By Jack McHugh
Questions surrounding the "Hangar 42" movie studio subsidy-seekers are so troubling that the Mackinac Center has called for an investigation by the Michigan Legislature, Michigan Attorney General or the U.S. Attorney's office. The involvement of a state legislator on behalf of the subsidy seekers adds another layer of questions.
The U.S. EPA has classified milk as an oil that is subject to federal regulation, which requires that it be regulated under the Clean Water Act. The EPA ruling mandates that dairy farmers, already struggling to stay in business due to depressed milk prices, prepare and implement oil spill prevention plans for milk storage tanks. In response to EPA's regulatory overreach the Michigan Senate passed Senate Resolution 158, which states: "The EPA has created an onerous solution searching for a problem; ..... we urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to rescind rules that would require dairy farms to have oil spill prevention plans for milk storage tanks......"
In 2009, the vast majority of teachers in the Traverse City Area Public Schools received a base salary between $45,355 and $67,973, with an average of $56,742. The district also pays $14,631 annually for employee health insurance plans, toward which teachers contribute $87.50 per month, or 7 percent. This contrasts with the statewide average cost in the private sector for an employer-provided family plan of $11,300, with employees picking up 22 percent of that amount.
Incoming UAW President Bob King got his term as leader of the autoworkers off to a less than encouraging start, offering a lazy analysis of the UAW’s woes and a strategy that amounts to little more than wishful thinking. King understandably seeks to restore the UAW’s past position as representative for the entire American auto industry, but his first target, Toyota’s NUMMI facility in Fremont, Calif., makes little sense.
In a June 5 Wall Street Journal column called "Slouching toward Athens," American Enterprise Institute President Arthur Brooks described how in Greece, "labor unions and state functionaries demand that others pay for the early retirements," while in America, "the tea partiers demonstrate not to get more from others, but rather against government growth."
The Kalamazoo Gazette's Julie Mack recently praised the privately funded "Kalamazoo Promise" college scholarship program and questioned the priorities of Grand Rapids-based philanthropists who support charter schools and vouchers. She claimed that while parental choice programs serve less than 5 percent of students, "The Promise taps into the power of public schools."
Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman appeared on "The Glenn Beck Show" on Fox News Channel Wednesday evening to discuss the Overton Window of Political Possibility, a theory created in the mid-1990s by Joseph P. Overton, the Center's late senior vice president.
New data was released yesterday from Michigan's Office of Labor Market Information that indicates Michigan's economy may be recovering. The state unemployment rate dropped from 14 percent to 13.6 percent, marking the fifth straight month of decreasing unemployment rates. National figures will be released Friday.
Many thanks to The Allegheny Institute of Public Policy, which recently reported on the financial woes of the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, PA. This casino has suffered financial setbacks since it’s inception in 2008, and has seen its credit rating drop to “selective default,” which is the lowest it can receive from Standard & Poor’s. It received this recent rating reduction after both the General Retirement System and the Police & Fire Retirement System of the city of Detroit invested a significant amount of funding to help the casino arise from debt.
Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman is scheduled to appear on "The Glenn Beck Show" on Fox News Channel at around 5:20 p.m. EDT today to discuss the Overton Window of Political Possibility, a theory created in the mid-1990s by Joseph P. Overton, the Center's late senior vice president.
Questions continue to arise over the Hangar42 movie studio deal, including this breaking news from reporter Chris Knape at The Grand Rapids Press that outlines the involvement of a state representative's office in obtaining a tax subsidy for the project.
There has been little discussion about the proposed Michigan service tax, but there is reason to believe that Lansing may try to push one yet this year. Legislators passed a 6 percent tax on a number of services without much public input in 2007 when the state's budget deadline lapsed. Public pressure afterward caused them to repeal the tax and replace it with the Michigan Business Tax surcharge.
The Grand Rapids Press and WOOD-TV are reporting that Michigan Film Office Director Janet Lockwood agreed with Mackinac Center analysts that a proposed movie studio seeking state subsidies is questionable.
Michigan Capitol Confidential broke the story after an e-mail from Lockwood, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, quoted her saying "So disappointing, it looked so promising. But it's not. This time I am agreeing with the Mac Center." Lockwood was referring to Hangar42, about which issues were raised after a months-long Mackinac Center investigation.
Political posturing is replacing science in decision making regarding natural resources and the environment. The latest example of political posturing on environmental issues is a plan hatched by House Democrats that would ban drilling in the Great Lakes via a series of bills that, if passed by the Legislature, would place on the November ballot a constitutional ban on directional drilling under the Great Lakes. Never mind that Michigan law already does not allow drilling in the Great Lakes, nor does federal law. It is obvious that the reason some are pushing a constitutional ban for something that is already against the law is to score political points by preying on emotion and fear regarding the Gulf oil spill.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's push to put parents in jail for missing parent-teacher conferences is "unprecedented," Senior Communications Director Michael Jahr told The Detroit News.
"Parental involvement in education is desirable, but there's hardly any benefit from government coercion," Jahr said. "Are kids going to be better off if they have a parent in jail?"
The Michigan House recently passed House Bills 5211 and 5212 which mandate that local government officials consider public transportation agencies and systems in their local land use planning process. The proposed legislation defines a public transportation agency as a governmental entity that operates or is authorized to operate intercity or local commuter passenger rail service in the state or a public transit authority created under existing state law.
John Miller at National Review Online writes about the "Overton Window of Political Possibility" and how Glenn Beck has adapted the name for his new book.
Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman recently discussed the Overton Window on Beck's radio program. You can watch and or listen here.
It's hard to find a reputable, independent economist willing to argue that transferring millions of tax dollars from households and businesses to filmmakers is a rational, plausible economic development strategy. Most scratch their heads at a program that pays 42 percent of the expense of producers who make a movie here and 25 percent to developers who install a film production facility.
Calls to rearrange Michigan's institutional deck chairs are a sign of frustration with failed policies, a political class seemingly incapable of changing them, and the excessive reform-killing influence of politically powerful public employee unions. Joining proposals for a part-time legislature, unicameral legislature, biannual budgeting, "fair tax" and other reform stalwarts is the latest political fad: a runoff election, or "jungle primary" system.
LIFO stands for "last in, first out" and describes how nearly all Michigan school districts choose which teachers to lay off when downsizing becomes a necessity. The Michigan Education Association union bargains for LIFO in school employee contracts, yet ironically, it profiled a Jackson teacher who fell victim to the practice in the latest edition of its monthly magazine, the "MEA Voice."
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.
A rather blistering May 16 Livingston Daily editorial asked a few simple questions of three state lawmakers about the Michigan Film Incentive and how well it's working. Two of the legislators responded in a guest column Sunday, arguably dodging the real questions raised in the original editorial and putting up a weak defense of the two-year-old subsidy program.
Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman appeared on Glenn Beck's radio show today to discuss the Overton Window of Political Possibility, according to the Midland Daily News.
The Overton Window, created in the mid-1990s by the Center's late vice president, Joseph Overton, explains how policy changes over time. You can learn more about it here.
Congress has an opportunity to restore accountability to elected officials and put limits on the power wielded by unaccountable bureaucrats when the U.S. Senate considers Joint Resolution 26 tomorrow.
The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, would negate a current rule that EPA is finalizing that would regulate greenhouse gas under section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act. EPA's attempt to regulate greenhouse gas as a pollutant has huge negative economic implications especially for manufacturing states like Michigan. The proposed EPA rulemaking would likely for the first time require clean air permits for thousands of commercial sources in Michigan, such as shopping malls and bakeries, thereby driving up their costs.
Grand Rapids Press reporter Chris Knape has done excellent reporting on a potential $10 million taxpayer subsidy for the investors in the "Hangar42" film studio project that Gov. Jennifer Granholm has boasted of, and in a June 6 editorial the paper captured the essence of what concerns people about it. As reported by the Mackinac Center, the 25 percent "capital investment" subsidy is based on a $40 million purchase price for the property claimed by the deal's promoter, yet the same building was listed for sale at just $9.8 million in February.
