Mr. Michael D. LaFaive

Ironically, a special tax break offered by the State of Michigan to a for-profit arm of the SEIU labor union was offered in part to address the union's complaint that it is at a disadvantage due to Michigan's "high labor costs," compared to two other states SEIU was supposedly considering (one of them with a "Right to Work" law reviled by the union). This according to a document obtained by Detroit News business writer Daniel Howes (State tax credit to labor union is baffling, November 20). 

The Michigan Economic Growth Authority is a discriminatory tax credit program sold as a way for Michigan government to "create or retain" jobs here.

An unusual joint hearing occurring right now of two state House committees on Michigan's film subsidy program brought to mind a letter received last summer from Janet Lockwood, director of the Michigan Film Office. The letter was in response to a Mackinac Center press release describing how the subsidy program may actually destroy jobs.

Dear Legislators: It has come to my attention that you will be meeting today to discuss the Michigan film incentive program. As you consider the testimony and documents presented by various parties, be advised that certain items with seemingly pristine pedigrees may be deeply flawed.

A business operation created by the politically powerful SEIU labor union will be granted a special $2 million tax break by the state of Michigan.

If Michigan's governor and Legislature insist on taking more from families to solve the state's self-created overspending crisis, they should at least tell those families where to trim their budgets.

New Hampshire’s inspiring state motto is a tribute to individualism, but it shines a bit less brightly today after the state offered to guarantee part of a “loan” to an ailing newspaper. That’s a mistake, and if the “Live Free or Die” state has any doubt they should look to the record of the Great Lake state.

A recent Detroit Free Press editorial too easily dismisses Gov. Jennifer Granholm's now infamous 2006 quip, "you'll be blown away" ("Granholm an unfortunate victim of her own words," Nov. 11). They did so by truncating the full sentence and arguing that it was simply "delivered as an inspiration."

Last August, the Mackinac Center released a study critical of the Michigan Economic Growth Authority. This was the second of two rigorous analyses of MEGA by the Center, and both found that - at best - the program has had no net positive job creation impact. Indeed, the latest results suggest that the program may actually destroy jobs. Not surprisingly MEGA apologists have bristled, and when compelled to respond, have done so with what could charitably be called a series of untruths about the program.

The Mackinac Center's recent analysis of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. elicited some misleading or erroneous responses from MEDC officials. Although the MEDC is supposed to be about economic development, its true mission is political, and so its pronouncements should be viewed with the same skepticism as ones from politicians.