Bridgeport parents Ed and Becky Kohlhoff wanted their four-year-old son Justin to join his brother in neighboring Birch Run's schools, but their home district refused, preferring to keep Justin-and the state subsidy for educating him.
Global warming alarmists want to impose burdensome energy restrictions on U. S. citizens, but scientists disagree over the role human use of fossil fuels plays in the earth's climatic changes.
The latest silver bullet to cure what ails failing government schools would bankrupt the state treasury and swell the ranks of teacher unions, but do little to improve student performance.
Michigan Senator Carl Levin's efforts to improve the way federal regulations are issued have been stymied by political wrangling. State and local regulatory reform could help Levin's sensible reforms pass at the federal level.
One hundred years ago, Saginaw Representative Joe Fordney was first elected to the U. S. House of Representatives. His 24-year career shows how protectionist tariffs hurt everyone-even the people they're supposed to help.
Astronauts and people in 28 countries eat food made safer by exposure to small doses of bacteria-killing radiation. Why aren't more American consumers able to take advantage of this potentially life-saving technology?
Politicians promise to help children learn better by passing new laws and spending more money, but Michigan school districts could improve education themselves simply by negotiating better contracts with teacher unions.
Detroit and other Michigan municipalities can learn a powerful lesson from the city of Indianapolis, which has used free-market competition to improve the quality of over seventy-five government services and dramatically slash costs to taxpayers.
Nostalgia for the 1960s civil rights movement runs strong in the 1990s, and polls show that Michiganians believe that government recognition of parents' right to choose their children's schools is today's civil rights struggle.
Billy Durant wouldn't let his daughter ride in a car because he thought they were too dangerous. So he took advantage of Michigan's free-market business climate to found General Motors and make safer cars himself, ninety years ago.
Competition for jobs among states and other countries is heavy in the global marketplace, but Michigan's labor market is burdened by a policy of compulsory unionism that damages the state's long-term potential for prosperity and economic growth.
Increased competition among schools would not only improve education for all children, it would reward dedicated teachers who excel in the classroom with good benefits and greater job satisfaction.
The Environmental Protection Agency's latest edict on "environmental justice" discriminates against poor minorities by discouraging industries from bringing good-paying new jobs to the disadvantaged residents of inner city neighborhoods.
A nationwide survey of air travelers recently ranked Detroit Metro Airport dead last in quality and convenience. Contracting out the airport's management to a private firm-as other cities have done-could solve Metro's woes.
Government interventionists argue that antitrust laws are needed to protect the public from Microsoft, but a lesson from Michigan history shows that brainpower and some old-fashioned free-market competition can break even the most powerful cartels.
Children whose parents take an active role in their educations are among the most academically successful. The thousands of Michigan parents who teach their children at home should be applauded for demonstrating the ultimate in parental involvement.
Over ninety percent of Michigan is rural, yet environmental alarmists want government to restrict the use of land to curb the loss of farm acreage, creating a solution far worse than the perceived problem.
School districts being manipulated by union-controlled health insurance providers should look instead to less expensive alternatives to providing their teachers with high quality health care benefits.
The minimum wage hurts low-skilled workers by pricing them out of the labor market. Sixty years ago, New England textile workers afraid of Southern competition were counting on just this fact.
Hidden payroll taxes are one reason Michigan ranks twelfth from the bottom nationwide in take-home pay. Workers should be informed of the full cost that government imposes on their pocketbooks.
