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The opportunity to focus on a single topic with equally earnest friends is a gift in a consumeristic information age. The Mackinac Center fosters these opportunities all over the state by creating a forum for dialogue on a newly published study or a policy of pressing interest.
At a recent panel discussion in Lansing about barriers to work, participants were asked how often they use the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to check a doctor’s medical license before seeking an appointment. The question stimulated a discussion on the idea that people rely on licenses as a guarantee of competency or safety. We concluded that most of us rely instead on recommendations from people we know or seek out online reviews when selecting a doctor or other licensed professional.
The Mackinac Center recently hosted an event at Northwood University, generating a crowd of more than 100 people spanning multiple generations.
Attendees leaned in to understand the connection between economic prosperity and economic freedom. Florida and Texas top the charts for population growth. It’s no surprise that neither has a personal income tax, but both have right-to-work laws that protect workers’ freedom to work without paying a union. Michigan’s self-imposed backsliding through an income tax hike this year (challenged by an active Mackinac Center lawsuit) and the repeal of right-to-work in 2023 makes its middling ranking no surprise. As Michael LaFaive, Mackinac Center’s senior director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative, said, “If you artificially raise the price of living in Michigan, you will get less of it.”
At a third recent forum, a researcher, a college professor, and a former lawmaker invited participants to ponder why Michigan taxpayers are spending more than ever on higher education, while fewer and fewer students are signing up. As one panelist noted, “The challenge before us is whether the state Legislature will use the $2.7 billion appropriations to foster competition among the public universities, or should we be considering a system of public universities that not only collaborate, but cooperate?”
One community leader who attended a recent Mackinac Center event said, “Thank you for your educational seminar. I really enjoyed it and I always learn something when I come to your events.”
Uninterrupted interconnectedness makes these gatherings special. It’s just one more way the Mackinac Center seeks to have an impact, helping ordinary citizens learn about key issues from a free-market perspective so that together, we can unleash Michigan’s potential.
