For the third year in a row, Michigan was ranked 47th in Forbes’ Best States for Business and Careers list. The people at Forbes were nice enough to let Governor Snyder write an op-ed to offer excuses for why his policies aren’t working. In the article that posted less than 24 hours after right-to-work became law, Snyder predicted that the law will improve Michigan’s business climate. He said it would allow business to make “higher potential profits.” The Governor also bragged about the 83% reduction in business taxes and the elimination of over 800 regulations, even though those moves failed to move the state up the Forbes’ list.
Last year, based on the Forbes ranking, I predicted that the Republicans’ next move would be to reduce labor costs. I thought they would do it by lowering the minimum wage. However, lowering the minimum wage .15 cents an hour to match the federal level wouldn’t boost corporate profits as much as weakening unions will. After all, employees in right-to-work states, where there are fewer and weaker unions, are paid $1,500 less on average. Republicans may reduce the minimum wage in the next session. After all, now that they have passed 665 laws in two years, they will need to find something to do.
I still believe what I said last year, these rankings should be put in the circular file (garbage). After all, there is no research to support that they have any degree of validity. However, I am a bit delighted that this report cannot be used to justify past policy decisions of the Snyder administration. It may even be able to show that they have been ineffective. In the end, the policy of the Snyder regime will only serve to make the rich richer and the middle class smaller. What else would you expect from an aloof millionaire CEO?
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