Henry Payne of the Detroit News has a most enlightening column on the problems of Michigan. Governor Granholm has been in office since 2003 and all the while, unemployment has risen, people and businesses have left the state, and Lansing has been flooded with red ink. Her record in office has been quite reminiscent of Herbert Hoover: lots and lots of government activism to “get things going” but at the same time big tax increases to cover the budget deficits.

The trouble with politicians like Granholm (especially Beloved Leader Obama) is that they believe economic prosperity is produced by government programs, initiatives, subsidies, and so on. Production and employment occur when people see opportunities for efficient use of resources to satisfy consumer wants. Government can do NOTHING to catalyze that, but a great deal to obstruct it.