Dr. William Wilson, former senior policy analyst with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, died last April of cardiac arrest, according to his official obituary. He was 54. Bill Wilson was a longtime friend to the Mackinac Center, a talented scholar and economist and recipient of the Mackinac Center’s Lives, Fortunes and Sacred Honor Award.
Less than five years after Gov. Rick Snyder and the Legislature pulled the plug on the state’s Michigan Economic Growth Authority corporate handout program, many Lansing politicians are eager to increase the size and number of favors they can provide.
By Jack McHugh
Note: The House and Senate are adjourned until July 12 (at the earliest). There will be no Roll Call Report next week (July 7).The Roll Call Report will resume July 14.
House Bill 4759, Sell Senate's former office building in Lansing: Passed 26 to 9 in the Senate
“The models are used in ways that systematically exaggerate the public benefits of proposed government projects, thus biasing government decision making in the direction of excessive government spending and expansion into areas that should be left to the private sector.” – Edwin Mills, author of “The Misuse of Regional Economic Models.”
Last week, several areas in Mid-Michigan experienced heavy rains and near-record flood conditions. As the rain fell and water levels rose, basements began to fill with water and untreated sewage from the area’s overloaded sewer systems. Throughout the streets of Mid-Michigan towns, the impacts are clear. Sewage and water damaged carpet and furniture; boxes of ruined property are piled high on city streets, waiting for sanitation crews to pick them up.
Forty.
That is our count for the number of times a group of 14 lobbyists and a handful of Republican lawmakers referred to corporate welfare as a needed “tool” (or some variation thereof) at a state House Tax Policy committee hearing on June 14.
In this instance, corporate welfare means unelected bureaucrats at the Michigan Strategic Fund or Michigan Economic Development Corporation picking and choosing select large companies with at least 250 new employees to bestow up to $200 million in tax incentives over the next decade — foregoing revenue that would otherwise go to state government.
(Editor’s Note: The following is a modified version of a presentation given by James Hohman, assistant director of fiscal policy, as part of a debate hosted by the Midland Chamber of Commerce on June 19, 2017.)
So there are some things that I think the [Michigan Municipal League] and I are going to agree on. For instance, that unfunded liabilities for pension benefits and retiree health care are a huge cost driver for local governments. But we are not here to talk about the things we agree on but instead the things that we disagree on. So I am going to talk about our remarkably robust municipal finance system, while I assume that Anthony [Minghine] is going to talk about the broken municipal finance system.
By Kahryn Riley
The federal justice department has launched a new Public Safety Partnership that aims to help 12 U.S. cities, including Lansing, Mich., with what Attorney General Jeff Sessions calls “their serious violent crime problems.”
Sessions announced the program on Tuesday, June 20, at a criminal justice summit in Washington, D.C. He cited a “staggering” increase in the national violent crime rate and touted the PSP as fulfilling President Trump’s promise to “make America safe again.” The program will make additional federal resources available to help cities fight violence. A U.S. Department of Justice spokesman explained that to be considered for inclusion in the program a city “must have levels of violence that far exceed that national average.”
Michigan would join the vast majority of states in freeing prospective painters from needless government licensing requirements and fees if it passes proposed changes. That’s a good move, and would be another step towards right-sizing regulations.
The state requires anyone who wants to earn a living as a painter to complete 60 hours of courses, pay nearly $300 in fees and pass an exam. The would-be painter must be at least 18 years old — meaning two high schoolers can’t legally team up to paint barns for the summer.
By Jack McHugh
House Bill 4323, State budget for fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 2017: Passed 26 to 11 in the Senate
The non-education portion of the state government budget for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, 2017. This would appropriate $39.9 billion, compared to $38.7 billion authorized the year before. Of this, $21.2 billion is federal money. When combined with the education budget (next bill), the state will spend $56.5 billion next year, vs. $54.9 billion last year, or a 2.9 percent increase.
By Ben DeGrow
As the Detroit Free Press tells it, Michigan should be concerned about a new study that finds for-profit charter operators get worse results than their nonprofit counterparts. But an in-depth analysis of the data used for the study actually shows most Michigan for-profit operators doing significantly better than average.
On May 13th, children from around metro Detroit gathered at the Detroit Historical Museum for the second annual Detroit Children’s Business Fair.
The event, hosted by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan, allowed children to sell goods to customers for real money. Testing their hand at being an entrepreneur, kids could win prizes for creativity, originality and business potential, and to get advice from a panel of expert judges on ways they might improve.
The following is testimony prepared for the Michigan Travel Commission at its June 22 meeting in Muskegon, Michigan. The Commission is charged with the mandate to “promote, maintain and develop the orderly growth of the Michigan travel industry” and is required to take testimony regarding policy adoption or adaption “from a broad cross section of travel interests.”
Traverse City is exploring investments in public broadband internet. Past experience teaches us that it should be very cautious about doing so.
Initially, a public entity was reportedly thinking about building a fiber internet line and becoming an internet service provider. The chairman of Traverse City Light & Power says the organization is still in the process of making that decision. New evidence suggest there are many ways for these types of deals to go wrong.
By Jack McHugh
House Bill 4647, Overhaul school employee retirement system: Passed 55 to 52 in the House
To replace the current school pension system with one that requires more cost-sharing by new employees, and contains provisions intended to limit state management practices responsible for the $29.1 billion of unfunded liabilities in the status quo system. New employees could choose instead to receive substantial employer contributions to 401(k) accounts. If the overhauled defined benefit component is not properly funded then enrollees would have to pay half the cost of correcting this, and if underfunding exceeds specified levels this option would be closed to new hires.
By Ben DeGrow
New Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti has said he wants to pursue a “student-first state and local policy agenda” for the troubled district. Renegotiating the teachers union contract gives him an early opportunity to work toward a truly student-first agenda.
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master—that's all."
Editor's note: The following is a transcript of the testimony given by Jarrett Skorup, a policy analyst at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, on June 14 before Michigan House Tax Policy Committee.
In February of this year, the House Republican Action plan said this, in regards to economic policy:
State lawmakers are once again rushing to embrace another program designed to benefit a few at the expense of the many. The new proposal is known colloquially as “Good Jobs for Michigan” but if history is any guide, it will produce few of note. It is a state “tax capture” program loosely modeled on the state’s failed multibillion dollar corporate welfare subsidy program known as MEGA, and it could be passed as early as this summer.
In endorsing a proposal to give businesses more subsidies, The Detroit News says that failing to pass this package “stunts not just job creation, but the state’s population growth as well.” But that assumes the proposal will help the state economy and fails to consider the full costs of this subsidy program.
By Jack McHugh
Senate Bill 343, Give students government predictions related to careers: Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate
To require school districts to give students a regional “career outlook” forecast document created by a government "Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives." This would be part of a process that seventh-graders must undergo of creating an "educational development plan" with school officials.
(Editor's Note: The following is an edited version of a speech given by Michael LaFaive to the Florida chapter of Americans for Prosperity on June 8, 2017. Some of the language used here was taken from previously published remarks or essays.)
There are few areas of research where I find such widespread agreement in academic and other studies than those involving targeted “economic development” programs. In short, so-called development programs run by governments are ineffective and expensive. They don’t work, they’re unfair to those who pay full freight, cost billions of dollars that could be better used elsewhere and are potentially corrupting.
By Kahryn Riley
A 15-year battle to repeal some of the few mandatory life sentences remaining on the books in Michigan could soon be won as the Legislature considers a package of bills. The issue has seen liberals and conservatives aligned.
Mandatory sentences are different from the typical way courts decide a punishment for a crime. First, let’s describe how sentencing usually works.
Taxpayers are paying $2.5 billion more each year than they should for state-mandated school employee pensions. Lawmakers are getting heavy pushback on a bill that would fix this over time. The people that are fighting against this should actually support the effort.
By Jack McHugh
House Bill 4184, Restrict local government “phone-in” voting: Passed 96 to 12 in the House
To restrict members of an elected public body casting a vote without being physically present. This would be allowed in one meeting per year per member, if the individual is absent for what other members deem to be good cause. It would also be allowed if a delay on a personnel or infrastructure issue could raise costs or liability.
