Consumers Energy has increased its electricity rates for certain times of the day, touting it as a market-based response to climate change. In reality, this is the utility’s way of coping with the inherently unreliable nature of the green energy sources it favors.
When lawmakers hand out taxpayer money to specific companies, it may look like they’re doing something good for the economy. The reality is far different.
Reforming the state’s rules on teacher certification will help schools find the teachers they need.
The economy and environment of Michigan would benefit if Gov. Gretchen Whitmer stops opposing a plan to move the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline to a cement-lined tunnel far below the Great Lakes.
While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said her COVID-19 policies are based on science, many decisions were made on the fly, with some influenced by anecdotes and public pressure
While Michigan government has discouraged residents from traveling, it spends money to encourage people to travel here from out-of-state.
Local officials must decide what to do with a windfall of money from Washington.
Some new rules from the governor could turn businesses into mask police.
An individual or a company with an idea could get permission from the regulatory agency to begin operating without having to wait for it to write new rules.
The virus is no longer a general public threat when people can protect themselves from its transmission; at that point, it becomes an issue of personal responsibility.
The “Fight for $15” effort is unwittingly working to keep the youngest and least educated out of the workforce.
The Michigan Legislature is considering several new laws that would secure pensions for public employees and save taxpayers money.
Lawmakers should change the state corporate income tax code to let businesses deduct the cost of equipment purchases in the year they make them, rather than require them to stretch out those deductions over time.
Legislators should reject Gov. Whitmer’s proposal to cut per-pupil funding for cyber schools while increasing funding for conventional schools.
Patients would benefit if the state brought back temporary measures Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made to suspend some unnecessary and costly regulations in health care.
Under the governor’s approach to the pandemic, all that is not explicitly permitted is prohibited under penalty of law.
The financial relief pushed to schools during the pandemic has created gaps between different schooling options in ways that discount actual student needs.
If lawmakers were to cut the Michigan income tax rate, state revenues would still grow. A cut would make good on a 2007 pledge to phase out what was supposed to be a temporary tax increase.
Parents who need financial help in getting their children to a school of their choice should receive state- funded transportation scholarships
In 2020, Michigan lawmakers resisted the temptation to spend taxpayer money on corporate handouts. They should hold firm in 2021
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s preference for using debt rather than current tax revenue for road repairs means that the state is spending less on fixing roads than it otherwise would.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a need to offer more options and flexibility for students with special needs.
The governor’s attempt to close rather than upgrade the Line 5 pipeline is part of a broader environmental policy that could subject Michigan residents to higher costs, restricted access to essential energy, and a diminished quality of life.
State government could increase its revenue by removing the favors it grants by law to a few special interests.
Kindergarten enrollment at Michigan school districts is down this year, suggesting that dissatisfaction with remote learning has lead parents to seek other options.
Given the chance to opt out of the Michigan Education Association by both a right-to-work law and the U.S. Supreme Court, public school employees have left the union in large numbers.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she wants residents of the U.P. to have affordable and reliable energy, but her opposition to relocating the Line 5 pipeline works against that goal.
Strategies developed by state experts do not include governor’s actions
The Michigan Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer acted without constitutional authority by unilaterally issuing COVID-related executive orders after an initial 28-day period. In doing so, the court upheld the separation of powers, a key constitutional protection for citizens.
The law Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is using to justify her unilateral COVID executive orders has historically been used primarily to deal with riots, and when it wasn’t, it stirred controversy.
Do state government efforts to encourage businesses to create jobs do any good? Not when their costs are considered.
Lawmakers have decided to give money to districts for students they don’t have, an act that slams the door on parents scrambling for options.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer once loosened some of the state’s licensing rules for medical professionals as a way to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Those changes ought to be made permanent, not reversed.
Though it may appear that tax credits shrink the size of government, they can do just the opposite.
Lawmakers can make it easier for parents to deal with the uncertainties of the next school year by adopting policies that give them the options they need.
As states reopen their societies, they ought to do so without handing out select subsidies to businesses.
The Line 5 pipeline should be buried 100 feet below the lakebed.
School districts and families will need more flexibility to cope with schooling in a reopened society
Michigan should end its prohibition on sales of to-go mixed drinks.
The actions of state regulators and and the private owner of a dam, combined with heavy rains, led to extensive flooding in the Midland, Michigan, area.
The state has dedicated certain tax collections for roads, but it will have less to spend as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of the state response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer changed some key regulations affecting health care. Michigan should enact these changes into law.
The COVID-19 pandemic will cause state income tax collections to fall and could cause spending on Medicaid to increase.
Michigan will receive at least $478 million in extra federal funding that can be used for K-12 education. Here are some ways it can put that money to use.
Policymakers and others should consider ways to keep the economy strong.
Michigan’s legislators and governors have changed laws and regulations in recent years in ways that will help the state respond to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Several state laws give Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer the authority to undertake certain steps during times of emergencies and disasters.
Efforts to address climate change should not ruin the economy or harm the environment.
The Mackinac Center’s Context and Performance Report Card rewards school leaders whose students perform better than expected on state tests.
Citizens have the power to decide how much their local governments collect in taxes.
