend on developer subsidies.
The push to transform education has accelerated in recent years, largely because parents are asking more of their schools. Chris Waston, founder and developer of the AI tool EdLoop, is one of the entrepreneurs rising to meet that demand. On The Overton Window Podcast, he shares his experiences as an educator and parent while describing the platform he built to close the “gap that exists in the feedback loop in schools today.”
This article originally appeared in National Review September 21, 2025.
The jockeying for the 2028 presidential race is well underway, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer will surely be a contender for Democrats. So it’s worth paying attention to her ongoing debate with the state legislature over Michigan’s direction. By the end of the month, when the state budget is due, Americans will know if she’s moving toward commonsense spending and problem-solving — or doubling down on a failed and unaffordable vision of more taxes and spending.
This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press August 19, 2025.
Since Detroit’s financial collapse and 2013-2014 bankruptcy, the dramatic revitalization of downtown has been a major part of the city’s comeback story.
Numerous vacant buildings have been rehabbed and converted from office use to upscale apartments and hotels. Once-darkened storefronts now hold retailers such as Gucci, H&M, Nike and a future Apple Store. Every month seems to bring a new restaurant opening.
This article originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal August 1, 2025.
California isn’t only the No. 1 state for illegal immigrants. It’s also the top state for illegal cigarettes. The reason is clear: heavy-handed government. The Golden State has banned some popular cigarettes while jacking up taxes on the smokes that remain. The result has been a rise in crime, lost revenue and yet another lesson in unintended—yet entirely predictable—consequences.
This article originally appeared in the Washington Examiner June 23, 2025.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer seems all but certain to run for president, and voters need to know about a uniquely concerning part of her record. She has overseen an explosion of earmarks — the pork-barrel spending that politicians dole out without regard to taxpayers — including more than a billion dollars in her latest state budget alone. More taxpayer-funded goodies are surely on the way.
After eliminating the funding source for the state’s largest business subsidy program, Michigan legislators have introduced a replacement, calling it the “Real Jobs for Michigan,” part of a two-bill package sponsored by Rep. Mike Hoadley, R-Au Gres and Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills. The proposal has some distinct and different features from previous initiatives intended to spur job growth. But giving preferences to companies is ineffective at delivering good economic outcomes to Michigan.
The Michigan Legislature is considering bills to allow nurse practitioners to be independent operators, which they currently can do in most states. Recent research suggests this would lead to fewer malpractice lawsuits, better care that leads to hospital stays being shorter, and fewer preventable deaths.
For most of American history, the United States – and Michigan – had no zoning at all. Detroit, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and other major cities grew rapidly before municipal zoning codes existed. The most stringent forms of zoning were created only during the past few decades.
This article originally appeared in the Washington Times June 23, 2025
In the wake of immigration protests that rocked California and spread across America, many union members are wondering: Why is my money supporting this chaos?
David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union California, was recently arrested on charges of impeding immigration enforcement in Los Angeles. Video shows Mr. Huerta blocking the driveway of a federal detention center. He was later released on a $50,000 bond. The violent and destructive protests that swept the “City of Angels” spread across the country, and labor unions proudly supported and even led them.
This article originally appeared in USA Today May 19, 2025.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer may as well have already declared herself as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.
In a much-ballyhooed speech last month in Washington, D.C., Whitmer promised to get America building again, with the slogan “Build, America, Build.” Whitmer certainly knows how to tap into popular sentiment. She also has good political instincts.
This article originally appeared in the Lansing State Journal September 18, 2025.
While both the Michigan House and the Michigan Senate have passed budgets for the upcoming fiscal year — which starts in less than one month — what they’ve approved may have little to do with what will be in the final budget. The Senate proposal was voted on before updated revenue estimates, and the House budget assumes that legislators will pass other laws, which may not happen.
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News November 11, 2025.
One job created for every 11 promised. That’s the dismal return from Michigan’s taxpayer-funded economic development efforts over two decades, according to a recent study.
The backlash against the agency responsible, the Michigan Economic Development Corp., has leaders across the political spectrum calling for the MEDC to be reformed, defunded or even shuttered.
Can a state buy its way into the film industry, or are these subsidies chasing an illusion of Hollywood that no longer exists?
Michael Brown has been involved with Nevada policy since 1995, and he began studying film subsidies specifically when the issue emerged as a significant economic development proposal in the state.
I can’t roast a turkey that doesn’t come out dry, and casseroles and stuffing have never appealed to me. But there’s one Thanksgiving Day tradition I try my best to honor, and that’s to be grateful. My inspiration, in part, is Larry Reed, who led the Mackinac Center for many years. His pamphlet “Are We Good Enough for Liberty?” explores the importance of expressing gratitude, saying it’s a key to being a person of good character, something to which I ascribe.
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News October 28, 2025.
History’s most consequential heroes aren’t always the most powerful. Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II played important parts in toppling communism. But it was a Polish electrician, climbing a shipyard fence in an act of defiance, who inspired a movement. On Sunday night, that electrician, Lech Walesa, spoke to a crowd of 500 in Detroit.
This article originally appeared in IndyStar on June 27, 2025.
Indiana’s 201% hike in its cigarette excise tax, which takes effect July 1, will reshape consumer behavior, and not necessarily in the way lawmakers expect.
While the intent is to boost revenue, the dramatic tax increase from 99.5 cents per pack to nearly $3 will light up at least one major unintended consequence: cigarette smuggling. Some smokers will quit, but many others will engage in tax avoidance and evasion — and possibly other illegal behavior.
Michigan's limits on nurse practitioners are a prime example of economist Thomas Sowell’s maxim that “There are no solutions, only trade-offs.” These are highly trained nurses with graduate degrees who can diagnose illnesses, prescribe medications, and provide high-quality care. Research conducted over many decades shows that nurse practitioners perform as well as physicians in most cases, that their patients are equally satisfied, and that their services cost less.
Local government officials should use a variety of statistics to assess the health of the communities they serve. Population is one important statistic, but there are others. Union Township in Isabella County provides an example.
We’ve written previously about the township’s population decline. When people move to a community in large numbers, that suggests that local leaders are doing something right. A growing population implies that the community offers a high quality of life, including economic opportunities. A declining population could be a sign of trouble.
A new report has some solid suggestions for policy reform that would help Michigan’s economy. Business Leaders for Michigan recently released its “Michigan in a New Era” plan, and some of it aligns with free-market ideas from the Mackinac Center.
The business group calls for clarity and accountability in education. Michigan has been spending even more money but is getting worse results. Education spending has now reached nearly $25,000 per student, while Michigan falls behind the rest of the country in test results.
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News September 25, 2025.
Data centers are facilities that house computing and telecommunications infrastructure. They have been around for a long time, but demand is skyrocketing thanks to the rise of internet, cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and cloud data storage. More data centers are being built around the country.
This article originally appeared in The Detroit News November 4, 2025.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is running out of time to keep a campaign promise. During her first gubernatorial run, she pledged to open the governor’s office to the state Freedom of Information Act.
