Democrats love to slam Republicans for promoting “risky schemes” to privatize Social Security, even when the Republicans in question have no power over the program. The people who make these charges must believe that they resonate with enough of the population to make a difference. And I suspect they’re right. To be sure, investments in the stock market (which is to say, American companies that employ […]
Michigan View
Michigan by the numbers
I looked at the NYT article that Dan Calabrese linked to, and among the more interesting things I found there was the political map of Michigan. Click on a particular U.S. House district and you’ll get information about it. For each district you’ll find both the “projected vote” for the two major-party candidates, as well as a “chance of winning seat” calculation. The following list […]
Is a good CEO a good guv?
Rick Snyder, the Republican candidate for governor in Michigan, is touting his record as a CEO who oversaw the growth of Gateway computers. Will that make him a good governor?
The Coveted Golf-Course Owners’ Endorsement
The Michigan Golf Course Owner’s Association has endorsed Rick Snyder for governor. Will it make a difference? There are still a lot of golfers left in the state. The “Golf Blogger,” based in Washtenaw County, says this is probably the first time the association has made a political endorsement of any sort. Sure, the endorsement plays to the stereotypes that equate “wealthy,” “Republican” and “golfer.” (Never […]
Bans on texting-while-driving may be dangerous
One characteristic of modern government is the move to ban something that might be dangerous. The latest victim: the ability to send or receive text messages or e-mail while driving. It may seem like banning the practice would be a no-brainer. But some researchers have observed that accidents have increased, not decreased, in states that have enacted such bans. Clevelander.com puts it this way: “Laws […]
The Labor Movement: Now an Adjunct of Big Government
The labor movement sure has changed, and not for the better. For one thing, a majority of union members now work for taxpayer-funded governments, not profit-seeking businesses. What’s wrong with that? James Sherk writes, “if a union ends up extracting a contract from a private firm that eats up too much of the profits, then that firm will be unable to reinvest those resources and […]
A Yellow Light on District Consolidation
Should Michigan force-feed a consolidation of school districts? Perhaps. After all, public schools are funded almost entirely with public money, and a large chunk of that comes through the political apparatus in Lansing. A new report from Michigan State University suggests that consolidation could save Michigan taxpayers a lot of money. But should lawmakers proceed? The answer is complicated. Consider, for example, the the introduction to […]
MSU Prof: We’re over-medicating children
Currently, 4.5 million children are diagnosed with ADHD. Todd Elder, a professor at MSU, says that close to 20 percent of those children may be diagnosed incorrectly, simply because of an arbitrary line drawn on the calendar. According to a university press release, these children may be “misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder simply because they are the youngest ” and most immature ” in their […]
Are you “fun-employed”?
Here are a few things on unemployment that I’ve been saving up. First, Anthony Randazzo reminds us that hard cases make for bad policy. He sympathizes with a relative of his in the Detroit metro who has been unemployed for a long time. At the same time, he opposes extending the period for which people can collect unemployment insurance. (At some point–perhaps we’ve already reached […]
An SOS for the SoS Website
I wanted to look at the election results from yesterday, so I went to the website of the Michigan secretary of state. What did I find when I clicked through to the election results page, and specifically (say), the page for the governor’s race? A mess. The SoS site does not present the statewide vote totals of each candidate on one screen. (Note: I’ve got […]