IN THE NEWS

Federal Expenditures in Michigan

March 31, 2008, In 2005 (the most recent year for which data are available), Michigan had 3.41 percent of the nation's population, but received only 2.84 percent of all federal expenditures and obligations paid to governmental, non-profit, and for-profit entities and individuals. During the same period, Michigan state and local governments received 3.0 percent of outlays from federal grants and payments programs. If this state had received a proportion of federal payments identical to its share of population, an additional $13.0 billion would have been transferred from the federal government to governmental and nongovernmental recipients in Michigan. Included in that $13.0 billion would have been $1.6 billion in payments to the State of Michigan and Michigan local governments.

A new report from Citizens Research Council analyzes federal payments for retirement and disability, grant awards, procurement contracts, salaries and wages, and other direct payments made to governmental and non-governmental entities, as well as federal grants and payments to state and local governments. The analysis identifies federal agencies from which payments are made, types of payments, specific federal programs that disproportionately benefited Michigan and federal programs that should be scrutinized to determine whether benefits to Michigan can be increased.

The analysis suggests that more could be done to maximize potential payments from existing federal programs and to refine existing, or shape new federal programs to better meet Michigan needs.

Read Federal Expenditures in Michigan

IN THE NEWS

Outdated State Formula Results in Inefficient Highway Funding

February 6, 2008, Michigan's state highway funding formula, which has substantively changed only slightly since its adoption in 1951 fails to take into account highway use in distributing dollars to counties, instead using mileage. As a result, highway funding is skewed toward lesser traveled rural roads at the expense of heavily traveled urban routes.

This is the main finding of a new study by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. The report, Improving the Efficiency of Michigan's Highway Revenue Sharing Formula, notes that, while mileage was once the only reasonable way of allocating highway dollars, it is now possible to use vehicle miles traveled as one part of the formula. Doing so could more equitably and efficiently allocate Michigan highway revenues, which are growing very slowly.

The study provides three illustrative scenarios demonstrating the kinds of shifts in funding that could be produced by injecting measures of road use into the formula, both with and without additional funding.

Read Summary or full report: Improving the Efficiency of Michigan's Highway Revenue Sharing Formula