Assessing whether unprecedented lockdown policies were worth the costs is complicated, but two economists from Michigan universities will explain how to approach the problem and present their own research findings on the effectiveness of lockdowns.
The unreliability of renewable energy like wind and solar contributed to the problem that led to the Texas blackouts this past winter. What lessons could Michigan learn to prevent a similar problem here?
Socialists on the left and populists on the right increasingly blame the free market for a host of issues: poverty, middle-class stagnation, income inequality and more. Further regulating the market is often the proposed solution, but sometimes its government rules themselves that stifle innovation and block people from moving up the economic ladder.
Do you need a college degree to be successful? Why does college cost so much? How do we ensure higher education is flexible and affordable? Come hear a nuanced discussion about college costs and what states and the federal government should do about it. Join us at 11 am EST. Opening remarks will be made by Joseph Lehman, president of the Mackinac Center. Featured panelists will be Jason Delisle, visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Jeremy Horpedahl, assistant professor of economics at the University of Central Arkansas, and Jarrett Skorup, director of marketing and communications at the Mackinac Center.
State mandates put in place to temporarily limit the spread of COVID-19 created widespread, ongoing economic ramifications. Economists and others are working to estimate the full costs of these actions, but the task is difficult considering how unprecedented and broad these state mandates have been. This virtual event will discuss sound economic theory and practical suggestions for initiating research, locating data and producing good, original scholarship. Join us at 6:00 pm EST. Sponsored by the Charles M. Bauervic Foundation, and presented in conjunction with Northwood University, our presenters will be Michael LaFaive, senior director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative at the Mackinac Center, and Northwood University department chair Dale Matcheck. This event will be moderated by John Gustincic, director of the Alden B. Dow Center for Creativity and Enterprise.
The need for greater flexibility in the state's K-12 education system has been underscored by recent experiences with pandemic restrictions and remote learning. The Mackinac Center proposes a new Flex Learning model that would bring about needed changes. Join this virtual event at 11:00 am EST as our featured speakers discuss an educational plan that would give students and families across Michigan the ability to craft combinations of virtual and in-person learning opportunities, as well as choose dual-enrollment courses and career apprenticeships. Our presenters will include Ben DeGrow, the Mackinac Center’s director of education policy, Phil Janis, principal of the Morey FlexTech High School in Shepherd, Mich., and two experts from ExcelinEd – a leading national education reform organization – director of educational opportunity Cara Candal and Midwest regional advocacy director Zach Eckert. Joseph Lehman, president of the Mackinac Center, will provide opening remarks.
This virtual event will assess and discuss Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s unprecedented actions in response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us at 6:00 pm EST. Sponsored by the Charles M. Bauervic Foundation, and presented in conjunction with Northwood University, this panel of three experts will cover the legal questions, as well as the economic consequences for entrepreneurs and the broader economy. Moderated by John Gustincic, director of the Alden B. Dow Center for Creativity and Enterprise, our featured panelists will be Northwood University department chairs James Hop and Dale Matcheck, as well as Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s director of research, Michael Van Beek.
This online event will give a general overview of how Michigan's tax system compares to other states, how the 2020 election affected taxes and what the tax policy conversation will look like in 2021. Join us at 11 am EST / 8 am PST. Opening remarks will be made by Joseph Lehman, president of the Mackinac Center. Featured speakers will be Janelle Cammenga, policy analyst with the Tax Foundation's Center for State Tax Policy, and James Hohman, the Mackinac Center’s director of fiscal policy.
We regret to inform you that this event has been cancelled.
We regret to inform you that this event has been cancelled.
A panel of leaders with relevant experiences overseeing schools in troubled urban communities will share their experiences and ideas at this event.
Dr. William S. Smith will discuss quality-life measurements, compare the difference between the government and private insurance when determining treatment and talk about the push for rationing of medical care by federal and state governments.
How does Michigan insurance compare to that of other states? Why is insurance most expensive in Detroit? What fiscal impact does this have on the average household and also on the low-income household? Answers to these questions and more were recently addressed in a report published by Poverty Solutions, a research initiative at the University of Michigan, and these findings will be presented at this event.
What’s the right balance between local, state and federal control? What about the rights of citizens — should these vary widely based on where one chooses to live? This panel will feature a lawmaker, policy expert and local government advocate to talk about what is happening in Michigan and across the nation on these issues.
Seizure and forfeiture are important parts of the criminal justice system. In principle, this process is helpful for taking away assets from criminals and goods obtained illegally. But it’s easily abused, and Michiganders deserve to have their property rights protected. This panel will feature points of views from law enforcement, researchers and legislators. The discussion will be on why Michigan should continue to reform its civil asset forfeiture system and how to get it right.
Criminal justice reform will continue to be a hot topic in Lansing this year, as lawmakers on the left and right advance various proposals for reforming the system. But in order to properly evaluate the potential for successful change, it’s important to understand the nuts and bolts of how the system currently operates.
Public policy choices can have profound consequences on the decisions individuals make about their own opportunities — where to live, work, invest and raise families. What can government leaders do to influence those choices? Respect economic freedom.
Michigan’s system of bail and pretrial release is ripe for reform, but any changes to this complex structure require a thorough understanding of current practices and how they diverge from best practices. Analysts at the Mackinac Center and the ACLU of Michigan both published papers to inform the public about bail in our state, which they will present jointly.
Ajit Pai is the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, but his philosophy is a bit different than many regulators. Pai’s regulatory philosophy values consumers, competition and markets over regulation, bureaucrats and central planning. His principles include being aware of “regulatory capture,” a free and fair system without dispensing favors and special treatment, flexible rulemaking, and rules which respect the laws of Congress.
This panel will discuss issues related to the future of internet networks, including 5G cell service, “net neutrality” and broadband infrastructure. Panelists will also offer guidance on what governments at all levels — local, state and federal — should do (or not do) in relation to the future of internet connectivity and the spinoff technologies it makes possible.
Michigan’s rules about alcohol production, distribution and sales are complex. The state has restrictions on what can be produced, a strict monopoly system for distribution and imposes price controls on sellers. Many of these regulations were originally crafted some 80 years ago in the post-Prohibition era.
In recent years the price consumers pay for many brand name prescription drugs and even some generics has increased. There are several factors behind these increases. One has to do with the type of the drugs being developed today and the smaller number of patients they target. Another involves middlemen that absorb many of the price discounts provided by drug makers. And a third has to do with the regulations coming from both Washington and the states.
In 2010, Michigan suspended over 475,000 licenses – one for every 15 drivers. Over 95 percent of those suspensions were for offenses unrelated to driving. Today, 86 percent of Americans use a car or motorcycle to get to work, meaning that a suspended license puts them at serious risk of job loss and other hardships.
Facing seemingly endless paralysis on health care reform from the federal government, a growing number of states are starting to consider reforms that they could enact to improve the provision of health care for their residents. Although federal laws and rules dominate health care regulations, there are still several worthy reforms that states could pursue that would have the effect of lowering costs and expanding choices for patients.
Michigan is one of five states where 17-year-olds are prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system, rather than the juvenile justice system. Following a trend in several other states, some Michigan stakeholders have begun a “raise the age” campaign to adjust the age of adult criminal liability to 18, the age of majority for all other purposes. The Legislature introduced bills to that effect last year, but opponents of the campaign warn that shifting 17-year-olds into the juvenile system will be an expensive burden on resource-strapped counties. Reformers counter that the move will ensure better outcomes for teens in the long run. Join us to hear expert panelists discuss the costs and benefits of raising the age.
The past year’s rise of Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education has brought more attention to the performance of charter schools, both nationally and in her native Michigan. Charter schools are tuition-free, state-funded schools of choice that tend to operate with fewer dollars than other public schools. How well are charter schools doing with the resources they have?
Working a job — any job — is connected to lower poverty, better income mobility, lower crime rates, fewer children born out-of-wedlock and a host of other positive results. But today, the right to earn a living is becoming more difficult. In 1950, only around 5 percent of workers needed an occupational license – today, more than one out of every five workers in Michigan is required to have this special government permission to work. This typically includes mandated educational degrees, hours of training, upfront fees, testing, continuing education, and limits of people with criminal records.
The Innocence Project is a well-known nonprofit organization whose goal is to exonerate the wrongfully convicted. Forty-six percent of its cases involved misapplied forensic science — meaning that a method, technique or analysis was conducted incorrectly. There have been 17 exonerations in Michigan involving misapplied forensic science. Now, in partnership with the Reason Foundation, the Innocence Project is calling for improvements to forensic science and for better transparency and quality control in crime labs. Panelists from the Innocence Project and Reason will discuss how the application of forensic science to criminal prosecutions can be improved by policy change and public education.
As you read this, a future that features driverless cars on city streets, interstate highways and maybe in your driveway is steadily unfolding. But before this future fully arrives, policymakers need to think hard about how to properly regulate these new technologies. Regulations, after all, are powerful and often blunt tools — they can be used to foster innovation, competition and economic growth, and they can be used to prevent change, snuff out invention and slow technological advances. The predicted benefits of autonomous vehicles to society are large and widespread, and Michigan needs to be ensure that its residents can take full advantage of these upsides.
An increasing number of Michigan families are exercising choice within the public education system. More than 300,000 students attend either a charter school or another public school across district lines, most often through Schools of Choice. While there has been much debate about how school choice is working in Michigan, the voices of parents seeking educational alternatives have largely not been included in the discussion.
The Republican Party fully controls most states and at the national level has captured the House, Senate and presidency. By many measures, the party has more power than it has had in many decades. But will that control last? And, more importantly, what policy priorities are coming about from these political victories?
Renting out the family summer cottage is a common practice in Michigan, but with today’s technologies, it’s easier than ever, empowered by companies like AirBnB, HomeAway, VRBO and more. These short-term rentals mean vacationers can find a place much more easily and inexpensively, while owners can earn some extra money. It seems like a win-win.
Some institutions of higher education have cracked down on free speech. Even in Michigan, universities have speech codes that restrict students’ speech, campus groups have prevented speakers from delivering talks and administrators have stopped individuals from handing outcertain literature.
You may not have seen them on the highway yet, but autonomous vehicles are here. The potential benefits of this and related technologies are immense. But they also present new and unique regulatory and infrastructure challenges for state and local governments. Brent Skorup of the Mercatus Center has written extensively on these issues and will lay out the principles and practices policymakers should pursue when determining how to regulate these new technologies.
There aren’t many policies that get near unanimous support from economists, but free trade is one of them. Despite this, a central theme of the 2016 presidential campaign, heard from both political parties, was that free trade was somehow harmful to the United States and corrective action was needed. Mark Perry, an economics professor at the University of Michigan-Flint and scholar with the American Enterprise Institute, will make the case for why President Trump’s assessment of free trade is misguided.
Obamacare repeal-and-replace is underway, and regardless of whether it passes or fails big, changes are coming for Michigan’s medical services and insurance industry, and the state’s social welfare system, especially Medicaid.
As police departments seek to reduce crime, restore trust in law enforcement and improve the strained relationship between officers and civilians, many have begun shifting to more community-oriented operations.
A “bottlenecker” is someone who uses the power of the government to limit competition in the market and artificially boost their own profits. Bottleneckers use a variety of methods to achieve their goals, including tax loopholes, regulations, occupational licensing requirements, minimum wage laws and many more. The end result when these special interest bottleneckers succeed is fewer choices and higher prices for consumers, fewer job opportunities for workers and less innovation throughout the economy.
Unionized workers are forced to accept union representation whether they want it or not, even though Michigan is a right-to-work state. Right-to-work takes away a union’s ability to get a worker fired for not paying them. However with the law unions are still given a monopoly to represent all workers on a job. They must provide representation even to those not paying them. While unions like their monopoly they still complain about what they call “free riders” – those forced to accept their services but not paying for them. Unions have brought legal challenges in several states claiming right-to-work violates constitutional takings clauses because of this so-called free rider issue.
Retiree benefits are a national crisis, but some cities and states have made significant reforms that are saving money and preventing liabilities being pushed off onto future generations. This event will discuss the scope of the problem and what Michigan should be doing to solve it.
Nonpublic schools serve tens of thousands of Michigan elementary and secondary students, yet a clear understanding of the state's diverse private education landscape has been lacking. While most states (including those on our borders) have enacted some kind of publicly funded choice program, Michigan private schools fight in the Legislature for a small share of funding to cover the state’s health and safety mandates. In order to expand choice, Michigan must overcome a stringent constitution, as well as some popular misconceptions about private schools.
The Affordable Care Act dramatically changed the healthcare market throughout the United States and expanded the control of the federal government over healthcare policies. Despite this fact, there are still reforms that states can make that could expand the access and reduce the cost of medical services. This event will feature several experts who will discuss reforms that Michigan policymakers should consider if they want to improve healthcare services in this state.
Ridesharing is a new service made popular by companies like Lyft and Uber. It relies on smartphones to connect those who need a ride to drivers willing to provide one — a riff on the traditional taxi system. Ridesharing has allowed thousands of Michiganders earn extra income as drivers and save money and time as riders. It currently operates in a legal gray area, because ridesharing drivers are not cabbies or chauffeurs.
Occupational licensing is now the biggest issue in labor economics, with even more of an effect than unions. On a national basis 25 percent of all Americans need the government’s permission and specific credentials before they can work. That is more than twice as many people who are members of unions—11 percent and declining—and 25 times the number who earn the minimum wage.
Under current Michigan law, Tesla Motors and other car companies may not open showrooms or service centers to work directly with consumers. Instead, to operate in Michigan, car companies have to enter into franchise agreements with independent dealers. Telsa and at least one other start-up car company, Elio Motors, have stated that working through dealers would impair their ability to get into the market. A number of other states have recently moved to permit direct distribution by manufacturers. Professor Crane will lay out the case for direct distribution, showing its importance to innovation, competition, and consumer choice.
Public workers in Michigan pay hundreds or thousands of dollars per year in dues to unions, but it’s very difficult for workers to find out how that money is being spent. The reason is that Michigan has weak reporting requirements for government unions, asking for only a few numbers on spending in broad categories. Under this system, union members cannot assess if their union is spending their dues money wisely or not.
Civil asset forfeiture is a legal process by which allows the police to seize and sell private property, even if no crime has been charged against the owner of that property. Several states have recently reformed their civil asset forfeiture laws, and Eric Holder, the U.S. Attorney General, has called for improving federal laws pertaining to this practice.
Many middle-class Michiganders think that most low-performing schools are located in poor inner cities such as Detroit, not in their nice neighborhoods or in their smaller towns. They need to think again.
Michigan’s vast, disorganized criminal law inherently places residents at risk of unintentionally violating a growing array of regulatory crimes that are difficult to discover and understand. The complexity of administrating such a criminal code threatens to divert scarce resources away from the enforcement of serious violent and property crimes. This event will feature ideas about how to protect Michigan residents from overcriminalization and improve the state’s criminal law.
Please join the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in welcoming Daniel DiSalvo, assistant professor of Political Science at The City College of New York-CUNY and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute's Center for State and Local Leadership.
