HeyJaredMichael D. LaFaive
- Indexed articles, last 90 days
- 5
- Latest publication
- Aug 24, 2026
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- Jul 7, 2026
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Union Township: New Data, Same Poor Results (opens the original)
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Officials in Union Township held their usual meetings in July and August and discussed economic development, but a new analysis of economic data shows that the township in Isabella County needs to recognize it’s not an attractive place to live or do business. Summer discussions covered housing, new business starts, street banners, and a program that subsidizes recent Central Michigan University graduates in the hope they won’t leave. These items are small, especially for a township that lags in
Gavin Newsom has a Hollywood subsidy blooper reel (opens the original)
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This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Daily News May 3 2026. Gavin Newsom is clearly auditioning for a bigger stage. But if the California governor is really going to run for president, he’d better hope voters don’t see his blooper reel. There are many bad policy takes, but one of the worst is Newsom’s expansion of Hollywood subsidies. The whole episode is guaranteed to fall flat with a national audience. Last year, the governor enacted the biggest expansion in Hollywood subsidies
The MEDC wants more time — it’s had decades (opens the original)
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“Building Michigan's economy takes time — and it's paying off.” That's the headline of a recent Detroit News op-ed by Quentin Messer Jr., chief executive officer of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the state's economic development agency. But objective evidence suggests that even after decades of subsidies, the agency has little to show for its efforts. Messer argues in the op-ed that projects intended to last a decade should not be judged after only a few years. Fine, but the MEDC was c
Illicit smokes: 17% of cigarettes consumed in Michigan during 2024 were smuggled (opens the original)
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By Michael D. LaFaive and Todd Nesbit, Ph.D. Tax policy can have unexpected consequences. To take one example, high excise taxes on cigarettes have fueled small- and large-scale smuggling, theft, counterfeit products and violence against both civilians and police. Policymakers should take note: Consumers do not eagerly await to pay more in ever-higher taxes. They change their behavior, often in ways that undermine the goals tax advocates hope to achieve. Michigan ranks 17th among the 48 contiguo
Economic development programs create jobs — for lobbyists (opens the original)
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The latest academic evidence suggests that economic development subsidies may create more crony capitalism than market capitalism. A new study published in “Small Business Economics: An Entrepreneurship Journal” adds to the debate over the effects of state economic development subsidies. Like hundreds of studies before it, the paper concludes that these programs may do more harm than good. The authors — three academic economists — examined extraordinarily large business subsidy deals awarded acr
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