We might have expected much of the general approach Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took to her first budget, announced this week, by her campaign platform. Certainly a number of proposals like pulling School Aid Fund out of the universities’ budget were expected based on her platform planks. But I think there are other lessons to be learned about our state’s next …
Michigan’s Fiscal Train and the Cliff Ahead: Maybe We Should Switch Tracks
One thing that’s always perplexed me is how drivers occasionally get hit by trains. Trains don’t veer off course. Trains don’t suddenly make a right turn in front of you on your way to the grocery store. Trains just lumber steadily down the track, unable to slow down or speed up very fast. A part of me thinks that if …
Funding Higher Ed Funds State Incomes
There are few states that would be described as being flush with cash. State officials (justifiably) want to know the return on the investment they’re making with public revenues. And for years, state universities have argued in turn that investment in public higher education leads to wealthier states. With a little help from our friend Excel (and an assist from …