NPR recently turned to the Mackinac Center to set the record straight on claims made by Bernie Sanders that free trade is responsible for Detroit’s blight.

In its Break It Down fact-checking series, NPR corrected Sanders’ claims that the North American Free Trade Agreement is the reason Detroit and surrounding areas have dilapidated, abandoned buildings. Mackinac Center’s James Hohman, assistant director of fiscal policy, weighed in on the matter, pointing out that the empty buildings featured in Sanders’ tweet were likely vacant prior to NAFTA’s adoption in 1993.

Hohman disagreed with Sanders that free trade agreements have caused Detroit’s population to decline.

"That's really not going to be NAFTA," Hohman said. "That's basic corruption and mismanagement of the city government that has made it unable to provide the basic services."

"Detroit and Flint are suffering, largely from self-inflicted, in some cases state-inflicted, wounds."

Read the full article at NPR, and read more commentary on how NAFTA has impacted Michigan here.

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