The Flint Journal reports that members of a newly formed group called Flint Area Congregations Together (FACT) recently traveled to California, Virginia and New York looking for successful schools in areas with demographics similar Flint. While the aim is noble, the group could learn from a number of high-performing schools right at home in Flint.
The Lansing State Journal reports that a "Sonic" restaurant chain outlet that was promised $90,000 in taxpayer-funded corporate welfare subsidies and tax breaks won't be opening after all in south Lansing. Sharp-eyed corporate welfare officials keeping close tabs on the situation realized this when they noticed that there were "for sale" signs posted on the favored parcel.
In an Op-Ed in the St. Louis Beacon, Christine Harbin of the Missouri-based Show-Me Institute argued that "Tax credit programs are not as effective as advertised" and used Mackinac Center research to help make the case:
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan released a study in which it compared job estimates made by Michigan's economic development agency accompanying tax credit awards to the actual outcomes of those programs. Mackinac found that only 7.9 percent of projects were completed on time and produced the number of jobs promised. Missouri cannot afford this failure rate.
Growing up in America during the Cold War, most of us thought the biggest threat to our freedom was from communist Russia seeking to forcibly impose their totalitarian way of life on us. Turns out we were mistaken: The biggest threat to freedom in America is from within — the modern day green movement. The ruling class has decided that Americans left to their own devices will not do the right things to save the planet and therefore the force of government must be used to control almost all aspects of American life.
Whenever faced with the possibility of lower revenue, Michigan's public school establishment perennially cries that it's already been "cut to the bone." Many people find the claim plausible given the state's "lost decade," so they may be surprised to discover how many school districts have consistently cut costs in recent years:
Governors often use their official State of the State addresses to do a little bragging, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm's February, 2010 outing was no exception. Unfortunately, what was intended as an "economic development" victory lap — citing companies expected to create jobs thanks to selective tax breaks and subsidies provided by her administration — has become a series of embarrassing blunders including Hangar42 studios (Grand Rapids), GlobalWatt, Inc. (Saginaw), and Unity Studios (Allen Park).
A Corpus Christi Caller-Times article confirms the results of a Mackinac Center investigation into solar energy company GlobalWatt's questionable application for economic development tax credits from the state of Michigan.
The Caller-Times reports that a Michigan Economic Development Corp. official told the paper that the agency "didn't check the company's claims" on the application about "upfront cash" incentives with the state of Texas and Corpus Christi. The official went on to say, "We're going to give them (GlobalWatt) the best deal we can regardless of what was offered in Texas."
(Editor's note: This is a guest post by Jay Schalin, a senior writer with the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in North Carolina, a nonprofit institute dedicated to improving higher education in North Carolina and the nation.)
In his recent column, Nolan Finley argues that Michigan can turn around by emulating North Carolina. "The states that have passed us on the prosperity list get it. North Carolina, for example, has sacrificed to pour more money into its colleges and universities," he writes.
Horse racetrack owners complain that the state is schizophrenic about their industry, erecting statutory and bureaucratic barriers to it operating profitably while throwing special favors at particular tracks in the form of subsidies and selective tax breaks (see "'Schizophrenic' State Planning"and related stories in Michigan Capitol Confidential). Further, they say it's unfair that they must compete for gambling customers against a government lottery with sales outlets in every convenience store.
Taxpayers and students won a small but potentially very important victory Friday when Administrative Law Judge David M. Peltz found that the Legislature did not give unions the authority to sidetrack privatization of non-instructional services by school districts. The decision came in the first round of what may still prove to be a lengthy administrative and legal battle over the meaning of amendments to the state collective bargaining law that the Legislature passed last year as part of the "Race to the Top" reform package. Nonetheless, the decision improves the chances that school districts will retain the right to privatize services, and strengthens the hand of school boards in dealing with inflexible unions.
A school district consolidation study done by Andrew Coulson, Mackinac Center adjunct fellow, was cited Thursday in The Grand Rapids Press.
A recent study on the topic from Michigan State University has come under fire for questions of both plagiarism and methodology.
On Thursday the plug was officially pulled on a monumentally hyped film infrastructure deal in Allen Park called "Unity Studios." There were no press releases from the Governor's office or the Michigan Economic Development Corp. announcing the evaporation of the mirage, but they had plenty to say when its promoters were granted their first batch of state corporate welfare promises in 2009:
A columnist in today's Detroit News cites research by Center scholars on the disparity between the wage increases in the public sector and wage decreases in the private sector in Michigan over the last decade.
Frank Beckmann, who also hosts "The Frank Beckmann Show" on WJR AM760, said the fiscal 2011 state budget, which takes effect today, was passed with "cowardly fixes."
Many school boards around the state are attempting to renegotiate contracts with their local teachers unions to contain costs. Here's a brief recap of some of the new contracts agreed to this last month.
Grand Haven: A new two-year contract grants teachers net across-the-board salary increases of 1.75 percent this year and next. The district changed health insurance plans, moving from "SuperCare I" — the most expensive plan sold by the MEA union's MESSA arm — to a slightly less generous Choices II. Teachers will have to pay $10 for brand-name prescriptions, but still won't be required to contribute anything toward the cost of health insurance premiums. More information can be found here.
The Michigan Education Association opposes bonus pay for teachers who excel at improving student performance, but supports a merit system for teachers who excel at raising money for MEA politicking.
Here are the details: A recent study based on some math teachers in Nashville, Tenn., failed to show three years of merit-based pay had any effect on student achievement. The MEA and its parent organization, the National Education Association, were quick to use the limited experiment’s results to reinforce their argument that teachers should be paid like assembly-line workers.
WNEM-TV5 in Saginaw reports that questions have been raised regarding an "alleged preferential tax deal" involving the Michigan Economic Growth Authority and GlobalWatt Inc.
A Mackinac Center investigation by Fiscal Policy Director Mike LaFaive and Communications Specialist Kathy Hoekstra produced an essay and this video examining the details of the agreement and paperwork filed by the company to obtain state subsidies.
This is worth plucking from a Capitol Confidential story today:
State employees get a 3 percent pay hike this Friday, because lawmakers in the House and Senate failed to veto it earlier this year. This will be the 11th raise they've received since 2002. In addition, individual employees are constantly getting "step" or seniority pay hikes, longevity boosts, and more.
Tim Greimel, D-Auburn Hills, of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners recently wrote in an Op-Ed for The Oakland Press that he embraces the Mackinac Center's transparency initiative and wants Oakland County to post expenditures online.
House Bill 6458, introduced by Reps. Gabe Leland, D-Detroit, and Mike Huckleberry, D-Greenville, is the latest assault on private property rights to come out of Lansing. The bill exempts property owners in Michigan cities with a population of 900,000 or more (read: Detroit) from protection under Michigan's Right to Farm Act.
At the end of last August the National Labor Relations Board began the process of reconsidering its decision in a case known as Dana Corp., issuing a request for briefs from interested parties on the effects of the Dana ruling on unions, employers and workers. This is a process that Michigan, with its still-powerful union movement, will want to watch closely.
The Oakland Press and Macomb Daily reported recently that school privatization of noninstructional services increased over last year.
Citing the Mackinac Center's 2010 School Privatization Survey, the Press and Daily reported that nearly half of all public school districts in Michigan contract out for food, custodial or transportation services.
Legal problems and a family squabble continue to surround the failed film studio known as Hangar42, according to The Grand Rapids Press.
The Mackinac Center broke the story after a months-long investigation by Communications Specialist Kathy Hoekstra and Mike LaFaive, director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative, which raised questions about the efficacy of the deal. In May we posted this essay and video with our findings. The research and reporting ultimately led to an Attorney General investigation and a criminal charge against the primary buyer of the studio, Joseph Peters.
The Michigan Court of Appeals for a second time dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation on behalf of three small-business owners who object to being forced into a union, according to the Livingston Daily Press & Argus.
"For the second time, the Court of Appeals failed to discuss how private business owners can be made to pay dues to a government employees union," Patrick J. Wright, MCLF director, said according to the Livingston Daily. "In fact, the Court of Appeals entered just four sentences of legal assertions, and those managed to avoid the key legal questions. This is surprising, given that the Michigan Supreme Court unanimously ordered the Court of Appeals to explain its first dismissal of the lawsuit."
Michigan State Parks officials often complain that there is insufficient revenue to adequately operate and maintain the system. The legislative response to the problem? Add more revenue-losing rustic campgrounds to the State Park system. According to an article in MIRS, a deal was cut in a late night joint House-Senate conference committee to keep six rustic campgrounds open that were closed by executive order of Gov. Jennifer Granholm in 2009.
Every week, MichiganVotes.org sends a report to newspapers and TV stations showing how just the state legislators in each publication's service area voted on the most important and interesting bills and amendments of the past seven days. The version shown here instead contains a link to the complete roll call tally in either the House or Senate. To find out who your state senator is and how to contact him or her go here; for state representatives go here.
