There is a disconnect between economic development programs and economic growth
There is a disconnect between economic development programs and economic growth
Michigan lawmakers have approved $4.4 billion in selective business subsidies so far this term and have proposed billions more. The subsidies are billed as economic development programs. Who doesn’t want more economic development? Yet, people should notice that it’s all a show. Economic development programs are not required to develop the economy. The federal government...
By James M. Hohman
The realpolitik of state business subsidies
The realpolitik of state business subsidies
The Biden administration recently announced $8.5 billion in subsidies to build Intel’s new semiconductor plants. It sounds like a terrific deal, as subsidies often do if you only listen to what politicians say when they are writing big checks to big companies. It secures good-paying jobs for workers. It protects the future of the country....
By James M. Hohman
‘The only way you’re going to get involved is by being involved’
‘The only way you’re going to get involved is by being involved’
One piece of advice given to young people who want to get involved in politics is to volunteer for political campaigns. There is a constant demand for extra help from campaigns, and this is how many people get their foot in the door in politics. On the Overton Window podcast, Luke Derheim, perennial volunteer turned...
By James M. Hohman
The last thing Michigan needs is rent control for mobile home parks
The last thing Michigan needs is rent control for mobile home parks
Lawmakers in Michigan are considering bills that would impose rent control on mobile home operators. Five bills before the Senate create many new regulations, including restrictions on owners of manufactured housing communities. Instead of determining their rental rates independently, they would have to submit any rent increases above the inflation rate to a state board...
By James M. Hohman
‘This is the unholy intersection of Hollywood and politics’
‘This is the unholy intersection of Hollywood and politics’
Elected officials feel they need to show they’re doing something about jobs, and what could be a bigger spectacle than a Hollywood crew shooting a new film in their state? There has been a proliferation of states offering to pay large parts of a film production’s expenses with taxpayer dollars. And there is also an...
By James M. Hohman
The Mirage That’s Driving Mass Transit Expansion
The Mirage That’s Driving Mass Transit Expansion
If you build mass transit, they will come. That “Field of Dreams” thinking is one of the operating assumptions behind the unprecedented federal and state spending spree on public transportation. The Biden administration is doling out as much as $108 billion on mass transit, while states are planning enormous new projects of all kinds. As...
By James M. Hohman