Featured Video Archive
Should You Need the Government's Permission to Work?
License to Work: A National Study of Burdens from Occupational Licensing is the first national study to measure how burdensome occupational licensing laws are for lower-income workers and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Michigan has one of the most burdensome licensing requirements. Our state forces people to take classes and pay money to the state for things like painting, floor sanding, cutting hair and low-level carpentry. Few other states require that. … more
Minimum Wage Business Realities
Why do some employers favor a raise in the minimum wage? Profit per employee plays a major role. … more
Shikha Dalmia: 5 Reasons Why Low Skilled Immigrants are Good for the Economy
The Senate's "Gang of Eight" proposed immigration reform plan will likely take a look at how to make it easier for high-skilled immigrants to gain legal status in the United States. Reason Foundation senior analyst Shikha Dalmia gives five reasons why low-skilled immigrants are good for the economy too: … more
CA vs. The Suburbs: Planners, Smart Growth, and the Manhattan Delusion
"One of the things that happens when you force this kind of high-density development is you destroy the very urban neighborhoods that retain the middle class," says Joel Kotkin. "The neighborhoods have to fight this kind of guerilla-style." … more
Roscommon Teachers Break-Up With Michigan Union
Teachers in the Roscommon Public Schools district in Michigan have broken with the Michigan Education Association, the largest union in the state, to form an independent union that is less expensive and more responsive to their collective bargaining needs. … more
Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013)
Margaret Thatcher, one of the greatest of the United Kingdom's Prime Ministers (and the only woman), died Monday. She was among the wave of leaders across the world who helped save their countries from socialist and Keynesian economics and made the world a substantially better place for all people, the rich and the poor.
Here is how she went out in the House of Commons - it is undoubtedly how she would want to be remembered … more
Voices of Right-to-Work: The Mackinac Center Investigates
The Mackinac Center's Senior Investigative Reporter Anne Schieber interviews Michiganders, union and non-union, on their feelings regarding the right-to-work legislation which went into effect March 28, 2013. … more
The Fall Of Tam's: How LA Regulated A Burger Stand Out of Existence
Entrepreneur vs. LA's city government: Who will prevail? Watch Reason TV's video above to find out. … more
What Can We Cut to Balance the Budget?
If the U.S. government cut all government services except Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and payments on the debt, federal spending would still outpace revenues. Prof. Antony Davies argues that there are not specific cuts that will enable government to balance the budget. He says, "Nothing less than a redesign will solve this problem." That redesign should begin by determining what the proper role of government is. … more
Union Conservatives On Right-to-Work
The founder of Union Conservatives, Terry Bowman is a Michigan UAW member and is now working on protecting the state's new Freedom-to-Work law. He discusses the challenges ahead and how his organization plans to meet them. … more
Taylor Teachers Fight Union Insecurity Clause
Three teachers from Michigan's Taylor School District say their union sold them out by approving a decade-long agreement to continue taking money from them. Michigan became a right-to-work state in December 2012. The law bans the practice of requiring employees to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. The law takes effect on March 28, 2013. Trying to go around the law, the Taylor Federation of Teachers Local 1085 approved a deal prior to March 28 to lock these teachers into a dues purgatory for the next 10 years. Angela Steffke, Rebecca Metz, and Nancy Rhatigan reached out to the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation for help. They do not want to buy what the union is selling. … more
Making Michigan Home Again: Rick Wadel's Story
Rick Wadel, owner of Wadel Stabilization, Inc., has been in business in Michigan since 1978. He opens up to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy about his struggles under Michigan's economy in the past few years, as well as his hopes and ambitions for his five children. … more
Elkhart, Indiana: A Right-to-Work Recovery
Elkhart, Indiana was in a bad spot in 2009 - they held the dubious honor of highest unemployment rate in the country at 20.3 percent. But now, due to favorable-to-business government policies in Indiana, Elhart is growing faster than most counties in the country at 5.6 percent growth. … more
Dick DeVos on Unions, Right-to-Work
Michigan businessman and entrepreneur Dick DeVos joins Heritage to discuss unions and the right-to-work movement spreading in the Midwest. … more
Gov. Rick Snyder on Michigan's Economic Rebound and Right to Work
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder visited Washington to talk about the state's new right-to-work law and how his policies have led to an economic turnaround. … more
Mackinac Center on Fox Business: MEA Contract Extensions
The Mackinac Center's Director of Labor Policy, Vinnie Vernuccio, on Fox Business' "Willis Report" discussing MEA contract extensions. … more
National School Choice Week Lights Up Chicago
National School Choice Week is an annual event designed to draw attention to - and advocate for - educational options for K-12 students. During the week, over 200 groups are hosting thousands of events across the country, exploring everything from charter schools and voucher programs to online curricula. … more
National School Choice Week 2013 Kicks Off
Hundreds of students and their parents helped kick off National School Choice Week 2013, January 26, at Union Station in Los Angeles, Calif. The week long celebration includes a 14 stop, cross-country tour starting at Union Station and ending in New York City's Penn Station. … more
State of the State: Union Protests Outside Capitol
Tight security locked out dozens of anti-right-to-work protesters from the State Capitol as Governor Snyder was delivering his "State of the State" address. Protesters tried to disrupt the speech by banging and chanting outside the building. … more
Movin' On Up: Michigan Improving Its Outmigration Rank
United Van Lines has been monitoring outmigration data for 36 years. Michigan ranks 6th highest among states with number of people moving out of the state, which is actually an improvement from #1 since 2010. It all comes down to one word: Opportunity. … more
Great Moments in Unintended Consequences
All actions have unanticipated side effects, but government acting through regulation or legislation is particularly adept at creating disastrous unintended consequences.
Great Moments in Unintended Consequences takes a look at three instances of epic government facepalm: Osborne Reef, Corn Ethanol Subsidies, and a particular clause in ObamaCare that is already doing more harm than good. … more
I, Pencil: The Movie
A film from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, adapted from the 1958 essay by Leonard E. Read. For more about I, Pencil, visit http://www.ipencilmovie.org … more
The Seven Principles of Sound Public Policy
Former Mackinac Center for Public Policy President Lawrence W. Reed, President of the Foundation for Economic Education, presents the keynote address at the Georgia Legislative Policy Forum. … more
Crony Chronicles: Miracle on Wall Street
Our government shouldn't make us "donate" billions in corporate welfare to businesses each year. … more
Michigan Rally Against Right-to-Work Legislation
Teachers, activists and legislative leaders at a rally against right-to-work legislation. Teachers talk about taking the day off school to protest while legislators and social activists speak to the crowd.
The bill was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor. … more
The Voices of Right-to-Work
Michigan union members talk about why they support a right-to-work law. Their reasons are diverse, reflecting economic concerns as well as issues regarding freedom of association. … more
What Is Right-to-Work?
In this video, the Mackinac Center's Anne Schieber explains the significance of a right-to-work law should one be passed in Michigan. The value of a right-to-work law is that an employee wouldn't be fired for refusing to financially support a union that chooses to represent them. … more
Forced Unionization Hurts Families
This is the story of how the Haynes family in Detroit, MI faced off with government unions after being forced to pay union dues. The Haynes family is like many other families all over the country who are working to take care of handicapped family members only to have unions take money from their paycheck with no benefit to them or their loved ones. … more
The Pilgrims and Property Rights: How our ancestors got fat & happy
The Pilgrims founded their colony at Plymouth Plantation in December 1620 and promptly started dying off in droves. … more
In Good Conscience
John Kennedy, CEO of Autocam (Grand Rapids, MI), is one of the brave business owners fighting back against the HHS Mandate. As a Catholic, the things mandated to be covered within the health care plans that John provides his associates are contrary to John's deeply held religious beliefs. So John, together with CatholicVote, is fighting back.
On Monday, October 8th, 2012, John Kennedy, through the CatholicVote.org Legal Defense Fund, filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services, and its Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (a Catholic). The purpose of the suit is to compel the court to strike down the mandate as unconstitutional. … more
Liberty and Equality vs. Coercion and Egalitarianism
In this archival Free To Choose Network footage, Milton Friedman takes Q & A at Stanford University. The young man's questions get to the heart of tension between the values of liberty and equality -- a tension that is still with us. Friedman dissolves egalitarianism by pointing out a simple fact: wealth redistribution creates state power elites, not equality. And the fact of coercion remains. … more
'Protect Working Families' Lists Proposal 2 Business Supporters Without Their Knowledge
Proponents of changing the state constitution to enshrine collective bargaining and override state laws have repeatedly claimed that its group is supported by "1,000 small businesses." … more
Union Member Says Proposal 2 Is An 'Over-reaching Power Grab'
Terry Bowman is UAW Ford worker and founder of Union Conservatives. He says Proposal 2 will negatively affect Michigan's job market … more
Proposal 4 Ads: Fact or Fiction?
Are the ads in favor of Proposal 4 (2012) telling the truth? The Mackinac Center for Public Policy analyzes these claims with Senior Legal Analyst Patrick Wright. … more
What Would Proposal 4 Do?
A one-minute video, with the Mackinac Center's Senior Investigative Analyst Anne Schieber, describing the effects of Proposal 4 (2012) should it pass. The so-called "Collective Bargaining" proposal would continue an illegal dues skim from Medicaid checks geared towards in-home caregivers, who are often caring for disabled family members. … more
What Would "25 x 25" Do?
Mackinac Center Investigative Analyst Dan Armstrong breaks down the numbers behind Proposal 3 supporters' claims. … more
Emergency Manager Success Stories in Michigan
Public Act 4 of 2011 was signed into law in March of 2011 and provided the state with the necessary tools to ensure the protection of each citizen's health, safety, and welfare. While PA 4, and its predecessor Acts, have been criticized at times, it is important to recognize positive changes Emergency Managers have made in addressing local government financial emergencies. … more
Glossop Family Caregiver Wants Out of SEIU
Steven Glossop moved in with his mother after she suffered a stroke while recovering from a heart attack. He now takes care of her on a daily basis. The former Teamster says the forced unionization of home-based caregivers is wrong and that he gets nothing from the SEIU. He wants out. … more
What Would 'Protect Our Jobs' Do?
Mackinac Center Investigative Analyst Dan Armstrong explains what the "Protect Our Jobs Amendment" would mean for Michigan residents. Rather than protect middle-class job growth for many Michigan residents, the ballot initiative would protect the 3 percent that are government employees and undermine legislative authority in favor of union bosses. … more
Honey, You Didn't Build That
Explaining the debate over "you didn't build that" so easily, a child could understand. … more
The Greatest Man You’ve Never Heard Of: Norman Borlaug, An American Hero
Norman Borlaug has been called the greatest human being of the 21st Century - yet he is scarcely known in his own country. Borlaug is the father of the "Green Revolution" and spent his life teaching poor nations modern agricultural techniques - saving an estimated 1 billion lives along the way.
Read more by clicking here: The "Greatest Man You’ve Never Heard Of: Norman Borlaug, An American Hero" … more
School District Imposes Taxation Without Representation
When school begins this week, Oceana County property owners will be paying more in taxes thanks to a school district merger that was approved without a public vote.
A few weeks after school ended in June, board members from the Mason-Lake Intermediate School District and the Oceana ISD agreed to a merger. Taxpayers in Oceana will now have to pay the higher millage rate assessed in Mason-Lake.
According to the Oceana County treasurer, the higher millage will cost Oceana County property owners an extra $1.02 million a year, or $150 for every $100,000 in taxable value. … more
Who pays the most for minimum wage?
On July 24, 2012, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) rallied to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.55 an hour. In Michigan, there is currently an effort to raise the state's minimum wage to $10 an hour by 2015. It would be the highest in the country. The Mackinac Center's Director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative, Michael LaFaive, explains why raising the minimum wage would hurt employees and businesses. … more
My American Experience
LIBRE's Executive Director, Daniel Garza, tells of his American Experience as a first generation American - his story includes hardships, perseverance, family cohesion, hard work, and prosperity achieved in a free country that allows each of us to dictate our destiny. … more
Gov. Christie: Please Don't Send Me Any More Money To Hire More Public Employees
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he doesn't want the federal government sending more money to the states for a variety of reasons. … more
The Best of Milton Friedman
On the 100th anniversary of the birth of famed free-market economist Milton Friedman, here he is at his best. … more
City Shuts Down Teen's Hot Dog Vendor Cart
In Holland, Mich., a 13-year-old entrepreneur thought he would be able to sell hot dogs and financially help his family with the purchase of a food cart. Unfortunately, city zoning officials have shut down his business, based on an ordinance that prohibits competition to brick-and-mortar restaurants from mobile food vendors. The Mackinac Center's own Anne Schieber investigates. … more
Public Pensions — Lemons, Leaky Basements and a Losing Bet
Public pensions sound dull and complex. The failure to manage them properly, however, can lead to massive debt, fiscal insolvency and a weakened economy.
In Michigan, the public school retirement program is underfunded by $22.4 billion. As elected officials debate the best way to eliminate this ongoing liability, the Mackinac Center’s Dan Armstrong explains the issue … more
Milton Friedman 1979
Friedman shows why he is unsurpassed in modern times in defending liberty. He cheerfully decapitates the ideas of a government-controlled economy, over a wide range of examples. … more
License to Work: A National Study of Burdens from Occupational Licensing is the first national study to measure how burdensome occupational licensing laws are for lower-income workers and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Michigan has one of the most burdensome licensing requirements. Our state forces people to take classes and pay money to the state for things like painting, floor sanding, cutting hair and low-level carpentry. Few other states require that.
