Bad-mouthing poor economic policy

State Representative Aldo Vagnozzi accuses three elected officials of painting a negative picture about the state of Michigan. As with any painting, much depends on the eye of the beholder.

Vagnozzi chooses to pick the best rankings he can find between the two studies. Look at the ranking for “state and local tax burden as percent of income.” Vagnozzi chose the study that lists Michigan 23rd. The other study lists our state even worse at 16th. (The studies used different methods for measuring tax burden.)

But let’s set aside this quibble and evaluate his rankings in the proper context. Looking at the tax categories Vagnozzi listed, out of 50 states Michigan ranks 23, 21, 23, 21, 25 and 33. At best, this means our tax burden is average. Unfortunately, our economic growth ranks near or at 50th. Having an average tax burden is not going to turn this state around especially when combined with other factors.

One such factor is Michigan’s failure to pass “right-to-work” legislation. This failure makes the state less desirable to investors than other states. Vagnozzi claims we are “way ahead” of those states in average income, education, professional skills and quality of life. At Ford and GM’s current pace of shedding jobs, how long does he think we can continue to be ahead? Besides, the economic argument doesn’t even address the moral implications of using government to force people to join a union as a condition of employment.

Perhaps the three elected officials that Rep. Vagnozzi accuses of “bad-mouthing” Michigan were really bad-mouthing him and the other politicians who fail to implement sound economic policies.

[Letter to the Editor - Farmington Observer. Published 01/18/2007.]