Flight Plan

Attracting residential and commercial expansion to the Detroit Region Aerotropolis — some 60,000 mostly vacant acres between the Detroit Metro and Willow Run airports — should occur using private money, according to one Mackinac Center analyst.

"Metro Detroit already has an 'aerotropolis,' and one that was born largely of the marketplace," Mike LaFaive, director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative, told The Detroit News. "The area has many logistics businesses, a major international airport, customs brokerages and air freight forwarders. We'd love to see them grow, but at what cost will this come to Michigan taxpayers?"

LaFaive has pointed out the failure of targeted tax credits in two major studies, which you can read here and here.

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