#FactsMatter, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan podcast

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...

As policymakers in Washington debate major legislation that, as written, would significantly reduce federal spending on Medicaid, Citizens Research Council released a brief primer on Medicaid in Michigan and the impact of those proposed cuts. Research Council Health Policy Associate Karley Abramson, the author of the paper, discusses the human and economic impacts of the proposed cuts with...

Happy CREC Day! Catch up quickly with Research Council Director Craig Thiel and Senior Research Associate for State Affairs Bob Schneider as they take a few minutes to highlight key takeaways from Michigan's Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference (CREC), held Friday, May 16.

Detroit News politics editor and columnist Chad Livengood sits down with Citizen Research Council’s infrastructure analyst Eric Paul Dennis, PE, discussing the Research Council’s most recently released, 86-page paper: "Data-Driven Assessment of Michigan’s Road Program" which makes the case that Michigan legislators should overhaul the way the state divvies up money for road improvements.The...

Vic McCarty of the Vic McCarty Morning Show, WTCM Traverse City, interviews Eric Lupher, president of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, which last week released novel research making the case that much more work is needed on the road funding issue than just securing more resources for roads and bridges.In a Nutshell:Michigan ranks 30th among all 50 states in road and 40th in road system...