Right-to-work legislation has been introduced in Indiana and may actually win Gov. Mitch Daniels’ signature by the time Super Bowl Sunday arrives on Feb. 5. The Great Lake State may need to follow suit to compete economically.
Before it does, however, the people of Michigan should note that one city — Bay City —leapt headlong into the labor fray Monday night. Its city commission voted to amend the city’s prevailing wage ordinance to exempt contracts under $100,000 in value. The previous threshold was only $10,000. It also — quite significantly — eliminates the prevailing wage mandate when Bay City shares projects with cities that do not have a similar ordinance, such as Midland. The change requires a second confirming vote which will be made at the next city commission meeting this month.
Drivers are paying more at the pump than they have in any other January. While there are several reasons for the high prices, including increasing demand from developing countries and Iranian saber rattling, the federal government is doing its part to keep gasoline prices high by mandating the impossible.
James Hohman, assistant director of fiscal policy, was interviewed by Fox News Monday about his analysis that each Chevy Volt sold costs taxpayers up to $250,000.
Aside from the corporate welfare, tax favors and other subsidies electric car makers receive, Fox also reported that buyers who can afford the high-priced vehicles receive what amounts to a transfer of wealth from lower-income taxpayers. Russ Harding, senior environmental policy analyst, made this same point some 15 months ago.
Labor Policy Director Paul Kersey in this Detroit Free Press Op-Ed calls for an end to prevailing wage in Michigan. You can read Kersey's study about the effects of the state's prevailing wage law, including additional costs to taxpayers, here.
A merit shop in west Michigan is coming under fire again, being targeted with a negative publicity campaign by the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, according to The Grand Rapids Press.
The Mackinac Center has previously detailed this union intimidation tactic, called "bannering," here and here.
Indiana policymakers are poised to pass a right-to-work law, which would make it the first state in the so-called “manufacturing belt” to pass such legislation. While the manufacturing belt isn’t what it used to be, Indiana has the greatest concentration of manufacturing jobs in the country and likely has the most to gain from enacting a right-to-work measure.
Tens of thousands of small business owners who were illegally forced into a union have been denied their ability to recoup millions of dollars in union dues that were taken from them during the scheme.
Patrick J. Wright, director of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, told WJRT-TV12 in Flint that a federal judge in Grand Rapids ruled he would not grant class action status, “so the union offered the five class members their couple hundred dollars back and kept the rest for itself.”
Paul Kersey, director of labor policy, was a guest today on “The Frank Beckmann Show” on WJR AM760, discussing right-to-work policies and the impending victory for proponents of the law in Indiana.
Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center has advanced the cause of environmental protection by writing “Eco-Fads: How the Rise of Trendy Environmentalism is Harming the Environment.” He lays out a logical case as to the causes and effects of the modern rush to embrace trendy eco-fads and does a good job of explaining how most of the fads do not deliver the promised environmental benefits (in many cases they actually do harm to the environment).
Michael LaFaive, director of the Center’s Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative, writes in a Port Huron Times-Herald Op-Ed today about what Gov. Rick Snyder should — and should not — pursue in his forthcoming State of the State address. The piece is taken from his Viewpoint commentary of Dec. 5, 2011.
In the recently concluded debate over eliminating artificial limits on the number of Michigan charter public schools, many school district superintendents actively opposed empowering parents with more school choice. So it’s a pleasant surprise to see the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents propose a plan that gives parents more options for their children, including more charters.
According to news reports, Michigan’s state government may take in $735 million more than previously expected during the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Other accounts put the figure as high as $1 billion. But as Capitol Confidential reported yesterday, since 1977 the state has spent $179.8 billion more than if spending increases had been limited to the rate of inflation plus population growth (as under a Taxpayer Bill of Rights law). That’s 244 times more than this year’s revenue “surplus.”
Since 1977, United Van Lines has published an annual analysis of which states (plus the District of Columbia) it moves clients to and from. For four consecutive years (2006-2009), Michigan experienced the highest net rate of outbound moves according to UVL. Full-year numbers are out for 2011 and there is good news for Michigan. The Great Lake State is now fourth among the states for outbound traffic, a considerable drop since 2009.
News reports indicate that Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and a majority of the Legislature are likely to act quickly on a right-to-work bill that could be introduced this week. Such a move would have significant economic consequences for Michigan.
Right-to-work laws prohibit employers and unions from entering into contracts that make workers’ financial support of the union a condition of employment. There currently are 22 states with RTW laws on the books, and research indicates they outperform neighboring non-RTW states in jobs and state economic growth. No state with a right-to-work law currently borders Michigan.
It's a good thing Walter Reuther didn't live to see this. In the same month that the National Labor Relations Board went the furthest it ever had to rework the rules in favor of unionizing more workers, UAW President Bob King stated in an interview with Reuters that his union would not be naming an organizing target among foreign automakers with plants in the United States. Instead, he said, it would attempt to encourage a more cooperative relationship with companies it wants to organize.
Wall Street Journal columnist Stephen More quoted the Center in his recent story about former basketball star Jalen Rose and the public charter school he started in Detroit.
For more information about the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, see here and here.
Michael LaFaive, director of the Center’s Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative, was cited by the San Francisco-area NBC affiliate over GlobalWatt’s decision to leave Saginaw.
“Now we know [the state of Michigan] did not really look too deeply into the matter,” LaFaive said.
The Muskegon Chronicle, The Flint Journal, The Grand Rapids Press, Adrian Daily Telegram and The Kalamazoo Gazette all used the year-end missed votes tally on MichiganVotes.org to do stories about how many roll call votes legislators in their respective coverage areas missed in 2011.
MichiganVotes.org sends a weekly report to newspapers and TV stations around the state showing how state legislators in their service area voted on the most important or interesting bills of the past week. This final report of 2011 instead contains votes on a few of the most impactful laws passed during the year.
With 2012 upon us it is time for New Year resolutions. Since the Legislature is on holiday recess and the governor is undoubtedly enjoying the holiday season with family and friends, I have taken the liberty to prepare a list of New Year resolutions for our elected leaders.
(Editor's Note: The following is based on a tribute first published in 2009.)
During its 23-year history, the Mackinac Center's staff and adjunct scholars have been honored by the opportunity to associate with more than a few stellar intellectual luminaries. Of these, perhaps none shines more brightly than Mackinac Center adjunct scholar and supporter Dr. Paul J. McCracken.
The Fraser Institute of Canada reports that the median wait-time for a Canadian who needs surgery or other therapies rose to 19.0 weeks in 2011, the longest since the Institute first began tracking wait times in 1993. The wait time for a patient referred by a general practitioner to a specialist rose from a median of 8.9 weeks in 2010 to 9.5 weeks in 2011 (up 156 percent since 1993). Patients can then expect to wait an additional 9.5 weeks before actually receiving treatment from the specialist, up from 9.3 weeks in 2010 (a 70 percent increase since 1993).
As Christmas is rapidly approaching and shoppers are scurrying to finish last-minute purchases, there is only one thing left on my Christmas list – less government. My perfect Christmas gift would be for the political class to stop playing Santa Claus. I do not want politicians to promise me an endless bag of goodies that cannot be paid for now or even by the next generation. A few items that could fill my Christmas stocking:
An editorial in today’s Detroit News about legislative attempts to tinker with the state’s recall law cites Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman, who wrote about this issue a few weeks ago.
