On May 9, the Monroe published an article by Associated Press writer Kathy Barks Hoffman titled “Times are tough but you’re paying less in taxes now”.
What Ms. Hoffman fails to explain is that the reason for lower taxes is that the Michigan tax system has destroyed so much of the wealth of Michigan residents.
On February 3, 2010 Michael D. LaFaive wrote on the Mackinac Center for Public Policy website:
“As Gov. Jennifer Granholm approaches her final State of the State address this evening, it is worth taking an unvarnished look at the economic well-being of Michigan. Since she took office, Michigan has experienced:
• A precipitous decline in the relative wealth of its residents. Since January 2003, Michigan's per-capita personal income rank among the states has dropped from 23rd to 37th. Our personal income is now $5,259 (13.1 percent) below the national average.
• A large decline in economic output as measured by state Gross Domestic Product, dropping from 26th at the start of the Granholm administration to 41st through 2008.
• A dramatic increase in unemployment. Michigan's unemployment rate leapt from 6.7 percent in January 2003 to 14.6 percent through December 2009. The state has had the highest unemployment rate in the nation for 46 consecutive months.
• Record setting out-migration. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that Michigan has lost population for the last four years in a row and was only one of two states to lose population last year. More than 87,000 people migrated from the state between July 2008 and July 2009 alone. United Van Lines — a household moving company — reports that 68 percent of all its Michigan-related traffic is outbound.
Remarkably, Michigan suffered economic decline even during the last national expansion, from 2002 through 2007.”
The state of Michigan has done nothing to lessen the tax burden on its citizens.
Citizens of Michigan have simply become poorer because so many employers have left Michigan or downsized their businesses.
Many employers have left Michigan so that they would not have to deal with unions. Most right to work states not only protect businesses from union harassment, they also have lower tax rates than the state of Michigan.
Comments
So, despite the fact that most Americans, including Michiganders, now pay the lowest tax rates in 60 years, you hyper-partisans are still desperate to find something to complain about, even if it is fictional.
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