Economists and business experts agree that if government mandated that fast food workers got $15 an hour, jobs would be lost and services would be cut back. The least skilled would be hurt the most. … more

This bad law is vulnerable on many fronts: legal, political, administrative, technological, perverseness. While outright repeal is unlikely under the Obama administration, it is possible Congress — including the Reid Senate — will be forced to open the law for amendment, at which point who knows what favorable changes the then-current climate of public opinion would allow (or demand).  … more

Despite the Highland Park School District spending $19,634 per pupil in 2010-11, which was the highest in the state, the schools were so mismanaged that they had rodents in the classrooms, holes in the ceilings and walls, and horrendous filth in the bathrooms. … more

Michigan taxpayers will be providing corporate welfare to a production company outside the state for a film shot entirely in another country. … more

While the Michigan Education Association continues to blame state budget cuts on the fiscal crisis facing some schools, many districts are getting more money per pupil but face dramatic drops in students that lead to problems. … more

Taylor Public Schools and its faculty union might have bypassed more than just the right-to-work law with their agreement earlier this year, according to a motion filed in the case. … more

MichiganVotes.org, a free, non-partisan website created by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, providing concise, non-partisan, plain-English descriptions of every bill and vote in the Michigan House and Senate.  … more

Highland Park was spending nearly $20,000 per student. And somehow, the bathrooms were filthy. Somehow, holes in the ceiling were never repaired. Somehow, students at the high school saw rodents in their classrooms. … more

Ecorse no longer is under emergency management and a number of safeguards are in place to make sure the city doesn't need another emergency manager anytime soon. … more

The IRS questioned how much I had reported for a salary; wanted me to explain how my activities would not be "political;" and requested assurances that my news site wouldn't "discredit particular institutions and individuals on the basis of unsupported opinions …" … more

Medicaid expansion appears to face as many obstacles in the state Senate as it does in the state House. … more

A couple of Michigan charter public schools are facing the harsh realities of being held accountable for performance.  … more

When the Ottawa County Patriots tried to register as a non-profit a few years ago, the IRS dragged its feet for over a year. The group joins the ranks of those across the nation which were singled out for additional scrutiny because of their politics, says the group's leader. … more

In Pontiac, the district spends about $16,400 per pupil, according to the state. In recent years, the district has lost 45 percent of its students — but the local school board and union negotiated a contract that caused the average teachers' salary to jump 35 percent, from $56,781 in 2007-08 to $76,449 in 2010-11.  … more

Jason Mellema, superintendent of Pewamo-Westphalia in Clinton County, said the union leadership was 100 percent behind allowing right-to-work as an option for their teachers. … more

Mothers of school-age children were surveyed by phone and asked whether they supported specific school choice programs. Nearly 70 percent of moms said that they support tax credit scholarships for students.  … more

“I'd say that the auto industry is an important part of it, especially in the early stages of the recovery,” said University of Michigan Economist Don Grimes. ”But it has really been much broader than that. There has been quite remarkable growth in other sectors, such as construction. If anything, the economic rebound in Michigan has been underestimated.” … more

The Wall Street Journal reports that the part-time Florida Legislature has adjourned for the year without approving the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, which Gov. Rick Scott famously flip-flopped into supporting earlier this year.  … more

Michigan House Republicans unveiled legislation Thursday that would expand Medicaid, but the measure includes conditions the federal government might reject.

The proposal requires that the Obama administration agree to significant revisions including a provision to allow Michigan to back out if the federal government doesn't cover all the costs. … more

When it comes to teacher salaries, 13 of the top 23 states were right-to-work states in terms of "salary comfort index," which factors in salaries and cost of living, according to a national survey.  … more