Lawmaker: $4.4B of corporate subsidies is ‘legislative malpractice’

Rep. Dylan Wegela says money should have funded infrastructure, schools and communities By Scott McClallen

Since 2023, Michigan has authorized $4.4 billion of select corporate business subsidies.

Assuming that money is fungible, what could it have bought Michiganders?

• The average price of a ticket to a Taylor Swift concert in 2023 was $1,088, as calculated by CNBC. At that rate, Michigan could have bought Taylor Swift tickets for 40% of the state population.
• Or, Michigan taxpayers could have bought 33 million days — 90,000 years and then some — at Disney World via $130-day passes.
• The money could have funded child care and living expenses for the roughly 10,000 Michigan kids in foster care. 
• It could have lowered Michigan’s personal income tax rate to 2.85%, down from 4.25%.

...He cited a 2023 report from the Public Service Consultants, which estimates Michigan underfunds transportation infrastructure by $3.9 billion, and an Education Law Center report that said public education is underfunded by $4.5 billion.