“You have to have a critical mass of people who care about it” – Mackinac Center

“Are we providing parents and families with a wide range of educational options for students, or are we limiting them to government schools?” asks Mike Reitz, executive vice president of the Mackinac Center. “Since Covid, 29 states have expanded or created school choice programs, and Michigan is at the bottom of the pack.”

Reitz says, “In Michigan, we see a lot of resistance to the idea of ​​using public funds to directly or indirectly support private schools, both from citizens and policymakers.”

Part of that is the Blaine Amendment, which was designed to prevent private and public schools from competing for state funds and was born out of anti-Catholic bigotry. Some politicians say school choice is unpopular with Michigan voters because of a voucher proposal that lost on the ballot in 2001. But that was 23 years ago. “In Michigan, it would require a constitutional amendment or litigation on the constitutionality of the Blaine Amendment. To do that, ‘we’re talking about millions of dollars just to get it on the ballot and then potentially tens of millions of dollars to educate voters about the merits of the idea,’” Reitz says.

What can be done to advance school choice in Michigan? “You have to have a critical mass of people who care about it,” Reitz says. “I don’t know exactly what it was about closing schools, but it helped change the political dynamics of school choice. Maybe it was parental objections to some of the curriculum, or maybe it was dissatisfaction with the way schools were closed, but what had previously been either neutral or negative for school choice advocates, parental opinion, suddenly became activated in favor of school choice.”

How can parents reform the current education system? According to Reitz, “the first step is to go out into the community and find people who are innovating within existing school choice options and unique educational programs.” She adds, “It’s never the majority of people who initiate change; it’s usually a concentrated minority of people who make a compelling case for why a policy proposal is better than the status quo,” Reitz says. In addition, having influential voices in favor of school choice helps build support for change. Educational alternatives, such as homeschooling, have also had a major impact on building support for educational change. “The more people in an alternative education program grow up and have some kind of success, that provides success stories that people can look to,” Reitz says.

One alternative form of social change is through the courts. “Currently, the Mackinac Center is representing five families in opposition to the Blaine Amendment in Michigan because of the discriminatory effects of the amendment.”

James Hohman, director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center and host of the Overton Window podcast, notes, “We think it’s well within Overturn’s power to get voters to approve a constitutional amendment; we just have to ask voters to do it.”

Why would anyone support school choice? “People should have the freedom to choose the educational options for their families and their children that work best for them,” Reitz argues. “Children are different. Students learn differently from each other, and families have different needs and priorities. So providing them with a wide range of educational options is the right thing to do and will lead to better educational outcomes.” Parents aren’t the only advocates of school choice. Some high-profile advocates of educational choice are economists, from Thomas Sowell and the late Milton Friedman to rapper Jay-Z, who recently pushed for vouchers.

In more recent news, Gov. Whitmer signed a bill recognizing out-of-state occupational licenses for military personnel and their families. “I think we have to make a case for why this should apply to anyone. Occupational licensing limits Michigan’s ability to bring people into the state. There’s a lot of talk about Michigan’s population and job creation, and this is the way to do it,” Reitz says. “These laws tend to hurt people at the bottom of the economic ladder, so if we really want to help them and get them on the path to prosperity, we should open up as many professions to them as possible.”

When it comes to utilities, regulations limit the number of suppliers in Michigan. Reitz says, “Our electricity costs are higher than in neighboring states, our reliability is worse, and the grid is fragile.” “We need to diversify the supplier market so that more companies can provide electricity, not just from one or two suppliers. We also need to make sure that electricity is being generated reliably and cost-effectively,” Reitz says. Because the Michigan legislature is prioritizing inefficient green energy sources, there will likely be some blackouts. Reitz says, “We are heading toward a future where electricity is more expensive and less reliable.”

“When it comes to subsidies, I think you have to look at the scandal and identify the potential misuse of public funds for these types of programs,” she notes. “Here in Michigan, there’s a businesswoman who negotiated a $20 million subsidy from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and spent $4,500 on an expensive coffee machine!” Reitz says, “The legislators who vote for subsidies want to do this thinking that all it does is create jobs and bring businesses to Michigan. What you don’t expect to hear is, ‘Yeah, we bought a really fancy coffee machine with that money.’”

While Michigan has given billions to corporations, that doesn’t have to be the case. Speaking to Reitz, James Hohman notes that “Michigan has passed several budgets that have almost no special appropriations.” Reitz responded that this is due to “both political leadership and voter expectations. Our ability to find stories of waste and mismanagement and shine a light on them is much better today than it was ten or twenty years ago, thanks to social media and digital reach.” Hohman agreed, arguing that “with social media, embarrassing things can embarrass you more quickly and in front of more people than before, and I think that’s an important change that’s happened over time in the Overton window.”

Want to hear the whole conversation? Head over to the Overton Window Podcast for more great guests and conversations.

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