#FactsMatter, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan podcast

A Research Council Podcast Roundtable: Michigan’s 2025 Budget BreakdownIn a first-ever roundtable edition of the #FactsMatter podcast, Guy Gordon recaps recent budget conversations and even more recent updates from the finally passed and long-overdue Michigan budget with the Research Council’s Eric Lupher, president; Craig Thiel, research director; Bob Schneider, senior state affairs associate;...

Guy Gordon and Bob Schneider, Citizens Research Council’s senior research associate for state affairs, look at what is in the final state budget, signed into law this week by Governor Whitmer, from both the 30,000 foot level and the nitty gritty level, digging into some of the elements that didn’t receive much attention.Calling it the Michigan ‘Potholes and Pot’ budget, Guy and Bob discuss how...

Karley Abramson, health policy associate for the Research Council, speaks with Guy about her most recent paper, Upcoming Changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Tax Credits Will Also Disrupt Michigan’s Health Care System, which details how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would likely result in about 200,000 fewer Michiganders having health care, including about 100,000 who will become uninsured...

Guy speaks with Senior Research Director Craig Thiel about his recent issue brief looking at Michigan’s efforts to improve early literacy among low-income students, with increased funding and accountability measures. Unfortunately, while the data is still relatively new, the state’s efforts are not yielding hoped-for results.While Michigan student test scores in several other grades and subjects...

Guy and Eric Lupher delve into the weeds, discussing the pros and cons — more pros — of allowing local units of government in Michigan to have a local tax option. Michigan is one of just a few states that doesn't allow local governments to levy a local tax without state legislative approval. Most states, including those with conservative leadership such as Indiana and Ohio, provide multiple means...

Guy Gordon chats with Citizens Research Council president Eric Lupher about his study examining how an admissions tax on sports and entertainment venues could help offset some of the costs of providing public services that support these venues and their visitors. The study, commissioned by the City of Detroit’s Legislative Policy Division, focuses not only on Detroit but also on several other...

#FactsMatter host Guy Gordon chats with Craig Thiel, Research Director for the Citizens Research Council, who first wrote about the impact of state budget uncertainty on Michigan’s $200 million School Meals program back in June –before passage of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Michigan’s two-year-old School Meals program guaranteed universal access to free school breakfast and...

Put on your tick spray because we are headed into the weeds! Announcing “In the Weeds,” a new occasional podcast from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan Universe. As described by our host, broadcast giant Guy Gordon, In the Weeds is for “those who are a little wonkier, a little nerdier, and who want to dive deeper” into public policy issues discussed on our regular #FactsMatter podcast....

Veteran newscast journalist Guy Gordon speaks with award-winning infrastructure analyst for the Citizens Research Council, Eric Paul Dennis, about his latest update on Michigan’s roads conditions and funding levels. Their conversation covered a lot of, ahem, road, including m road conditions haven’t improved; road funding slightly improved; the challenges of creating a national road funding and...

Budget Currently Being Hashed Out by Legislators to Decline by $1.1 Billion; OBBBA to Eat 40% of Expected General Fund Growth by FY2032 The Citizens Research Council today released an analysis of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the massive federal legislation signed into law earlier this month that touches nearly every corner of the federal government. The analysis focuses on the likely...