All 2023 Publications

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1. Public Service Commission ruling on the Line 5 Tunnel is a small pre-holiday win for Michiganders
2. Michigan’s school funding amendment is a harmful relic
3. History lessons for policymakers pondering our population problem
4. Mackinac Center in the news: Whitmer brings on the night
5. School spending plan doesn’t make the grade
6. Court of Claims Rejects Permanent Income Tax Cut
7. Dear population council: There’s a labor elephant in the room
8. Whitmer’s population council shoots blanks
9. Human costs of electric vehicles
10. Reforming Union Contracts Can Improve Policing
11. How To Improve Policing Through Collective Bargaining Reforms
12. Police Contracts Analyzed for the 2023 Police Collective Bargaining Reforms Study
13. ‘I just think that’s a success, right?’
14. Taxes matter to Michigan’s population growth
15. Blaming homeschoolers for foster abuse is a dodge
16. History lessons for policymakers pondering our population problem
17. IMPACT November/December 2023
18. Michigan population council looks for growth in all the wrong places
19. Why you should never believe corporate welfare promises
20. Electric vehicles scar the environment
21. Michigan’s school funding amendment is a harmful relic
22. Great Lakes Tunnel a case study in why it is so expensive to build in the United States
23. Let consumer choice drive the shape of the auto market
24. Public Service Commission ruling on the Line 5 Tunnel is a small pre-holiday win for Michiganders
25. ‘They can embrace radical policies with no repercussions’
26. Matthew Schafer, Harry Hucklebury and Lilly Hucklebury v. Kent County
27. Michigan Population Loss Can’t Be Solved Without Broad Economic Reforms
28. How to Make Michigan Grow
29. Michigan taxpayers will lose on Ford deal
30. Has the first tax hike of 2024 just dropped?
31. Michigan barbers bob, weave around punishing regulations
32. State broadband plan won’t help rural communities
33. Has the first tax hike of 2024 just dropped?
34. Love nature? Thank a hunter
35. Janus had a large impact on union membership, five years later
36. Price controls lead to drug shortages
37. Nobody Is buying what Gretchen Whitmer is selling
38. ‘Our civilization, our democracy, our society depend on that’
39. The trade-offs of paid leave policies
40. Michigan growth officer wrong on taxes and growth
41. Love nature? Thank a hunter
42. State broadband plan won’t help rural communities
43. Let’s Build: Why Michigan Should Embrace Zoning Reform
44. Michigan politicians submit more bills hamstringing property owners
45. ‘That is what makes health care so different from every other sector of the economy’
46. Let nurse practitioners do their jobs
47. Bureaucrats Are Setting Up Michigan Broadband Funds to Fail
48. Good Manners and Good Policy: How civility can help renew Michigan’s political culture
49. Michigan lawmakers should aim for the least harmful net-zero plan
50. The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office’s BEAD Proposal
51. Michigan Energy Plan: At Least $200 Billion For Wind, Solar and Corporate Profits With No Effect On Global Climate
52. Time for a 180 on Michigan 360
53. Right-to-work was key to pandemic recovery
54. Lynette Hathon and Amy Jo Denkins v. State of Michigan
55. Michigan cities ban short-term rentals — a black market is sure to follow
56. Now is not the time to throw out teacher standards
57. Note to Michigan’s population council: Research favors freedom
58. IMPACT September/October 2023
59. Transit reformers ask all the wrong questions
60. New Energy Bills Would Increase Costs and Blackouts
61. Three years later, Michigan court rules Michigan State illegally withheld information
62. Michigan bill would prevent housing providers from checking renters’ criminal records
63. Fixing FOIA
64. Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act Must Be Significantly Reformed
65. Whitmer gets it right on auto insurance
66. Now is not the time to throw out teacher standards
67. Fountain of youth won’t help mire of Michigan
68. ‘The moral argument is what wins’
69. Michigan Treasurer Should Recognize Permanent Tax Cut
70. Health Policy Changes in Michigan: Recommendations and Warnings
71. Michigan cities ban short-term rentals — a black market is sure to follow
72. Politicians and interest groups used fear to hike pilot regulations
73. Mackinac Center in the news: Auto workers on strike
74. Note to Michigan’s population council: Research favors freedom
75. Teacher Evaluations Improve Both Student and Teacher Performance
76. Renter’s ‘Bill of Rights’ would spike Michigan housing costs
77. Michigan still has a way to go in reforming civil asset forfeiture, new report shows
78. ‘We have to protect the parents who trust their kids with some independence’
79. State’s electric system not meeting basic test of reliability
80. Teacher retirement bill is a step backward
81. What to know about the land value tax proposal
82. Occupational Hazard: State Licensing Laws in Michigan
83. Income Tax Lawsuit Should Continue
84. Three reasons Michigan's budget is unsustainable
85. Brief Says States Must Obtain Direct Consent From Employees Before Withholding Union Dues
86. Whitmer abuse of emergency powers is déjà vu all over again
87. Michigan loses in UAW strike
88. Michigan test results show big COVID-era learning loss
89. Michigan loses in UAW strike
90. State of Alaska v. Alaska State Employees Association/American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 52, AFL-CIO
91. How popular are unions?
92. At least we’re not New York
93. Mackinac Center sues state treasurer over tax cut
94. Renewable energy or bust?
95. Michigan Court of Appeals Affirms Property Owners' Rights
96. ‘Thirty to forty years ago, this was actually a debatable question. Now that we have the data in hand it’s much less debatable’
97. Federal bill would provide choices for consumers and strengthen the supply chain
98. Whitmer abuse of emergency powers is déjà vu all over again
99. Canary in a cigarette-smuggling coal mine
100. Let Them Grow: How Michigan Can Encourage Free-Range Kids
101. Michigan test results show big post-COVID learning loss
102. Teachers union president: Focus on politics, not on bargaining, wages, education
103. Opposition to HB 4688
104. Unlocking Economic Opportunity in Michigan
105. Let’s Get to Work
106. 'Free' preschool will hinder low-income families in Michigan
107. Two cheers for Whitmer’s permitting order
108. ‘If that sounds outrageous and corrupt, it’s because it is’
109. Federal court severely curtails civil asset forfeiture in Michigan
110. Long Lake Township v. Maxon
111. How public policy can help kids build resiliency
112. Michigan Reconnect needs reform
113. Corporate welfare is no way to run a state
114. IMPACT July/August 2023
115. MISO’s Maximum Generation Event is a clear warning
116. Auto buyers have good reasons for avoiding e-cars
117. Whitmer hypes biz subsidies as state economy stagnates
118. Dude, where’s your car?
119. Punishing landlords will make the housing crisis worse
120. Michigan’s got the bloated budget blues
121. Sound public policy, not advertising, will attract more Michigan residents
122. ‘Now it’s simply referred to as the Overton Window, as if everyone knows what it is’
123. Mackinac Center Sues to Preserve $700 Million Tax Cut
124. Mackinac Center Files Suit to Defend Income Tax Reduction
125. Planning for Life Workshop
126. The Union Takeover of Michigan?
127. Clean energy isn’t clean
128. Mackinac, Cato Fight Biden-era Student Debt Cancellation
129. ‘The power of these policies is to individualize education for children’
130. Punishing landlords will make the housing crisis worse
131. Déjà vu: Michigan going all-in on taxpayer-subsidized battery plants
132. Lawmakers authorize another $800 million in business subsidies
133. Mackinac Center Joins NCLA Lawsuit Contesting Biden’s New Student Loan Debt Cancellation
134. Hohman: Tax/spend policies depress household income
135. Whitmer hypes biz subsidies as state economy stagnates
136. Challenge to Michigan’s Blaine Amendment Heard by U.S. Appeals Court
137. Regulations keep coming, algae keep blooming
138. How the Michigan Legislature is Spending Your Tax Money
139. Send Michigan your licensed masses
140. Mackinac Center Remembers Former Michigan Rep. Gary Glenn
141. ‘This is my home and I’m going to fight for this thing’
142. Disconnect with Michigan Reconnect continues
143. Michigan spending is unsustainable
144. Even the rich aren’t rich enough to save us
145. Record-breaking school aid budget ignores proven ways of improving student achievement
146. Michigan offered one company more subsidies than the budget of a dozen state departments
147. Dude, where’s your car?
148. In Michigan, earmarks are not cricket
149. Planning for Life Workshop
150. Michigan makes post-COVID education crisis worse
151. Employees' First Amendment Rights Deserve Protection
152. How the Michigan Legislature is Spending Your Tax Money
153. Michigan’s top-10 hit
154. Anderson Federation of Teachers, et al. v. Todd Rokita
155. It’s like Lenin said: You ask who benefits, and, uh, you know
156. Can Michigan Buy Its Way to Growth?
157. Michigan property owners watch New York Airbnb suit
158. ‘They say it adds up to real money’
159. Record-breaking school aid budget ignores proven ways of improving student achievement
160. Once again, it's not the climate, it's the fuel
161. Mackinac Center Sues Michigan State for Redacting Info About Megasite
162. Mackinac Center Sues MSU for Improperly Redacting Land Use Agreement
163. Even the rich aren’t rich enough to save us
164. When public laws are private policy
165. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is killing nuclear energy
166. Michigan spending is unsustainable
167. Mackinac Center Will Continue Student Loan Deferment Challenge
168. The legacy of the Overton Window
169. IMPACT May/June 2023
170. ‘Sometimes cynical explanations are the correct ones’
171. America needs higher standards
172. Planning for Life Workshop
173. Budget Based on False Revenue Assumption
174. Don’t put the screws to insurers
175. Don’t panic over the reefs
176. Promoting the Values of Freedom and Entrepreneurship at the Grassroots in Nepal
177. Preserve Important Labor Reforms
178. Blackout Bills Are Dangerous and Economy-Crushing
179. Michigan’s Blackout Bills
180. Minimum wage does maximum damage
181. Only who can prevent forest fires?
182. Michigan Senate takes aim at licensing hunting, fishing guides
183. Michigan budget could use more restraint
184. COVID flexibilities that should outlive COVID-19
185. ‘Argument is the great source of political power’
186. New Report Shows Large Drop in Union Membership Five Years After Janus Decision
187. Higher Excise Taxes Lead to More Interstate Smuggling
188. The Janus Effect
189. Recent Supreme Court Case Could Vindicate Michigan Property Owner’s Claim Against Government Overreach
190. Michigan growth czar should know where to look
191. Earth, wind and emergencies
192. Populists aren’t so popular
193. Only who can prevent forest fires?
194. Senate bill would make energy costs worse
195. Whitmer picks wrong strategy to improve state economy
196. Michigan advocates admit solar still can’t compete
197. ‘The federal government has stepped in and broken the market’
198. Michigan should focus its broadband money
199. Michigan budget could use more restraint
200. Does ‘free’ community college provide value for graduates?
201. Property Owners Win Big in Two Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Rulings
202. Traverse City fiber network spiking in costs, lacking in customers
203. Productivity Credits Incentivize Participation in Educational and Vocational Programs
204. Don’t ask ALICE
205. If the ‘free rider’ is a problem for unions, why don’t they solve it?
206. Michigan drops the ball with teacher evaluation system
207. ‘The Great Depression pushed relegalization into the Overton Window’
208. Michigan Senate takes aim at licensing hunting, fishing guides
209. Florida sets the stage for labor reforms
210. Tennessee Signs Historic Law Linking State Economic Incentives to Private-Ballot Protections
211. Mackinac Center Asks Federal Court to Halt Unlawful Student Loan Payment Pause
212. An Evening with the Mackinac Center
213. AFSCME has lost 200K-plus members and fee-payers nationwide since Janus decision
214. Florida Enshrines Aggressive Worker Freedom Bills into Law
215. Prohibition repeal tasted great, but the New Deal was less filling
216. Prevailing Wage Laws Significantly Increase Road Construction Costs
217. The Costs of Prevailing Wage: Evidence From State Road Construction Spending
218. Changes to School Counselor Licenses
219. Budget ’24: Cut Michigan Strategic Fund Money
220. Correctional Officers and PERA
221. Modifying Teacher Certification Requirements
222. Michigan drops the ball with teacher evaluation system
223. ‘It’s focused on destroying credibility instead of dealing with facts’
224. Amy Green: 1971-2023
225. Don’t ask ALICE
226. Florida Legislature passes bill ending union dues deductions
227. ‘Scaffolding for Plunder’
228. IMPACT March/April 2023
229. ‘I think that’s a little bit of political cowardice’
230. If the ‘free rider’ is a problem for unions, why don’t they solve it?
231. Unions Can’t Discriminate Against Non-Members
232. Tax credit gives organized labor blank check for union spending
233. Michigan deserves accountability for Medicaid
234. More money, fewer riders for Michigan transit
235. Student loan ‘pause’ costs taxpayers $5 billion a month
236. Pure Michigan is pure secrecy
237. The union takeover has arrived in Michigan
238. Technical Professional and Officeworkers Association of Michigan v. Daniel Lee Renner 2023’
239. Where's the sunlight in Lansing?
240. Opposition to SB 169 and 185
241. Cigarette taxes turn New York into smuggling empire
242. “No-more-stringent” Requirements Protect Michigan Businesses
243. Budget for a permanent tax cut
244. Unions cling to monopoly on bargaining
245. Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game
246. Who’s afraid of measuring teacher performance?
247. Let pharmacists provide more medical services
248. Pure Michigan is pure secrecy
249. ‘A conservationist is an environmentalist with a chainsaw’
250. Student loan ‘pause’ costs taxpayers $5 billion a month
251. New Civil Liberties Alliance and Mackinac Center Challenge Unlawful Extensions of Federal Student Loan Deferments
252. Holding the Department of Education Accountable for Illegally Extending Student Loan Deferrals
253. Nessel opinion not binding on courts
254. More money, fewer riders for Michigan transit
255. Repealing Right-to-Work is a Massive, Unforced Error
256. ‘I didn’t think courts had that ability, and I still don’t’
257. Whitmer targets online charter schools that serve needy kids
258. Michigan’s coming energy crisis will be man-made
259. The weak support for mandatory payments to unions
260. Biden: Let them eat Hummers
261. Polls on Michigan’s Right-to-Work Law
262. If we give colleges even more money, will they keep tuition down?
263. Michigan’s economy needs to catch up
264. Universal pre-K not off to a Great Start
265. Michigan must choose top-down or bottom-up
266. Is more money the answer to learning loss in Michigan?
267. The Whitmer agenda is a sop to the rich
268. Economic Freedom: Across the World and in the States
269. The supremacy clause: Michigan Constitution ranks below its federal counterpart
270. The feds can’t find the Supreme Court leaker. You think they can fix climate change?
271. Hohman on EITC: Don’t call it a tax cut
272. Michigan’s bizarre negative tax
273. Threats to Economic Freedom: The Problem with Externality Arguments
274. Four wrong questions being asked in Michigan policy debates
275. CapCon’s Michigan Constitution Project: What we hope to achieve
276. School accountability bill gets failing grade
277. Hohman: Is a tax hike coming in Michigan in 2023?
278. Mackinac Center Welcomes Health Policy Advisor
279. Give patients freedom to dial for doctors
280. Say No to prevailing wage
281. ‘They delivered on what they said they were going to do’
282. Right-to-Work Turns Ten: The Law and Its Benefits
283. Supreme Court takes on ‘equity theft’
284. After 10 Years, It’s Clear Right-to-Work Benefits Michigan
285. Repealing Right-to-Work Would be Disastrous for Michigan Workers and Economy
286. Repealing Right-to-Work is a bad deal for Michigan autoworkers
287. Michigan Should Not Join National Popular Vote Compact
288. The Michigan Education Association Improperly Took COVID-19 Relief Funds
289. Corporate welfare is Michigan Democrats’ top priority
290. Holding MEA and MESSA Accountable for Wrongfully Receiving Taxpayer-Funded Loans
291. Will Michigan politicians force workers to pay corrupt unions?
292. Grand Rapids charter school makes engineers and pilots
293. Get more competitive on taxes
294. The United States of free?
295. Michigan’s amped-up budget
296. ‘I don’t appear to have any effect at all on most Republican office holders but I’m not going to stop trying’
297. Michigan still below national average for post-high school education rate
298. If we give colleges even more money, will they keep tuition down?
299. Under Democratic rule, Lansing is headed back in time
300. Is more money the answer to learning loss in Michigan?
301. Michigan Disconnect: Whitmer education proposals don’t inspire confidence
302. Michigan shouldn’t worry about becoming a ‘climate haven’
303. Universal pre-K plan not off to a Great Start
304. Michigan’s economy needs to catch up
305. The notion of Gotion
306. ‘Decarbonization has really thrown a wrench into the gears’
307. House Votes to Thwart Income Tax Cut And Give Away $1.65 Billion in Corporate Welfare
308. Schools get rich, deliver poor results
309. Vote NO on HB 4001
310. Tax cut statute is designed to create lower rates
311. IMPACT January/February 2023
312. Lawmakers Should Pass a Sustainable Michigan Budget
313. Pass a Sustainable Michigan Budget
314. Michigan lawmakers fail to turn business subsidies into job growth
315. In Lansing and Washington, lawmakers move past COVID concern
316. Mackinac Center for Public Policy Announces Mackinac Center Action
317. Union membership in the United States is smallest ever recorded
318. Federal program forces drug companies to fund hospital profits
319. Civil Asset Forfeiture in Michigan Should End
320. Why Michigan Should End Civil Asset Forfeiture
321. Is more money the answer to learning loss in Michigan?
322. Streetcar still undesired in Detroit
323. Mackinac Center adds $450 million to corporate welfare scorecard for Michigan lawmakers
324. Some lawmakers want to cook the books to avoid a tax cut
325. Secretive State Spending Spree a Bad Deal for Taxpayers
326. Michigan Disconnect: Whitmer education proposals don’t inspire confidence
327. ‘It’s the message that hopefully I can carry on behalf of Michigan families’
328. Research Finds Prison Education Programs Reduce Recidivism
329. National School Choice Week
330. Feeding-the-sparrows-through-the-horse economics
331. Whitmer Plays Favorites, Misfires on Broad Economic Growth Strategy
332. Mackinac Center Announces 2023 Policy Priorities
333. 2023 Public Policy Recommendations
334. Families Continue Challenge to Michigan’s Bigoted Blaine Amendment
335. Natural gas feeds half of humanity
336. Are Education Programs in Prisons Worth It?
337. North Carolina: First in Forestry
338. Enabling Free and Responsible Speech
339. Shaky U-M study promotes e-vehicle transition
340. New bills would give special exemptions for pension income
341. Bauervic Essay Competition Workshop
342. Less is more
343. New Democratic majorities can help Michigan add jobs with full expensing
344. Don’t panic over ‘forever’ chemicals
345. Michigan shouldn’t worry about becoming a ‘climate haven’
346. Potential Automatic Reduction to Income Tax is a Good Start
347. ‘It’s not like the auto industry ever wanted something from the state government and didn’t get it’
348. Michigan Right-to-Work Repeal Bills Are Unconstitutional
349. Mackinac Center Promotes Skorup and Guenthner
350. Less is more
351. How should we punish people for their crimes?
352. Michigan Voters Favor Right-to-work Law by a 2-1 Margin
353. Rhode Island Teacher Fired for Opting Out of Union Membership
354. Rhode Island Teacher Unconstitutionally Forced to Choose Between Job and Union
355. Michigan Democrats are wrong on right-to-work
356. Repealing Michigan's right-to-work law would silence workers