"Michigan voters can now see where their lawmakers have stood on state business subsidies from 2001 and into the current legislative session. A new scorecard from the Mackinac Center and MichiganVotes.org shows where every lawmaker came down on votes for corporate handouts that pit regular taxpayers against select business interests and developers.
Michigan lawmakers have authorized the state to spend a lot of money to subsidize businesses since 2001: $16 billion, in fact. That is more that the value of the Lions, Tigers, Pistons and Red Wings with plenty leftover. Or in state budget terms, it could pay off state employee pension debt or resurface nearly all of the state’s highways.
These amounts have been pledged in the name of creating or retaining jobs in the state. But by taking tax dollars from everyone and delivering them to a favored few, the lawmakers have cost the state jobs rather than added them."
http://www.mackinac.org/the-lawmakers-that-voted-for-the-most-business-subsidies-and-the-least
Michigan lawmakers have authorized the state to spend a lot of money to subsidize businesses since 2001: $16 billion, in fact. That is more that the value of the Lions, Tigers, Pistons and Red Wings with plenty leftover. Or in state budget terms, it could pay off state employee pension debt or resurface nearly all of the state’s highways.
These amounts have been pledged in the name of creating or retaining jobs in the state. But by taking tax dollars from everyone and delivering them to a favored few, the lawmakers have cost the state jobs rather than added them."
http://www.mackinac.org/the-lawmakers-that-voted-for-the-most-business-subsidies-and-the-least