Role of Government

The collapse of a local furniture chain helped prompt an effort by a lawmaker to make Michigan only the second state to guarantee severance to workers who lose their jobs when their employer scales down or closes its doors altogether.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has completed a 100-day review of supply chains and will form a task force to address the bottlenecks in the semiconductor, construction, transportation and agriculture sectors.Administration officials said their goal is to increase domestic…

Two Michigan bills that could change the way cities approach short-term home rentals have created intense debate around who gets to determine how to regulate these dwellings, more popularly known as Airbnb or vacation rentals.The issue has put interested groups such as the Ann Arbor-based Michigan…

Civil Rights leaders point to historic criminalization of drug and alcohol bans

With a strong push from taxpayers, Southwest Airlines is the first major U.S. airline to report a profit since the pandemic started, and airlines executives say that the industry is on course to recover from a financial crisis caused by the pandemic. Southwest Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly said Thursday that his airline has seen steady improvement in U.S. leisure-travel sales since mid-February. He credited rising vaccinations and falling new cases of COVID-19. “We believe the worst is now finally behind us," Kelly said.

While Saugatuck's pilot lasts, people can order to-go drinks and consume them while strolling downtown Saugatuck or sitting in a public park.

Norwegian Cruise Line wants to start US cruises again on July 4, and it's willing to require all passengers and staff to be vaccinated before it sets sail.

American manufacturing continues to pour on the momentum as the first quarter draws to a close — despite supply-chain woes and surging materials costs that are driving the inflation debate.Freshly released March data show an increasing number of factory purchasing managers are reporting…

Despite heavy opposition from physicians, the Michigan House passed a bill that would give independence practice rights to certified registered nurse anesthetists.The House approved House Bill 4359, the Access to Safe Anesthesia Act, in a 82-25 vote on Wednesday. Support for the CRNAs included the…

An underreported fallout from seemingly interminable government COVID rent moratoriums and rental assistance programs is the impact that more than a year of "bad" rental debt is going to have down the road for both landlords AND tenants. Ironically, contrary to what has been reported, rent…

The emerging response to a catastrophe that caused one of the worst outages in U.S. history is not the usual one in Texas: demands for more regulation

Louis DeJoy testified about shortfalls at the U.S. Postal Service. Despite calls for his resignation, DeJoy said he plans to follow through on an overhaul plan. "Get used to me," he said.

Paul Krugman writes that the crisis in Texas proves that deregulation of such life-and-death commodities as electricity are not a good candidate for deregulation.

Never before in the NHL’s history has a tail so wagged the dog.

The state's Pure Michigan program subsidizes a tourism industry by running expensive advertisements out of state in order to lure tourists to Michigan. Research shows the program is expensive and ineffective. It's also unfair and may be undermining attempts to control the COVID-19 pandemic. The…

Downtown businesses get some help for the long winter.

For many Michigan families, mental illness and developmental disabilities are a fact of life. Their daily activities include providing high levels of personal care for a loved one and, very often, they find they can't do it all on their own.That is where our state's direct care workers come in…

Legislation pending in Michigan that would limit direct vehicle sales in the state has narrowed to remove an exemption for Tesla, a change that major automakers say softened their earlier opposition to the bill. Its chances of passing, however, are not certain in the waning days of Michigan's…

‎Show Think Like An Economist, Ep When Governments Intervene - Taxes, Price & Quantity Regulations - Oct 5, 2020

Global demand for beef, chicken, and pork continues to rise. So do concerns about environmental and other costs. Will reconciling these two forces be possible — or, even better, Impossible™?

Taxes and subsidies 1.Suppose that you refill your cat’s prescription every month, buying exactly 30 pills, no more and no less, regardless of the price. If the government eliminates all taxes on pet medications, who will benefit more? ​a) Pet owners will receive the entire tax savings.***...

Taxpayers spend $7 billion a year to subsidize crop insurance. Economists don't like it. Neither do some farmers.

President Donald Trump on Thursday issued executive orders that would ban the social media app TikTok and WeChat from operating in the US in 45 days if they are not sold by their Chinese-owned parent companies.

High density, traffic, and drainage were cited as concerns with both plans.

If Uber and Lyft drivers become employees the apps will totally change.

Three propositions on California’s November ballot would violate our constitutional right to private property; a fourth would violate the individual’s right to nondiscrimination. The constitutional right to private property is protected in at least eight places in the U.S. Constitution. I cite here three: the right to privacy in our possessions (Fourth Amendment); the right to private

A group that's been pushing for a grassroots redevelopment of the old Michigan state fairgrounds site in Detroit isn't jumping for joy at a proposed plan to put the land back to use. The State Fairgrounds Development Coalition says it has "serious concerns" about community involvement in the…

A Michigan House committee passed a bill Thursday that would prevent electric vehicle manufacturers beyond Tesla from selling directly to consumers in the state, setting up a battle between franchised dealerships and EV startups over the direct-sales model. Michigan's House Bill 6233, which…