A study from the Michigan League for Public Policy says that Michigan should spend more taxpayer dollars on state universities. This would do little to lower tuition, though, until the schools stop their spending spree.
For universities, tuition and taxpayer support are revenues that pay for their expenses. The League states that cuts in taxpayer funding of universities are the culprit for tuition increases. The biggest driver for tuition increases, however, is not stagnant taxpayer support but university expenses.
One Michigan city’s unfunded pension liability was the subject of a city council meeting this week after a concerned resident read about the problem in Michigan Capitol Confidential and decided to call on local officials for a fix.
Norton Shores resident Jim Riley told Fox 17 — which covered the meeting after Riley encouraged other residents to attend — his city must begin to address its unfunded pension liability to avoid severe cuts to services, major tax hikes, or cuts to employee retirement.
By Ben DeGrow
You can read Part 1 here.
According to the Mackinac Center’s recent survey, nearly 90 percent of Michigan voters agree that students should be able to choose a private or parochial school.
However, many families are unable to afford the option. The average tuition at a private Michigan elementary school is $4,700 a year, and $7,800 a year for high school. But with its unusual model of financing through the Corporate Work Study Program, Detroit Cristo Rey High School makes a private education affordable.
By Ben DeGrow
While most of their neighboring peers soaked in the last days of summer vacation, incoming students at Detroit Cristo Rey High School spent much of their time in training sessions before the academic year started on Aug. 29.
The payoff for their small sacrifice may end up being life changing. The proof is in the record, and in the students’ own stories.
Michigan’s economy has been on the upswing since it passed right-to-work legislation in 2012, with employment climbing 7 percent, private-sector wages increasing 4.9 percent, an unemployment falling from 9 percent to 4.5 percent – below even the national average.
By Jack McHugh
While the Legislature is on a summer break with no voting, the Roll Call Report continues its review of key votes from the 2015-2016 session.
House Bill 4329, Authorize emergency manager for chronically overspending school district: Passed 59 to 50 in the House on April 23, 2015
A recent article from Crain’s Detroit covers a study that says the state’s taxpayer-funded venture capital partnerships provided a 21-times multiplier on investments. That is, there were $21 of economic activity for every dollar taxpayers spent. The report, which argues for more taxpayer spending on venture capital, is yet another attempt to draw faulty conclusions by misapplying an economic multiplier analysis.
In June, Washtenaw County became the first local government to approve a tax on disposable carry-out bags at the grocery store. If you forget to bring your own bags, grocers are forced to charge a 10 cent tax on every new bag you receive, paper or plastic. If you double-bag, it will cost you 20 cents.
Michigan appears to be about average in access to dental care. There are about 7,700 dentists in the state and over 10,000 dental hygienists. In 2011, there were 6.2 dentists per 10,000 people, exactly the national average. But there is a concerning trend: Michigan’s dentist population skews older than average and the state may be facing a dentist shortage in the near future.
Detroit is living up to its motto and rising from the ashes by embracing business, but it would see greater job growth and faster recovery if it removed the arbitrary occupational licensing laws that are preventing it from reaching its full potential.
Michigan’s regulatory system aimed at protecting the Straits of Mackinac are working, but that hasn’t stopped media, environmental groups and public officials from criticizing a private company that’s following the rules.
As explained in an MLive op-ed by Mackinac Center’s Director of Environmental Policy Jason Hayes, Enbridge Energy has come under fire in recent months after it reported erosion around lakebed supports of its Line 5 pipeline in the Straits and requested permits from the state to fix the unsupported sections. The company followed the regulations in conducting a survey of the pipeline and is now trying to repair the eroded areas.
By Ben DeGrow
MLive reports this week that the share of Michigan students enrolling across school district lines or in public charter schools has reached 23 percent. Still others choose private schools (7 percent) or homeschooling (3 percent). The growing trend of families to access different school options is reinforced by the broader popularity of choice found in a new Mackinac Center public opinion survey.
If the government prevented people from shopping outside of their own town or state, they would be outraged and recognize it as limiting their freedom. If Michigan businesses were prevented from buying or selling their products to people from other states, most people would understand that to be economically destructive.
At an event held in northern Michigan on Aug. 4, Gov. Rick Snyder announced that he and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne would sign a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in promoting the automotive industries of Michigan and Ontario. This type of selective government meddling in the economy is a bad idea and should be avoided.
By Ben DeGrow
This year’s back-to-school season has brought out more than the usual share of anti-charter hostility — with local critics seeking to amplify national voices.
On his HBO show, comedian John Oliver skewered charter schools with 18 minutes of uninformed and outdated (but otherwise funny) satire. The NAACP has called for a moratorium on new charters, which has provoked a bewildered backlash from many who see the benefits they have provided for children of color.
By Jack McHugh
While the Legislature is on a summer break with no voting, the Roll Call Report continues its review of key votes from the 2015-2016 session.
Senate Bill 231, Ban selling “e-cigarettes” to minors: Passed 37 to 0 in the Senate on May 20, 2015
To ban selling or giving minors electronic vapor cigarettes, or any product or device that delivers nicotine. Violations would be a misdemeanor with a $50 fine, which also applies to giving a minor regular cigarettes. The House has not voted on this.
By Kahryn Riley
Herbert Hoover said, “The worst evil of disregard for some law is that it destroys respect for all law.”
This point of view goes to the heart of the Mackinac Center’s work on over-criminalization. Center analysts have examined Michigan’s vast, disorganized criminal code, discovering at least 3,102 crimes. Many of these crimes are duplicative (prohibiting the display of material containing the name of an elected official at a polling place) or unnecessary (specifying the lettering type and color for contact information displayed on a barge). Still others are of dubious constitutionality (prohibiting the cohabitation of divorced parties).
If a private company were responsible for the mistake that led to the discharge of over 570,000 gallons of wastewater into the Kalamazoo River this week, there would likely be public outrage, but because the government is responsible, most seem to turn a blind eye.
By Kahryn Riley
It is a basic principle of American law that the government may not deprive citizens of their property without due process. But, according to the Michigan Court of Appeals, at least one Michigan statute lets the state do exactly that.
When Shantrese Kinnon and her husband were arrested on drug charges in Kent County, the police searched her home and seized some property, including a GMC Denali, a Chevrolet El Camino, a motorcycle, a tablet, a laptop, and nearly $400 in cash from her purse.
By Jack McHugh
While the Legislature is on a summer break with no voting, the Roll Call Report continues its review of key votes from the 2015-2016 session.
House Bill 4163, Relax licensure restrictions on residential lift installers: Passed 62 to 47 in the House on March 11, 2015
By Ben DeGrow
For years, and especially in the wake of the state’s school funding “adequacy study,” people have called for more “equity” in how Michigan funds its public schools. Unfortunately, many of the appeals for more funding equity fail to consider the progress that has been made over the years. Instead, they treat each and every funding disparity as evidence of an entirely rigged, broken funding system.
As groups and individuals across the country work to educate workers about their rights during National Employee Freedom Week, right-to-work states like Michigan should consider another reform that would make workplaces more fair and free.
Mackinac Center Policy Analyst Jarrett Skorup wrote in an op-ed published by The Detroit News this week that even workers who opt-out of union membership can be forced to accept union representation even if they don’t want it. Worker’s Choice would free workers from forced representation and unions would no longer be required to negotiate on behalf of non-members.
This piece was originally published in the Orange County Register.
It seems there is a never-ending war on “sin” and a desire by some to try and tax it away. This includes higher taxes on snacks and cigarettes, among other items. As to the latter item, California voters will weigh in with a November ballot proposal to hike California’s cigarette excise tax by $2 per pack – a 229 percent increase.
On July 1, a new Detroit school district was created as part of a major legislative reform package — the old district will remain but serve only as a tax collecting entity. Another new organization will be responsible for educating students. This dual-district model, however, is not a new concept.
Most Michiganders are familiar with the state’s bottle deposit law, which was enacted in 1976. At 10 cents a bottle or can, Michigan has one of the nation’s highest deposit rates — most of the other states that use these deposits require only five cents. But what may not be as well known is that Michigan also enforces this law with an iron fist. A recent case from Livingston County resulted in felony charges and raises the question of whether this punishment fits the crime. It also highlights Michigan’s tendency to overcriminalize undesirable behavior.
