Do Michigan Exporters Really Need State Help?
By George C. Leef State spending during the five years of the Engler administration in Lansing underwent some long overdue restraint. Tough decisions were made by the governor that were sometimes painful to certain groups, but Michigan’s economic rebound can be partially attributed to the tax cuts that those spending cuts first made possible. Without those tax cuts, says the Senate Fiscal Agency, Michiganians would be paying an estimated $1.5 billion more this year in state and local taxes. So, after five years of restraint, are there no more spending reductions worth making? A review of the state’s budget by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy suggests another $2.1 billion can be pared, if Lansing is willing to redefine the role of government, limit its intrusion to the few things it does best, and revitalize private solutions to public problems. One corner of state spending that cries out for critical review is a kind of corporate welfare–subsidies for exporters. Since the early 1
