Staff Reports
A newly released Mackinac Center for Public Policy report delivers a punch to Michigan taxpayers’ gut. The analysis says eight big subsidy deals tied to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s job pitch promised 20,595 jobs but have produced only 602 so far. The report counts about $1.8 billion already spent on those deals, which works out to roughly $3 million per job. If that math doesn’t make you raise an eyebrow, check your pulse.
Numbers that don’t add up
The Mackinac report is blunt: the state authorized about $2.7 billion for eight projects and has transferred roughly $1.8 billion to them. The promised jobs were tallied back when the deals were announced. The actual jobs, counted in later state reports and local filings, are tiny compared to what was sold to the public. Examples include large site payments tied to automakers and battery plants, a paper mill upgrade, and a few land‑buying items that still sit idle. Two projects never built anything. Two are nothing but vacant fields. One lost customers and cut staff. Translation: big headlines, small results.
Why this matters: corporate welfare isn’t charity
There are two ways to read this report. The kinder view is technical: many state payments are milestone‑based and contingent on future work, meaning some funds are reimbursement or encumbered until conditions are met. The harder truth — and the one voters care about — is that governors and economic development shops sold these deals as job machines while taxpayer money moved out the door. If these were private investments, investors would be demanding answers and firing the people responsible. When government writes seven‑ and eight‑figure checks, taxpayers deserve the same discipline.
Accountability, clawbacks, and political consequences
Governor Gretchen Whitmer touted many of these projects as “generational” wins. Generational wins don’t usually come with vacant lots and downsized job targets. Lawmakers who approved the money need to demand real accounting. That means public audits, full disclosure of what was actually paid versus what’s merely promised, and the enforcement of clawbacks when companies don’t deliver. It also means pausing any new sweetheart deals until strict rules are in place. Voters should remember who pushed these deals when they hear the next round of campaign promises — especially when those promises are part of a national political resume.
Bottom line: taxpayers deserve better
The Mackinac report should be a wake‑up call. Michigan can chase big factories and supply chains, but it can’t do so by tossing out blank checks and hoping for the best. Fixing the system won’t be glamorous, but it will be necessary: tougher performance metrics, transparent reporting, real clawbacks, and public oversight. Until then, every dollar the state spends on handouts is a dollar that could have gone to schools, roads, or tax relief — and Michigan families deserve a government that spends money more wisely than a headline‑hungry press release.
