… government jobs that have been protected from a recession,” Hohman said. ~~~~~ See also: Helpful Facts About Michigan's Public Sector Governor Describes Film Subsidies as Jobs Program, so "Why Not Give Them Spoons?" Debate: Could Union Costs Be Pricing Michigan Out of Auto Jobs? Sierra Club’s War on Coal …
… use, what kind of car I must drive, and how much water I can use to flush the toilet. A government that stops giving my tax dollars to millionaire film makers and green causes such as solar companies and battery makers, most of whom go bankrupt. A government that stops printing more money, calling …
… Senate and House and public outcry eventually forced these legislators’ hands. The Mackinac Center sent reporters to Indiana for most of January, filming the union protests held outside the capitol and posting to CapCon. Labor Policy Director Paul Kersey simultaneously illuminated the legislation’s …
… Growth Authority and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Investigative work has focused on taxpayer dollars being misused to prop up everything from film producers to electric car battery makers to sporting goods stores to alternative energy producers. Given that body of work, one would expect the Occupiers …
… the alarmism, fracking is safe — and much safer than the alternatives. Most of the fear about gas extraction comes from a disingenuous scene from a film in which people light the methane coming through their water pipes on fire because of alleged improper well construction, which has nothing to do with …
… toward Cuba, Mexico or Venezuela, were Greg Rehmke, Mike Winther and Arielle John. Rehmke directs educational programs for Economic Thinking/E Pluribus Films; Winther is a debate coach and president of the Institute for Principle Studies; and John is visiting professor in the department of economics at Beloit …
… use, what kind of car I must drive, and how much water I can use to flush the toilet. A government that stops giving my tax dollars to millionaire film makers and green causes such as solar companies and battery makers, most of whom go bankrupt. A government that stops printing more money, calling …
… Skorup, digital engagement manager, and Tom Gantert, senior capitol correspondent, took third place in enterprise reporting for their work on Michigan’s film subsidy program. The judges remarked that the reporting by Skorup and Gantert was a “Solid outlining of various aspects of wasted government money.” …
… Skorup, digital engagement manager, and Tom Gantert, senior capitol correspondent, took third place in enterprise reporting for their work on Michigan’s film subsidy program. The judges remarked that the reporting by Skorup and Gantert was a “Solid outlining of various aspects of wasted government money.” …
… Mackinac Center and Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which revealed that 66 percent of likely voters favored reprioritizing $50 million from Michigan’s film subsidy program to go to roads. Statewide and national news outlets featured the Mackinac Center polls, including WJR 760AM’s Frank Beckmann, The …
… subjects in his work, including politics, foreign affairs, and the arts. For National Review Online, he writes a column called “Impromptus.” In 2011, he filmed The Human Parade, with Jay Nordlinger, a TV series bringing hour-long interviews with various personalities. National Review Books published a collection …
… conventional-school peers. They also ignore the tremendous impact charter schools have had in students’ lives. In July, the Mackinac Center brought out a film crew to shoot interviews with students, parents, teachers and principals at Chandler Park and two other high-performing charter schools. In their own …
… the speaker admitted that he didn’t initially think it was possible to make Michigan a right-to-work state or to eliminate the state’s ineffective film subsidy program — two successful policies the Mackinac Center pushed for many years. The speaker also discussed internal improvements that have been …
… legislators, especially Republicans in the state House, pledged to rein in subsidies and managed to achieve some successes. In 2015, the state ended its film incentive program and rolled back other spending from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. There are now threats to go back to the old way …
… Mascoma sold its intellectual property rights to a private Canadian company called Lallemand. United Solar Ovonic, a manufacturer of flexible thin-film modules, was approved for a $17.3 million state tax credit in 2008, to be paid out over 20 years. "United Solar Ovonic is a great example of the type …
… series of public interviews at the Salzburg Festival, and he currently hosts two podcasts, "The Need to Know," with Mona Charen, and “Q&A.” In 2011, he filmed The Human Parade, a TV series featuring hour-long interviews with various personalities. His latest book is "Children of Monsters: An Inquiry into …
… descriptions of every bill and roll call vote. The Mackinac Center launched MichiganVotes.org in 2001. $500 million — The amount Michigan spent subsidizing film producers to make movies in Michigan. The program started in 2007 and it ended in 2015 after consistent criticism by the Mackinac Center. 22 percent — …
… default or was dismissed altogether. Michigan lawmakers should take notice: The MBDP appears no more effective than MEGA or the recently shuttered film incentive program. State planners are not effective at picking winners and losers in the marketplace and the publicly available data suggests that …
… Michigan Capitol Confidential recently featured a story bearing this out. Donna Williams is a makeup artist who trained in California and has worked on film and theater productions in both California and her home state of Michigan. She can legally work in a limited capacity on makeup for arts productions, …
… as a Cherry Health insider, directing employees to enter the drive-through line just “to make it look busy.” Project Veritas states that a CBS News film crew pulled medical professionals off the floor to drive their vehicles into the testing lane, thereby giving the crew a longer line of cars for its …
… The American President. He has been on almost all media, from Al-Jazeera to Glenn Beck, from Tavis Smiley to Rush Limbaugh. Since 2009, he has been a film producer. His documentary, Rockin’ the Wall, appeared on PBS along with the sequel Other Walls 2 Fall. In 2019, he founded the Wild World of History …
… teachers protected by state tenure law. In its 15-year existence, CapCon has also revealed millions in wasted tax dollars for failed corporate subsidies, film incentive projects and battery plants, filing thousands of public records requests at all levels of government.
… college graduates find their futures elsewhere. Nothing the state has tried has reversed the outflow of young, educated people. Not Cool Cities, not film incentives, not Pure Michigan commercials. The growth council will seat 28 members. Governor’s advisory councils can be created through executive …
… "PACho Libre," is a play on the film "Nacho Libre" and puts an emphasis … political action committee. In the film, a teacher battles against … Several individuals appear in the film calling themselves "PACho Libre," … Karen Cross also appear in the film. Making the villain a state … Craig DeRoche, believes this film is poking fun at the wrong …
… introduced the Kodak Brownie box camera. The price tag was one dollar, and film sold for 15 cents per roll. For the first time, taking pictures was within … endlessly and discovered new techniques and processes for producing better film and lighter, less expensive cameras. A self-taught chemist, he ended the …
In 1971, George Lucas produced his first feature film, an anti-utopian masterpiece entitled "THX-1138." One particularly arresting feature of "THX" (which was the "name" of the film's main character) was that in the society envisioned by Lucas, "drug evasion" …
… Michigan Chamber has drawn particular attention to the package of subsidies for film producers that was requested by the governor and approved by lawmakers earlier … satirical lesson regarding how all Michigan job providers can pretend to be film producers, thereby tricking politicians into giving them tax rebates. When …
… consecutive months. State tax credits and subsidies were granted to the film industry last year to the tune of $48 million in the name of creating jobs, … resident $3,691 per year. This money is used to fund programs like the Michigan film incentive and the MEDC — programs that have failed to deliver on their stated …
… Mackinac Center researchers, not news media, who recently exposed the Michigan Film Office's failure to report their spending as the law requires, reported … massive "government-reform" initiative. After we publicized these findings, film officials complied with the law, an expensive mandate was defeated and a …
… living hauling freight or chartering flights for aerial photography and film work. "The presidential TFR has changed this year and gotten even larger … indirect losses are unmeasurable, because so many of our clients — like film customers, for example, that would normally be shooting stuff for the MLB …
… MEGA credit to a convicted embezzler. We will also hear from the Michigan Film Office about the Hangar42 scandal, which resulted in a criminal charge over an apparent attempt to defraud taxpayers of $10 million in refundable film credits. ~~~~~ See also: Thirty-One MEDC Salaries Top $100K MEDC-Endorsed …
… charter schools in Michigan, some 12,000 students are on waiting lists. Film Noir An investigation by Fiscal Policy Director Michael LaFaive and Communications … studio has applied for a large refundable tax credit through the Michigan Film Office. Knockout Punch Education Policy Director Michael Van Beek and …
… conference where she touted his alleged new jobs for Michigan. The Hangar42 film subsidy deal provides more evidence: Last February, Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced with great fanfare the opening of a major film studio thanks to an "assignable" tax credit worth as much as $10 million. …
… Grants 51x Early Childhood Education 16x Earned Income Tax Credit 1.67x Film Credits 6x Tourism Advertising 40x Transit Spending 4x Many analyses … spending generates $51 of economic activity. Thus, it acts as if the Ann Arbor Film Festival would only exist with subsidy, and it certainly has proved otherwise. …
… projects or by government escaping its proper limits. For example, had a state film subsidy program not skewed local government incentives, the city of Allen Park would never have taken on massive debt for a film studio whose collapse has brought the city to the edge of bankruptcy and …
… extra money would go to public schools, universities, community colleges, film subsidies, state revenue sharing payments to local governments, higher unemployment … incentives,” but does not specify exactly how much more Schauer wants for these film subsidies. This year, $50 million was appropriated. As originally enacted …
… reports on the program lack a proper accounting of the costs. The state’s film subsidies are an even more dramatic example of politicians’ impotence in … economy. Despite $500 million in taxpayer expenditures, there are fewer film jobs now than when the program began in 2008. The future looks different …
… industries in the form of selective tax breaks and subsidies. Open-ended film production subsidies exploded, redistributing about $500 million from state … expanded at a cost of about $300 million per year, and $50 million in annual film subsidies continue flowing down the drain. State spending increased by $2.7 …
… politically connected firms through tax breaks and subsidies. For example, film production subsidies exploded, redistributing about $500 million from state … expanded at a cost of about $300 million per year, and $50 million in annual film subsidies continued flowing down the drain. Overall, state spending increased …
… the Republican-controlled House eliminates the proposed appropriation for film subsidies, slashing it from $38 million to zero. The same panel cuts the … have been put back on the shelf. Questions about the wisdom of dollars for film subsidies will give way to line items nearly lost amid row upon row of other …
… Economic Growth Authority, a refundable tax credit program, the Michigan Film Incentive Program and the 21st Century Jobs Fund. The first of these programs, … Snyder. Gov. Granholm created the latter two initiatives, but in 2015 the film incentive program was also ended by Gov. Snyder. The 21st Century Jobs Fund …
… Michigan State University’s Center for Economic Research to examine the state’s film incentive subsidy program, for example. The MSU scholars concluded it was effective. An accompanying university press release called the film program a “big time hit.” Yet the authors of the report omitted all of the …
… self-aggrandizing public relations statements. Another case involves the disastrous film incentive program, which wasted $500 million before being shut down. In … tapped by the MEDC to measure the impact of the first year of the Michigan film incentive program. The researchers declared it a success and a corresponding …
… through MEGA. From 2008 to 2015, the state dished out $500 million for film incentives, but could show no new growth in film jobs for it. An empirical analysis of the state’s Michigan Business Development …
… N.Y.: The Foundation for Economic Education, 1998, p. 29. See Michigan Department of History, Arts, and Libraries web site, "What is the Michigan Film Office," https://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17445_19275---,00.html. Act No. 523, p. 2. Executive Order No. 1991-21. See Michigan Department …
… caused you to ask a question that is not at all relevant to your argument. The Mackinac Center makes its case against public funding for the Ann Arbor Film Festival (AAFF) not for the sake of censorship, but for the sake of reserving the taxpayers’ assets for the genuine needs of all taxpayers, not the …
… produced the killing fields for which the film was later named. Indicative of the … much worse than those depicted in the film. He was driven to do well so that the … earned a little money here and there in film from cameo appearances and bit parts. … celebrate our creative achievements in film. But we should be even more thankful …
… the Freedom of Information Act. Still, it has become less forthcoming with information about the agency itself and about the high-profile Michigan Film Incentive subsidy, another economic development program under its supervision. [*] In a May 28, 2009, Detroit Free Press Op-Ed co-authored by economist …
… department at Ave Maria College of the Americas in Nicaragua. Gregory Rehmke, director of educational programs for Economic Thinking/E Pluribus Unum Films, a nonprofit organization in Seattle, Wash. He has lectured and published widely on a variety of public policy issues. Mike Winther, co-coach of a …
… refuted. Which means never. Parting shot: At least one news outlet has reported that "Wonderstruck Studios, LLC" has dropped plans to build a promised film studio in Detroit, for which it had been given a MEGA deal. Even if this deal were costless to taxpayers, it still underscores the inability of the …
… door. C. An insulation door. D. A resistance door. 7. What qualities do phosphates add to washing products? A. Raise wash efficiency. B. Prevents film forming on glassware. C. Both A and B. D. None of the above. 8. In 1977, the level of phosphates used in laundry detergents was lowered to what percentage? …
… of the past half-century may provide to guide our future choices. In 1965, then-Mayor of Detriot James Cavanagh provided narration for a piece of film boosterism titled "Detroit: A City on the Move." Among other things, the mayor confidently announced that Detroit's future was bright "as a direct …
… “communications specialist” for the Michigan Economic Development Corp., three jobs to test racehorses for drug use and a $70,000 job for the Michigan Film Office. “That’s what passes for a cut to the bone in Lansing,” Owens said. “We are rapidly getting to the point in this state where the tax spenders …
… the last the public hears of state corporate welfare deals involving questionable supplicants. There is so much money sloshing around the Michigan film incentive subsidies, for instance, that future scandals seem all but inevitable.
… paid for by those unions). A third flawed MSU study paid for by the state's economic development bureaucracy buttressed its own specious claims that film producer subsidies are a wise use of taxpayer dollars. Consider this latest action from a pillar of the state's academic establishment in light of the …
… ___ I wrote a letter-to-the-editor in defense of liberty, limited government or personal responsibility. ___ I recommended a good article, book or film that advances values consistent with a free and civil society. ___ I sent a personal check to an organization I know to be working for the advancement …
… above average, and indeed, some are downright poor. No one disagrees that bad teachers should be removed, so the only question is how. The documentary film "Waiting for Superman" provides some insights on the magnitude of the problem. It notes that every year nationwide, one out of every 57 doctors and …
… above average, and indeed, some are downright poor. No one disagrees that bad teachers should be removed, so the only question is how. The documentary film "Waiting for Superman" provides some insights on the magnitude of the problem. It notes that every year nationwide, one out of every 57 doctors and …
… Fiscal Agency analysis released last week understated this increase by leaving out so-called “one time” spending items (for example, $25 million for film subsidies, a figure that some lawmakers are already trying to increase). Given all the news stories about “draconian cuts,” many might be surprised …
… level with the help of two Michigan Republican members of Congress. A Republican-led Legislature sitting on union reform bills and continuing the film subsidy. A physician's response to Governor Snyder’s new child weight reporting program. A public school system in which only 0.001 percent of all …
… somewhere. For example, groups that support public arts funding have found that every dollar in grants returns $51. Early childhood education returns $16. Film credits apparently have a six-fold return. Even the RASCO scandal involving convicted embezzler Richard Short was supposed to bring back $45 for every …
… that particular big business, industries and companies favored by politicians received some of that $1.4 billion as special deals, similar to a state film incentive program that gives money to out-of-state movie producers. In reality, it was mostly small businesses that received a tax cut because they …
… but came up with no specific destinations. Radioactive waste can generally be stored and disposed of safely. The federal government has sponsored films of trains crashing into nuclear waste containers to show how it can be safely transferred.
… Charter School Story Wrong Eight Senate Republicans Join Democrats in Passing Obamacare Medicaid Expansion Public Employee Pension Systems Raided to Pay Film Studio Bills While Local Governments Fight Food Trucks, State Subsidizes Some of Them Higher Cigarette Taxes Create Lucrative, Dangerous Black Market …
… end Michigan’s “transition” out of it. — “Raise” Gov. Rick Snyder’s bid to cut $25 million out of wealth redistributions from Michigan taxpayers to film producers by making the total cut $50 million. In other words, zero-out this bizarre form of reverse-Robin Hoodism. For a complete list of recommendations, …
… owners, graduate student research assistants and home-based caregivers. We’ve also dedicated a lot of time and effort into helping taxpayers understand film subsidies, corporate welfare and school spending. Even with those accomplishments, Michigan’s government transparency laws need updating for the 21st …
… new House plan recognizes this, increasing road funding over time while diverting funding from less-needed areas like the 21st Century Jobs Fund and Film Incentives to the transportation budget. It also begins devoting more tax revenue from the growing economy to needed road funding. It is also encouraging …
… state’s transportation infrastructure. The MEDC is the state’s corporate welfare arm, which hands out select subsidies to corporations and oversees the film incentive program and the Pure Michigan advertising campaign. Specifically, the House GOP plan would redirect $185 million of spending on “economic …
… situation (though Michigan will be on the hook for past deals for decades). The amount of incentives handed out is less, particularly when it comes to film incentives. But the real problem with state “economic development” agencies is that trying to pick winners in a free enterprise system is inefficient …
… demonstrated that it cannot be trusted to evaluate itself. The agency has a history of commissioning dubious studies justifying its programs, such as a 2009 film subsidy study and one in 2002 promoting big spending on government broadband deployment projects. This dynamic of self-serving research is not unique …
… a select industry (data centers) rather than just one company only makes this a slightly less bad idea. This is the same Legislature that ended the film credits program, which also benefited one industry and arrived with similar promises of being the growing industry of the future. In 2010, Gov. Rick …
… mostly a blunder. The marketing scheme is widely recognized thanks to its homey TV commercials showing picturesque Michigan locations and narrated by film and television star Tim Allen. Michigan’s Legislature appropriated $34 million to the program for the current year, $1 million more than last year. …
… for state legislators is go along to get along. Examples are commonplace: A since-repealed state program that gave nearly half a billion dollars to film producers was opposed by exactly one legislator when it was approved in 2008. Scores of similar giveaways have been authorized by the Michigan Legislature …
… These requests have helped us uncover unions skimming money from home health care aides and child care providers, break news of a scandal involving a film studio, expose teachers who couldn’t be fired despite committing criminal acts, find out about millions of public dollars being used for private union …
… can stop it. A young Steve McQueen eventually figures out that it doesn’t like the cold, so the town freezes it and transports it to the Arctic. The film gives me the same feeling I get as I watch the government pension scandal across the country. Pensions provide retirees with a decent income in retirement. …
… can stop it. A young Steve McQueen eventually figures out that it doesn’t like the cold, so the town freezes it and transports it to the Arctic. The film gives me the same feeling I get as I watch the government pension scandal across the country. Pensions provide retirees with a decent income in retirement. …
… of the United States. He has been on almost all media, from Al-Jazeera to Glenn Beck, from Travis Smiley to Rush Limbaugh. Since 2009, he has been a film producer and his documentary, “Rockin’ the Wall,” about rock music’s part in bringing down the Iron Curtain, appeared on PBS. He retired in 2016 to …
… tell. Want your state to be in on the ground floor of the tech revolution? Subsidize data centers. How about attracting young creative minds? Subsidize film production. Want to address the critical need for farm-to-table citrus? With enough subsidies, Michigan could even “compete” with Florida by growing …
… time when citizens would have a Siri in their pocket, an Alexa on their dresser, and a so-called smart television that could potentially record and film everything that happens in their living room. “Consumers are slowly becoming aware of the danger of private conversations being recorded by their …
… successful than they likely are.[*] The Mackinac Center has catalogued such instances involving the 21st Century Jobs Fund, the state’s[70] (now defunct) film incentive program and the Pure Michigan advertising campaign.[71] [*] For more on this subject, see “A Plea for Skepticism about the MEDC: An Open …
… Cotter and his Republican caucus, especially, did not make it a priority. Lawmakers even got rid of some programs. They stopped handing out money for film production, the most profligate business subsidy offered by the state. Existing programs continued to be funded in annual budgets, but they enacted …
… needed to ensure Michigan’s economic success in the 21st century,” Granholm quoted herself. The company was said to be a manufacturer of flexible thin-film modules, and was approved for a $17.3 million state tax credit in 2008, to be paid out over 20 years. According to Granholm, United Solar Ovonic would …
… any given week, he could write about the barriers to employment created by the state’s occupational licensing rules, the foolishness of the latest film subsidy proposal, and the unfairness of the state’s civil asset forfeiture rules. Or he could be talking with elected officials, journalists and policy …
… running the course. One evening, we watched a film—for nearly an hour—about how middle school children … and high school pupils. At its conclusion, the film urged students to sign up for middle school certification. Even though nothing in the film was objectionable by itself, disguising a plea, …
… Todd S. Purdum of the New York Times refers to the film as "the last picture show of its kind, a triumph … in Pittsburgh, 40 miles from our home, to see a film called "The Sound of Music." I knew nothing of … but for me it was an epiphany. It’s my favorite film, and it always will be. ##### Lawrence W. Reed …
… Arbor News. A production company will shoot the film "High School" this fall in the largely unused building. … maintenance services during the three months of filming. Superintendent Ted Gardella also said there … The Ann Arbor News, "School to net $120,000 in film deal," Sept. 30, 2008 FURTHER READING: Michigan …
… 'Professors' Email' FOIA Request $72 Million in Film Credits Not Reported by Film Office New Film Office Report Misleads and Shows Undercounting …
… Senate Bill 569, Continue giving subsidies to film producers: Passed 92 to 15 in the House To convert the state film incentive program into straightforward handouts … nothing in the bill limits how much the Michigan film office can authorize, and once it does the state …
… Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) and the state film incentive program, taxpayers in Michigan spend … oversight committees of the legislature.” On the film subsidy program, he said it is a handout of “lucrative … House Primary Race Contrast Over Right-to-Work, Film Subsidies, Detroit Bailout In 31st District Senate …
… (which are maintained online here), the state’s film subsidy program and the current and secretive Michigan … consultants to estimate the impact of their new film incentive subsidy program after its first year. … was released and pointed to as evidence of the film subsidy program’s success. The state’s corporate …
… intended to create — to those that help underwrite film production. The latter credit — the film production incentives that many states still have … repeal efforts — is even harder to justify. The film industry is hardly a mom-and-pop business on the …
… companies (especially relating to the $50 million film subsidy), and whether they would vote to repeal … While Moss and Knollenberg voted for the original film subsidy program, they have had a change of heart. … House Primary Race Contrast Over Right-to-Work, Film Subsidies, Detroit Bailout In 31st District Senate …
… other states, it’s tough selling Montana.” Montana film office manager in 1998 “This will be especially … can’t compete with other states.” An Arkansas film lobbyist in 2004 He offered remarks in support of recently-approved subsidies for film production. “North Carolina, therefore, must be …
… 1998, p. 29. Act No. 523, p. 1. Ibid. Act No. 523, p. 2. See Michigan Department of History, Arts, and Libraries web site, “What is the Michigan Film Office,” https://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17445_19275---,00.html. Act No. 523, p. 2. Ibid. Executive Order No. 1991-21. See Michigan Department …
… or one-fifth of its global work-force, not because of foreign competition but because the popularity of digital cameras have depressed the sale of film. Montgomery Ward, K-Mart and other retailers have laid off tens of thousands of workers in recent years, not because of foreign competition but because …
… policies. Bandow is also the author of a forthcoming book, "The Korea Conundrum." • Gregory Rehmke, program director at Economic Thinking/E Pluribus Unum Films, a nonprofit organization in Seattle. He has spoken and written on each year’s national high school debate topic since the 1980s. To inquire about …
… crusader Thomas Clarkson and a band of uncompromising activists brought an end to slavery throughout the British empire. If you didn’t see the magnificent film "Amazing Grace" in a theatre earlier this year, you can now watch it on DVD; Wilberforce is the central character. Born in 1759, Wilberforce never …
… p.m.-5 p.m. For more information, go to www.aahom.org/exhibits/index.html. Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs This IMAX documentary, narrated by horror film veteran Christopher Lee, combines original and historical footage, period recreations, computer-generated graphics and interviews with prominent Egyptologists. …
… the cooperative extension service and to Michigan State University's agriculture experiment station. » www.mackinac.org/5325#AES 12 Eliminate state film production subsidies. » www.mackinac.org/10733 13 Stop paying Amtrak an annual state subsidy. » www.mackinac.org/7402 14 Eliminate Medicaid spending …
… conference centers, etc., as a "recreation authority." 17. A bill to hand out millions of dollars of cash subsidies to Hollywood producers who shoot films in Michigan. Part 2 — General Candidate Preferences 1. Would you support repealing a 22 percent Michigan Business Tax surcharge passed in 2007, and …