All 2019 Publications

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1. Mackinac Center Tracks Lawmakers’ Missed Vote
2. A Recap of the 100th Michigan Legislature
3. School Bus Safety Effort a Prime Example of Overcriminalization
4. Three Reasons to Oppose New Corporate Incentives
5. Legislative Year Finishes With High Fiscal Notes
6. More Legalized Gambling, Selective Tax Breaks, Prescription Rules and More
7. Mackinac Center VP Appointed to Federal Panel
8. Michigan Bureaucrats Want to Force Unions on Pot Businesses
9. Mackinac Center Praises the End of Ineffective Subsidy Program
10. State School Aid Deal Fits Decade-Long Upward Trend
11. IMPACT November/December 2019
12. Politicians Get Too Much Blame — and Credit — for Economic Trends
13. Mackinac Center Sues UAW for Fake Union Scheme
14. Tax Cuts, Regulatory Freedom and More – in Washington and the 50 States
15. The Unintended Results of Michigan’s Divided Government
16. Regulatory Reforms on the Move in Michigan
17. Students Led Astray by Environmental Education
18. Tech Data, Internet Taxes, Facial Recognitions and More
19. Dangers of the Regulatory State: Overly Precise Rules
20. Passionate Educator’s Career Revived by Online School
21. When Michigan’s Bureaucrats Decide Who’s a Criminal
22. Michigan's Regulatory Crimes: Bureaucrats' Hidden Criminal Law
23. Regulatory Reforms On the Move in Michigan
24. Recent Proposals to Change Michigan's Constitution
25. Forget Greenland — Trump Should Offer Statehood to These Canadian Provinces
26. The Return of Socialism is About the Political Divide
27. Acupuncture, Liquor Distillers, Pawnbrokers and More
28. Targeted Tax Preferences are Unfair
29. What You Really Need to Know about Michigan Charter Schools
30. Michigan Should Invest in Student Mobility Scholarships
31. Line 5 is a Textbook Example of Environmental Versus Labor Concerns
32. Legislators Nix Regulatory Overreach of Rural Health Care Providers
33. Filling Classroom Vacancies Requires Better Solutions
34. Keep Pure Michigan Spending at $0
35. Expungements, Deer Baiting, Pelvic Exams and More
36. The Supreme Court Could Free Thousands of School Kids
37. Prohibition Doesn't Work — Need it be Said Again?
38. Feds Should Follow States' Lead on Expungement Reform
39. Transportation Scholarships Will Help More Students Succeed
40. Student Mobility Scholarships: Helping Families Access the Best Schools
41. The Bipartisan State Budget
42. Fantasy Sports Legalization, No Selling Cough Meds to Minors, Internet Gambling and More
43. “Miss Virginia” an Inspiration to Michigan Parents
44. Delaying Hen Cage Mandate, Create Victim Confidentiality and More
45. Michigan’s Corporate Subsidy Board Faces Tough Questioning
46. The Student Debt Problem is Widely Misunderstood – Here Are Some Solutions
47. Clock is Running out for Michigan Legislators to Help Cancer Patients
48. Kmart Property is MEGA Reminder Not to Extend Subsidy Program
49. Administrative Law Can Make Any American a Criminal
50. Miss Virginia Movie Premiere
51. New Study Details the Dangers of Union Card Check
52. Protecting the Secret Ballot: The Dangers of Union Card Check
53. Public Servants Should Deliver More Than a List of Adjectives
54. Healthcare Initiative
55. Taxing Out-of-State Purchases, Juvenile Justice Reform and More
56. Lawmakers Should Let Good Jobs for Michigan Expire
57. What Happens Now to Roads in Michigan
58. Are There Better Options for Underperforming Schools?
59. New "Raise the Age" Reforms Will Benefit Michigan
60. Filling Classroom Vacancies Requires Better Solutions
61. An Update on Criminal Justice Policies in Michigan
62. More Liquor Regulations, Solar and Wind Tax Breaks
63. Keep Pure Michigan Spending at $0
64. Communism, Socialism and “Democratic Socialism”
65. The Tax Hike Governor Vetoes Additional Road Funding
66. Vaping Ban is Bad for Health, Good for Smugglers
67. Utilities Have Big Solar Plans for Michigan but Overlook the Long-Term Costs
68. A Global Climate Strike Isn't Enough
69. The Left and Right Agree to End Taxpayer-Funded Job Wars in Midwest
70. A Conservative Case for Expunging Criminal Records
71. Protect Family Access for the Incapacitated; Don’t Take Cop’s Gun and More
72. The National Vaping Ban is a Bad Idea
73. IMPACT September/October 2019
74. Whitmer Targets Charter Students in Budget Veto
75. A Case Study in Ineffectiveness for the MEDC
76. No Need for Veto Work, but if the Governor Insists...
77. Retaining Students Who Lag in Literacy Pays Off
78. The Corporate Welfare Lady Protests Too Much
79. Congress Protects UAW Members as Strike Continues
80. Economic Growth Drives Budget Priorities
81. Michigan School Privatization Survey 2019
82. An Evening with the Mackinac Center
83. Majority of Michigan School Districts Contract Out Support Services
84. School Aid Budget Proposals Not That Far Off
85. Omnipotent Moral Busybodies Appear at Climate Town Hall
86. Selective Favors to Companies Won’t Create Jobs
87. If a Recession is Coming, Pension Managers Need to Prepare
88. Yes, Michigan’s Right-to-Work Law Has Hurt the UAW
89. Vaping Ban Would Increase Cigarette Sales and Smuggling
90. Senate Bill Revitalizes Skepticism about Corporate Handouts
91. Mackinac Center Calls on Supreme Court to Give Parents More Educational Freedom
92. How the Espinoza Case Could Affect Michigan
93. District School Teacher: ‘Parents Have a Right to Choose’
94. Planning for Life Workshop – Holland, MI
95. State Should Enact Budget, Debate Road Funding Another Day
96. Local Governments Must Confront Billions in Pension Debt
97. Career and Technical Education Reform Needs More Than Money
98. Michigan’s Ineffective, Unfair and Expensive Corporate Handouts
99. Mackinac Center Applauds Expungement Reforms
100. Public Employees Should be Allowed to Exercise Their Rights
101. Prison for Porch Pirates, Tax on Tow Trucks, Remote Pharmacies and More
102. The Need for Civility and the Presumption of Goodwill
103. National Groups Push Music Therapist Licensing – Which Benefits Themselves
104. Extension of Mislabeled Good Jobs for Michigan Program Would Be Added to the Business Subsidy Scorecard
105. Lack of Money For Universities Didn’t Cost Michigan Amazon – Or Economic Growth
106. State Gives Solar Preferences on Land 'Preserved' for Farmland
107. PRO Act’s Stealth ‘Card Check’ Option Gives Unions Unfair Advantage
108. Alaska Protects Public Workers’ First Amendment Rights
109. Making Waves with the Mackinac Center
110. Science Teacher Thrives in Transition to Charter School
111. Wide Media Attention of Mackinac Center Lawsuit
112. Licensing Laws are Destructive and Ineffective – But There Are Alternatives
113. Low-income Americans Can Benefit From Gentrifying Neighborhoods
114. Mackinac Center Sues the State Bar of Michigan for First Amendment Violation
115. The State Bar of Michigan Violating the First Amendment
116. The Michigan Budget Fight Is Not Over Roads – It’s Everything Else
117. Auto Insurance in Michigan
118. Largest Local Governments in Michigan Carry $5.5B in Pension Debt
119. How Does Your City Weigh Out?
120. Lawmakers Shouldn’t Bend to Bad Road Funding Policy To Meet Arbitrary Road Deadline
121. Governor Whitmer Stands Up for the Michigan Constitution
122. Want More School Librarians in Michigan? Reform State Licensing Law
123. Let Corporate Handouts Expire
124. Air Quality Reports Can Misrepresent the Data
125. Mackinac Center Sues State in Latest Transparency Lawsuit
126. Let the Sun Set on This Corporate Subsidy Program
127. No More Secret Taxpayer Cash for Companies
128. Mackinac Center Policy Forum
129. In Praise of a Muskegon Inventor
130. More Revenue in Lansing Seems Like a Higher Priority To Gov. Whitmer Than Fixing The Roads
131. Planning for Life Workshop – Charlevoix, MI
132. How to Prioritize the Budget to Spend $1 Billion More on the Roads in a Single Year
133. Attack on Schools of Choice Unfounded
134. Minimum Wage Laws Hurt People
135. Equalize School District Funding, Eliminate State Board of Education and More
136. Ontario’s Energy Woes Should Be a Warning
137. Career and Technical Education Reform Needs More Than Money
138. Dear Michigan Press: Where’s the Tax-Hike Fever?
139. IMPACT July/August 2019
140. Cut the Budget, Raise Taxes or Wait
141. Fire Departments Spend Millions When They Don’t Have To
142. Budget Reforms: In Praise of Cuts to Corporate Welfare
143. Union Proposes Trimming Retiree Health Benefits to Save Money; Opposed It When Taxpayers Were Footing the Bill
144. Gary Model Suggests Way Forward for Benton Harbor Students
145. Michigan Utilities Plan for an Inefficient Future
146. Wayne State Ordered To Pay In Mackinac Center Legal Win
147. Want More Young People Employed? States Should Stop Barring Them From Working
148. A Case Study in Anti-School Choice Activist Journalism
149. Taxpayer Subsidized Workforce Development is a Lemon
150. Township Wants Higher Taxes to Pay for Optional Employment Benefit
151. Schools That Beat the Odds Beyond Graduation
152. Minimum Wage Laws Hurt People
153. Mackinac Center Environmental Policy Director Attends White House Briefing
154. Government Tourism Promotion is not Really 'Economic Development'
155. Comparing the Newest Wind Energy Facility in Michigan with the Rest of the US
156. The Crime of Pickling Improperly Shaped Cucumbers
157. How to Prioritize the Budget to Spend $1 Billion More on the Roads in a Single Year
158. Mackinac Center Joins Nationwide Free Market Coalition Letter
159. A Seven-Year Switch: Charter Management Perils in the Troubled Highland Park District
160. The Supreme Court Has a Chance to Uphold School Choice and Religious Liberty
161. Protecting Your Property Against Abusive Governments
162. Not Much Difference Between Current Corporate Handouts and Recliner Subsidies
163. Wild Turkeys, Community Cats, Lawyers for Animals and More
164. Green Jobs: More Jobs, Less Efficiency
165. Give More Power to Parents of Special-Needs Learners
166. Growth Fuels Budget Priorities in House and Senate Budgets
167. Let's Give Workers Voting Rights to Keep or Reject Unions
168. Water Quality Has Improved For Michigan
169. Freeing Pot Prisoners, Scholarships, Carnival Ride Inspections and More
170. Universities or Roads?
171. West Virginia Supreme Court Tests Unions' Novel Theory
172. Supreme Court Makes it Easier for Property Owners to Defend their Constitutional Rights
173. And Another Thing About Roads...
174. Overselling Whitmer’s Education Budget
175. Small-Dollar Lending Provides Vital Service for Millions of Americans
176. Small-Dollar Lending Innovation and the True Cost of Credit
177. Aretha Franklin, Medicaid, Mandated Dental Exams and More
178. Divide and Conquer: Democrats in Congress Pushing Unions on Workers
179. Give More Power to Parents of Special-Needs Learners
180. Growth Fuels Budget Priorities in House and Senate Budgets
181. The Overton Window
182. Road Budget, Drones Scaring Horses, Opioids and More
183. Private School Decline May Be Overstated
184. Michigan’s Auto Industry Matters Less to the State Workforce
185. Putting a Price on Life: The Coming Fight Over Government Rationing of Medical Care
186. LARA FOIA Case
187. Final Action on Auto Insurance Reform; Fund Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation
188. Mackinac Center Files Lawsuits Against New Jersey Unions for Failing to Respect Workers’ Opt Out Rights
189. New Jersey Workers Sue Unions for Failing to Respect Their Choice to Opt Out
190. Michigan Road Funding at Record Levels Without Proposed Tax Hike
191. Policy Circles: Their Influence and Possibilities
192. Green Jobs: The Antithesis of Efficiency
193. The Price of Auto Insurance
194. Planning for Life Workshop – Birmingham, MI
195. The Wayfair Decision: How Michigan Policymakers Should Respond
196. Anti-Choice State Board Rejects Funds from Top-Rated Grant Application
197. Facts Should Matter in the Realm of Education
198. Mitch Albom is Wrong About Michigan Auto Insurance Changes
199. Report for Schools Changes, but the Goal of Recognizing Excellence Remains
200. If You Seek a Pleasant Road Funding Plan, Look About You
201. New Auto Insurance Law Will Benefit Michigan Drivers
202. The Cost of Road Building is Spiking, and That’s a Problem
203. Funding Roads By Taxing Users Will Only Happen if People Care to Fund Roads By Taxing Users
204. Who Voted Yes and Who Voted No on Landmark Auto Insurance Reform
205. What’s the Appropriate Role of the State in Workforce Development?
206. Workforce Development in Michigan
207. Should Educator Evaluations Trust Data More?
208. IMPACT May/June 2019
209. County Road Commissions Fill Pension Potholes
210. Unfair and Unnecessary: Fiat-Chrysler Lands State Corporate Handouts
211. Restrictions on Rating Factors Won’t Reduce Overall Auto Insurance Costs
212. Occupational Licensing and Criminal Backgrounds
213. The Policy Circle: Start the Conversation
214. Smuggled Smokes: California Closes in on New York
215. Tax Evasion and Avoidance: Michigan Ranks 14th in Cigarette Smuggling
216. Updated Research Quantifies Relationship Between Cigarette Taxes and Smuggling
217. Analysis of the D.R.I.V.E. Alternative on No-Fault Reform
218. If You Seek a Pleasant Road Funding Plan, Look About You
219. EVs Have Already Had More Than Enough Taxpayer Help
220. Michigan May Have Turned a Corner on the Costs of State Employment
221. Worries Over Medicaid Costs No Reason to Oppose No-Fault Reform
222. Local Control or Too Much Control? Balancing the Rights of Citizens and State and Local Governments
223. Beyond the Fight over Social Studies Standards
224. Questions About Traverse City’s Fiber Network Plans
225. Cutting Hair or Working as an Athletic Trainer in Michigan May Get a Bit Easier
226. No-Fault Reform Plans Will Save Drivers Money
227. Mackinac Center Applauds Michigan Civil Asset Forfeiture Reforms
228. On Road Funding, Voters May Not Be As Dumb As You Think
229. Better Pension Assumptions Protect Taxpayers
230. Unnecessary Regulations Prevent People From Working
231. The Problem With Government-Run Internet is the Government-Run Part
232. Mackinac Center Praises Proposed Auto Insurance Reforms
233. Let Them Work: Michigan Should Reciprocate All Occupational Licenses
234. Road Work: Should State Prioritize ‘Horse Boobs’ or Highways?
235. “Free” Community College: Still Not a Very Sound Idea
236. There is Waste in Michigan’s Budget
237. College Funding Plans Should Encourage Competition
238. Detroit Children’s Business Fair
239. How to Strike a Balance on Short-Term Rentals
240. New High School Rankings Need More Context
241. Dues Skimming Meets Its Demise
242. Mackinac Center Applauds Federal Change Ending Dues Skimming
243. Michigan Lawmakers Propose Strict Hunting and Fishing Guide Regulations
244. Hike Taxes — Or Just Wait A Half Year
245. Michigan Legislature Passes Bills Requiring a Criminal Conviction for Forfeiture
246. Critique of CAP Report Card Fires Blanks
247. Lessons from Ronald Reagan
248. Wealth and Freedom are the Best Means of Protecting Species
249. Criminal Justice Reforms are Next Big Measure of State Success
250. Happy Tax Freedom Day, Michigan!
251. Teacher Evaluations, Cryptocurrency, Hospice Painkiller Administration and More
252. Local Governments Get a Raise From Property Tax Payers
253. IMPACT March/April 2019
254. Charter School Critique Misses the Mark
255. Collective Bargaining Does Not Equality Make
256. Impose Amusements Tax, Legalize Social Betting Pools, Drivers' License Renewals; More
257. Sound Policy in a Time of Divided Government
258. More Money for Preschool Not the Answer
259. Gas Tax Hike of 45 Cents May Kill More than 22,500 Private Sector Jobs
260. Database Details Michigan School Funding Trends
261. Roads going for less than $2.5 billion
262. Right-to-Work Means Right-to-Freedom
263. Say No to Business Subsidies
264. Michigan AG Withdraws State From Challenge to Federal Wetlands Rule
265. How States Can Support Federal Reforms for Cross-state Health Insurance Sales
266. Sunny With a Chance of Apocalypse
267. People Are Leaving the Nation’s Largest Unions After Janus Case
268. Call to Roll Back Third-Grade Reading Law Misguided
269. Michigan Needs Collective Bargaining Transparency
270. Education Scholarship Proposal Would Open Doors For Parents, Schoolchildren
271. How to Put an End to Corporate Welfare
272. Another Day, Another Union Scandal
273. Multilateral Disarmament: A State Compact to End Corporate Welfare
274. Michigan Grew Most When Business Subsidies Were Illegal
275. Unions Lose Again Fighting Against Teacher Rights
276. The Increasing Importance of Natural Gas
277. Time for a Full and Independent Review of Climate Science
278. Civil Asset Forfeiture in Michigan: The Case for Reform and How to Get it
279. New Legislature Takes Another Swing at Criminal Justice Reform
280. Proposed Cyberschool Cut Doesn't Add Up
281. The American Labor Movement Should Embrace Free Association
282. Fuel Tax Funds Will Be Diverted
283. Mackinac Center Vice President Named Among Crain’s ‘Notable Women’
284. Revenue Growth Makes Road Funding Easier
285. More Money for Preschool Not the Answer
286. Ending the Skimming of Union Dues from Federal Child Care Funds
287. Get Rid of the Teacher Licensing Exam
288. Detroit Charter Opening Doors of Opportunity
289. Gas Tax Hike of 45 Cents May Kill More than 22,500 Private Sector Jobs
290. New Policymakers May Revisit Pension Tax
291. Mix One Part Green New Deal With One Part Polar Vortex
292. Michigan School Funding Situation Better than MSU Study Portrays
293. Union Membership Continues to Drop Nationwide
294. Cigarette Tax Hike of 75 Percent Will Create Great Lake of Smuggled Smokes
295. Ideas for Funding Roads: For Today and For Tomorrow
296. Mackinac Center Releases 2019 Policy Recommendations
297. A Primer on Michigan's Criminal Justice System
298. How Criminal Justice Works in Michigan
299. Mackinac Center Launches Workers for Opportunity
300. Eau Claire High School Makes Steady Climb
301. Mackinac Center Policy Expert Recommendations 2019
302. It is a Waste of Money to Give More Tax Dollars to State Universities
303. State Licensing Didn’t Stop Funeral Home Horror Shows
304. Forfeiture Laws Take Aim at Major Drug Dealers But Hit Poor Most Often
305. Questions for Appropriators
306. Don’t Confuse Cold Weather Snap for Climate Change
307. Supreme Court: Constitution’s ‘Excessive Fines’ Clause Can Apply to Civil Asset Forfeiture
308. Business Subsidies Are Bad All Over
309. Governor's Executive Order Rebuffed; Require Conviction for Forfeiture
310. Saving Money for Michigan Workers
311. State of the System
312. Gov. Whitmer Calls for Six Expansions of Government in First ‘State of the State’ Address
313. Economic Freedom: What it is and Why it Matters
314. Pension Tax Affected 8 Percent Of All Taxpayers
315. Union Membership Continues to Drop Nationwide
316. Mackinac Center Ranked Among Top 5 Percent of U.S. Think Tanks
317. Michigan’s Democratic Governor Pushes Special Corporate Tax Break
318. Environmental Regulation Boards; Asset Forfeiture Reform
319. Dead Last In Payments to Local Governments And Everything Else
320. Mich. Tax Bureaucrats Burden Small Business
321. The Free-Market Case for a Clean Slate
322. How Much to Tax is Different From How to Spend
323. Six More Ideas for Savings in the State Budget
324. Even After Right-to-Work, Unions Still Big Political Spenders in Michigan
325. Corporate Subsidy Money to Roads; Service Animal Tax Deductions; Confidential Addresses and More
326. Get Used to It
327. Justice in a Free Society
328. Auditor General Report Questions Michigan Strategic Fund and MBDP Jobs Program
329. New Regulations May Not be Enough to Save Coal Industry
330. Criticism of Center Smuggling Scholarship Unfounded
331. MSU Report Distorts School Funding Picture
332. Taxing the Poor to Pay for Your Electric Car
333. Report Cards on Schools Engage Parents in Education Reform
334. Michigan Scraps Its Painters License
335. Compulsory Kindergarten; Sanctuary Cities; Aretha Franklin Highway and More
336. Five Reasons To End the Michigan Economic Development Corporation
337. Six More Ideas for Savings in the State Budget
338. School Safety is a Top Concern for Parents
339. Civil Asset Forfeiture Law Needs Reform
340. Michigan Parents Need School Options
341. National School Choice Week
342. IMPACT January/February 2019
343. Economic Freedom Means Economic Growth
344. John Bogle, Hero to the Little Guy Investor, Passes Away
345. New Business Subsidies Authorized in Michigan
346. State’s Report Card Law Helps Parents Evaluate Schools
347. How Right-to-Work Affected Michigan’s State Employee Unions
348. More Budget Reform Ideas for 2019
349. Michigan Charter Schools Turn 25
350. Even After Right-to-Work, Unions Still Big Political Spenders in Michigan
351. Think corporate welfare isn’t a waste? Read these studies
352. New Report Card Ranks Michigan’s High Schools
353. The 2018 Michigan Public High School Context and Performance Report Card
354. Mackinac Center Opens New Lansing Capital Office
355. Michigan Can Continue to Thrive in 2019
356. Airline Employees Sue Union for Same Constitutional Protection as Public Employees
357. A Policy Guide to Fiscal Responsibility in Michigan
358. A Policy Guide to Energy Choice in Michigan
359. A Policy Guide to Union Recertification in Michigan
360. Michigan Courts Should Revisit Shaky Legal Ground of Corporate Handouts
361. 2019 State Budget: Cut Corporate Welfare for Roads and Economic Growth
362. School Employees Dump Michigan Education Association in Droves
363. Once a Leader, Michigan Now Falling Behind in Licensing Reform
364. Still a Long Way To Go for Detroit
365. Restricting Homeschool Freedom Won't Make Children Safer
366. Gov. Snyder Punts on Play to Protect Michiganders’ Constitutional Liberties