Albion Superintendent Jerri-Lynn Williams-Harper is asking nearby school districts to stop providing transportation to Albion students who have chosen to enroll in a different district through "Schools of Choice." Most districts throughout the state participate in SOC and have opened their doors widely and sought to serve disadvantaged students from other districts.
The Michigan state budget is $54.5 billion — so why can’t legislators find an extra $1.2 billion or so for road funding?
That’s the question MLive tries to answer in a video. But they buy into a bad argument in their explanation.
Many proponents of raising taxes to increase road funding often say that the total budget number of $54.5 billion is misleading and that lawmakers have “only” about $10 billion to work with. MLive accepts this argument and assumes new spending for roads can only come from this portion of the state budget.
Michael LaFaive, Director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative at the Mackinac Center, recently joined Keli'i Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute and host of E Hana Kakou, to discuss personal and economic freedom and its impact on everyday life.
An MLive.com editorial criticizes the state Senate's road funding plan, stating “It is cowardly and irresponsible for [Sen. Arlan] Meekhof and his colleagues to refuse to outline what, exactly, they will cut.”
Michigan tax revenues are growing, and both the House and the Senate road plans mean some of that expected growth would fund roads. Some $1.6 billion in expected revenue increases over the next two years would be more than enough to avoid any spending reductions while still devoting more income tax revenue to roads.
House Bill 4615, Increase gas and diesel tax: Passed 19 to 19 in the Senate
To increase gasoline and diesel fuel tax rates to 34 cents per gallon by Jan. 1, 2017, up from 19 cents and 15 cents respectively. With sales tax this would give Michigan the nation's second highest gas tax. The bill would also tax “alternative fuels” burned by vehicles at comparable levels. The Lieutenant Governor broke the tie with a "yes" vote.
The news from England this week made my heart heavy. Sir Nicholas Winton has passed away.
The Mackinac Center first learned of Nicky when our then-President Lawrence W. Reed met and interviewed him. I will be forever grateful to Lawrence W. Reed for bringing his story to Michigan and inviting me to visit England with him to meet this exceptional man.
In May, the Idaho Legislature unanimously passed a bill to increase transparency in collective bargaining. House Bill 167 amended the Idaho Open Meetings Act to bring negotiations between cities and unions into the daylight.
Mackinac’s sister think tank, the Idaho Freedom Foundation says “the collective bargaining law might be the best in the nation.”
Since 2008, Michigan taxpayers have subsidized movies to the tune of nearly $500 million. The film incentives program was supposed to create jobs and bring a new industry to the state, but failed to do either. Fortunately, the demise of film incentives seems imminent, with Gov. Rick Snyder expected to sign a bill eliminating them this week.
When it comes to choosing a school in Detroit, families are faced with a wide variety of school applications. Making it more difficult for parents, these applications require different information and are due at different times. To make it easier for families, some are advocating for a "common enrollment" system. With common enrollment, families would fill out a single application to apply at any school in Detroit.
The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief in the case of Friedrichs v California Teachers Association, a case recently taken up by the Supreme Court. Their decision could extend the right to work to all public sector employees in the country.
The state House of Representatives recently cut funding for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation with the goal of freeing up money for roads. This reprioritization of spending is prudent, but it faces opposition in the state Senate.
A good deal of empirical evidence supports the case that government economic development policies — otherwise known as corporate welfare — are ineffective at achieving their goals of faster economic growth, increased employment and greater diversification.
Bringing Financial Transparency to Michigan's Public Sector Unions, a recent study published by the Mackinac Center, explains how holding public sector unions to the same standards as their private sector counterparts could result in less corruption and transparency for members and the general public. The study outlines several examples of private sector union corruption exposed by disclosure laws and offers a way to implement the same laws for public unions.
House Bill 4226, Expand technology business subsidies: Passed 33 to 4 in the Senate
To increase from three to nine the number of areas in which “certified technology parks” (previously dubbed "smart zones") are allowed to expand by creating a "satellite" zone. These entities use “tax increment financing” schemes to provide infrastructure or other subsidies to technology-based businesses.
For the past several years, the Mackinac Center has written about policies written into school contracts that allow teachers to work for the union full- or part-time, despite being paid with public funds. Research conducted in 2011 showed that release time cost tax payers over $2.7 million.
A recent ruling by the California Labor Commissioner’s Office could change the way that popular ride-sharing services such as Uber operate. The Seattle Times noted the decision that classified one of Uber’s drivers as an employee “may turn out to be an even bigger roadblock to the company’s business than regulatory changes because it could change Uber’s cost structure, requiring it to offer health insurance and other benefits, as well as paying salaries.”
Almost everyone has a plan for fixing what ails Detroit Public Schools: the governor, a coalition of special interest groups, and several advocacy groups. While each group differs in its approach — the governor's proposal would split the district in two, while the coalition's plan would limit school choice — every plan would require creating a new law specifically for DPS and Detroit-area charter schools.
MIRS Capitol Capsule (subscription required) reports on the debate between a Mackinac Center policy analyst and the Oakland County sheriff over the issue of civil asset forfeiture.
The 14th District Republican Executive Committee recently overwhelming voted to support a resolution that would effectively end Michigan's civil asset forfeiture laws. The decision came after hearing testimony from Oakland County Sheriff Michael BOUCHARD, who spoke in favor of the notion of civil asset forfeiture and the Mackinac Center's Jarrett SKORUP, who spoke against the idea.
Detroit Public Schools has been in financial trouble for a long time, and ensuring that DPS can pay its bills is likely to require further state funding. As plans for fixing DPS are debated, school officials throughout Michigan have begun to worry that their state funding will be reduced when a bailout for DPS is finalized.
The Michigan Senate is considering a bill that would prevent taxpayer-funded union “release time” in most settings. There is a real-world cost to this practice, which allows union stewards to spend time working for a private entity when they are supposed to be working for the public.
On Thursday, June 25th, the Mackinac Center will hold the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation Debate on the topic of Money in Politics. The debate will address the competing claims of disclosure and privacy/free speech in politics today. Registration for the event guarantees refreshments and seating, and closes on June 22.
Things aren’t looking good for individual privacy – at least for those who wish to participate in public policy debates. Despite the First Amendment’s strong defense of free expression, speech is increasingly regulated – especially political and policy dialogue. For an increasing number of nonprofit organizations, disclosing contributors’ identities is the price paid to be allowed to advocate in the public square. Some fight back against these regulations, arguing in the name of free speech and individual privacy that promoting public policy should not be regulated in the same way as funding a political candidate. A timely example is playing out in the courts right now.
By Jack McHugh
House Bill 4122, Repeal state film producer subsidies: Passed 24 to 13 in the Senate
To repeal the program that gives Michigan tax dollars to film producers. Since 2008 some $500 million has been distributed to producers. This week's votes send the bill to the Governor for approval or veto.
Watchdog.org took a look back at the hundreds of millions of dollars approved for the battery maker, A123 Systems. The Mackinac Center and Michigan Capitol Confidential covered the deals between the state and company for years, before the entity went bankrupt.
The Mackinac Center recently released the results of a poll conducted by Mitchell Research & Communications, Inc. showing two-thirds of respondents preferred putting money currently spent on corporate subsidies through MEDC toward roads.
The poll was featured in a June 17 article at the Daily Caller, which also referenced an earlier poll commissioned by the Mackinac Center indicating strong voter support for the end of the state's film subsidy program in favor of road funding.
A bill now pending before the Michigan Senate would prevent former school employees like Michigan Education Association union president Steve Cook and others from continuing to accrue benefits in Michigan’s school employee pension system. Yet a Senate Fiscal Agency summary of Senate Bill 279 claims the change would not save any taxpayer dollars. This is incorrect, because the analysis ignores the risks of underfunding pensions and the “benefit spiking” costs associated with this scheme.
