Just one out of every two entering high school freshmen manage to graduate from Pontiac Public Schools, a rate lower than the vast majority of Michigan conventional districts and charter public schools. And Pontiac's finances are just as bad as its academic performance: The district is overspending by close to $40 million per year.
While the Legislature is on a summer break the Roll Call Report is reviewing key votes of the 2013-2014 session.
Initiated Legislation 1, Ban abortion coverage through federal health care law exchange: Passed 27 to 11 in the Senate on December 11, 2013
There is an ongoing debate about spending in the state of Michigan. Almost every major sector of government complains that it doesn’t receive enough funding — this is true of cities, townships, school districts and state government.
History shows that it is the nature of government (at all levels) to try and expand. And the Mackinac Center has written a lot about each of those areas and taken on many of the specific complaints to try and counter that nature.
Research Associate Jarrett Skorup today was a guest on “Opinion Journal Live” with The Wall Street Journal, discussing the outcome of the Republican primary in Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, which incumbent Rep. Justin Amash won 57-43.
Labor Policy Director F. Vincent Vernuccio was a guest on “Capital City Recap” with host Michael Cohen on WILS AM1320 in Lansing Tuesday evening, discussing www.Augustoptout.org and how Michigan Education Association members can resign from the union during the month of August.
The latest version of Michigan Education Digest is available at https://www.mackinac.org/20378. Topics include how teachers can resign from the MEA, the overspending crisis in the Benton Harbor school district and support for a new charter public school in Jackson.
The campaign season has been filled with claims from candidates that they will create jobs. A common strategy is to target a business or an industry for special state support and to claim credit whenever jobs are added by companies receiving support. A quick look at the job creation and loss figures for the economy as a whole shows that this approach is not a workable one.
State and national media are reporting on the Mackinac Center’s efforts to inform Michigan Education Association members about their rights to opt out of the union during the month of August.
Fox News, The Detroit News, Livingston Daily Press & Argus, MLive and the Cadillac News have all reported on the Center’s website, www.Augustoptout.org, which provides teachers with the information if they so which to resign from the union.
The Center for Michigan’s Truth Squad recently rated an ad to support Proposal 1 as clear of factual issues. The ad, however, contains multiple problems.
The ad states, “Proposal 1 will make Michigan more competitive by eliminating the unfair double tax on personal property that small businesses are forced to pay. That will create up to 15,000 new jobs without raising taxes.”
While the Legislature is on a summer break the Roll Call Report is reviewing key votes of the 2013-2014 session.
House Concurrent Resolution 11, Authorize "Common Core" school curriculum standards: Passed 85 to 21 in the House on September 26, 2013
To authorize the Michigan Department of Education to spend money to implement "Common Core" curriculum promoted by an entity associated with the National Governors Association, subject to various restrictions and conditions. The Senate adopted the measure with fewer restrictions in an unrecorded voice vote.
Lovers of liberty are today recognizing the birthday of intellectual powerhouse and Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, who was born 102 years ago in Brooklyn, New York to immigrant parents. Friedman, who died in 2006, was my intellectual hero.
As I have noted in previous blog posts, Friedman revolutionized the economic science while teaching it to the everyman. He is arguably the most influential economist of the 20th Century, perhaps (unfortunately) next to John Maynard Keynes. Friedman cut so many new paths it is difficult to sum up his contributions to economics and public policy in a book, let alone a blog post.
Today is Dr. Milton Friedman's birthday. The renowned economist who brought economic principles to the masses would have been 102 today.
One of Dr. Friedman's most valuable contributions was his work on education policy. In this regard, Friedman was a visionary. Most people accept the status quo, namely a system of government-run schools, without considering its justification or how it can be improved.
Watchdog.org tells the story of Rob Wiersema, a Michigan teacher who says the Michigan Education Association did not give him the proper information he needed to opt out of the union.
The MEA has admitted it doesn't explain how teachers can leave. The Mackinac Center's Director of Labor Policy F. Vincent Vernuccio says he is helping to provide teachers with information so that they can make an informed choice in August with the website AugustOptOut.org.
Opponents of right-to-work predicted many negative economic results before Michigan became the country's 24th right-to-work state.
But, as a recent Capitol Confidential article points out, incomes have risen in the first full year since the worker freedom law went into effect. The article was picked up by Fox News, the American Thinker, and Hotair.com.
Opponents of freedom-based solutions paid the Mackinac Center several compliments during a work session at Netroots Nation 2014. The gathering is described as a "giant family reunion for the left."
Both Fox News and Watchdog.org wrote about how the Mackinac Center gains the respect of policy-makers and the public with powerful ideas. Read the Watchdog article here and the Fox News article here.
While the Legislature is on a summer break the Roll Call Report is reviewing key votes of the 2013-2014 session.
Senate Bill 542, Permit more generous government employee health benefits: Passed 38 to 0 in the Senate on October 8, 2013.
To increase from $11,000 to $12,250 the “hard cap” on the amount that a local government or school district can spend for an "individual-plus-spouse" employee health care policy under a 2011 law limiting the cost of such benefits.
If you listen to opponents of right-to-work laws, the claims are dire. But if laws allowing workers the choice of whether to pay money to a union lead to such alleged problems, why are so many people moving from forced unionism states to right-to-work states?
James Hohman, assistant director of fiscal policy, and Scott Drenkard, an economist with the Tax Foundation, write in today’s Detroit News about Proposal 1, which is estimated to save taxpayers about $500 million. You can read Hohman’s full assessment of the ballot measure here.
A 2013 Mackinac Center study found positive economic effects for states with right-to-work laws. RTW states enjoy increased real personal income growth, population growth and employment growth. New evidence supports this finding.
The evidence comes from a Competitive Enterprise Institute study. Authors Richard Vedder (a member of the Center’s Board of Scholars) and Jonathon Robe control for a variety of factors that impact state economic growth. They then compare the performance of RTW states and non-RTW states from 1977 to 2012. A chief finding is “that the overall effect of a RTW law is to increase economic growth rates by 11.5 percentage points.”
By Derk Wilcox
In a significant decision issued Tuesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the IRS’s implementation of a significant portion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was illegal. The case is called Halbig v Burwell, No. 14-5018. The DC Court’s opinion was very much in line with the interpretation of the ACA urged by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who submitted a supporting brief on behalf of the state of Michigan in cooperation with the states of Kansas and Nebraska.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has just ruled that the federal health care law does not authorize insurance subsidies provided through health care “exchanges” that were set up by the federal government. Only exchanges set up by the states can qualify for these taxpayer subsidies.
Using polling to discover not only what percentage of voters believe in man-made climate change but also how much they know about related scientific facts could prove worthwhile. Survey questions might include asking voters if they believe greenhouse gases exist and, if so, whether they think that — if possible — all greenhouse gases should be eliminated.
An Associated Press story about the upcoming Proposal 1 on the Aug. 5 primary ballot cites a recent policy brief written by James Hohman, assistant director of fiscal policy, which shows the measure could be up to a $500 million tax cut.
The story appeared in Crain's Detroit Business, Traverse City Record-Eagle, Battle Creek Enquirer, Port Huron Times-Herald, Lansing State Journal, Grand Haven Tribune, Cadillac News and Midland Daily News. It was also cited in this online "editorial board" discussion at MLive.com.
While the Legislature is on a summer break from voting, the Roll Call Report is reviewing key votes of the 2013-2014 session.
House Bill 4714, Approve Medicaid expansion: Passed 76 to 31 in the House on June 13, 2013
To expand Medicaid eligibility to families and childless adults up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which implements a key component of the federal health care law.
All criminal justice systems face competing tensions of protecting public safety while not overburdening taxpayers, and Michigan’s is no exception. Calls to reduce financial costs often face scrutiny on the grounds of potentially compromised security. In a Lansing hearing on July 1, which I was able to attend, the Council of State Governments brought to Michigan several suggestions related to criminal sentencing, claiming that these policy changes could ease the financial burden on taxpayers while simultaneously maintaining or even improving public safety.
