Posted inGuest Commentary

Guest column: Don’t play ‘either-or’ game on Michigan energy policy

By Mark Fisk/Michigan Energy, Michigan Jobs Proposal 3 sparked a significant debate in Michigan about what alternative energy sources we could be using to create jobs, reduce our dependence on imported coal and foreign oil and improve public health by decreasing dangerous pollution in our air and water. The Proposal 3 campaign raised important issues […]

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Guest column: Right to Work is no guarantee of economic success

By Timothy J. Bartik/W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Will “Right to Work” boost Michigan’s economic development? What does research say? Research suggests that the economic development effects of RTW are uncertain, with downside risks. Some studies find RTW boosts job growth, while other studies do not. Some studies find RTW reduces wages, while other […]

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Guest column: Prison savings to reach $250 million

By Daniel Heyns/Michigan Department of Corrections I know for the past several years the Center for Michigan has been an active participant in the dialogue surrounding lowering corrections costs in Michigan. The Center facilitated the creation of the Corrections Reform Coalition — a collection of business, education, local government and nonprofit groups focused on enhancing […]

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Guest column: Replace expensive, unreliable wind power with natural gas

By Kevon Martis/ Interstate Informed Citizen’s Coalition Michigan voters recently defeated a renewable energy mandate by a nearly 2 to 1 margin. Since Michiganders desire cheap, clean, abundant electricity, should we try again to mandate higher percentages of renewable energy? Or is there a wiser path? Industrial wind facilities are similar to that disappointing Christmas […]

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Guest column: NY Times flubs Mich. tax breaks

By Tim Bartik/ W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research  Louise Story, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, recently wrote a three-part series on state business incentives. The series was accompanied by a new database, which reports annual dollar figures for business incentives for each state. This database reports that Michigan’s business incentives total […]

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Guest column: Oakland County school helps students thrive in IB curriculum

By Joan Stelzer More than 300 Oakland County high school seniors at the International Academy in Bloomfield Hills recently passed a key milestone when their 4,000-word essays electronically flew to evaluators around the world. Taking six months to research and write, each extended essay was an investigation into a topic never before published. It is […]

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