The Mackinac Center for Public Policy () is a

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

headquartered in

Midland, Michigan Midland is a city in Midland County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 42,547 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Midland metropolitan statistical area, part of the larger Saginaw-Midland-Bay City ...

. Through research and programs, the Mackinac Center supports lower taxes, reduced regulatory authority for state agencies,

right-to-work law In the context of labor law in the United States, the term right-to-work laws refers to state laws that prohibit union security agreements between employers and labor unions. Such agreements can be incorporated into union contracts to requir ...

school choice School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to traditional public schools. School choice options include scholarship tax credit programs, open enrollment laws (which allow students to att ...

, and property rights. It has been variously described as

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

fiscally conservative In American political theory, fiscal conservatism or economic conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, an ...

, and

nonpartisan Nonpartisan or non-partisan may refer to: __NOTOC__ General political concepts * Nonpartisanship, also known as Nonpartisanism, co-operation without reference to political parties * Non-partisan democracy, an election with no official recognition ...

. It prefers the description "

" over "

" because it does not emphasize social issues.

Joseph Overton Joseph Paul Overton (4 January 1960 – 30 June 2003) was an American political scientist who served as the senior vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. He is best known for his work in the mid-1990s developing an idea since kno ...

(1960–2003), a senior vice president of the Mackinac Center, stated the political strategy that later became known as the

Overton window The Overton window is the range of subjects and arguments politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time. It is also known as the window of discourse. The key to the concept is that the window changes over time; it can shif ...

. Overton said that politically unpopular, unacceptable policies must be changed into politically acceptable policies before they can be enacted into law. The Mackinac Center is said to be the largest state-based free market think tank. It was ranked among the top 5 percent of think tanks in the United States by the ''2018 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report'' as well as ''2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report'' published by the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) was a non-profit program at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that operated from 1989 to 2021. TTCSP was originally established at the Foreign Policy Research Insti ...

(TTCSP). The Center sponsors MichiganVotes.org, an online legislative voting record database which provides a non-partisan summary of every bill and vote in the Michigan legislature.

History

Mackinac Center for Public Policy Headquarters

The organization was founded in 1987. In a 2011 interview, founder Joe Olson said that the Center was first conceived in a

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

bar at a meeting between Olson, fellow insurance company executive Tom Hoeg, Richard McLellan and then-

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

Republican majority leader

John Engler John Mathias Engler (born October 12, 1948) is an American politician, lawyer, businessman, and lobbyist who served as the 46th governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003. Considered one of the country's top lobbyists, he is a member of the Republi ...

, who would later become governor. Olson said the founders wanted an organization that would focus on research, writing, speaking, issuing press releases and looking at public policy from a free market point of view. The Center began operations with no office or full-time staff. It formally opened offices in Midland in 1988 with its first president, Lawrence W. Reed, an economist, writer, and speaker who had chaired the economics department at

Northwood University Northwood University (NU) is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Midland, Michigan, United States. Opened in 1959, more than 33,000 people have graduated from the institution. History Northwood Universit ...

. The

Lansing Lansing () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. It is the sixth-most populous city in Michigan with a popul ...

-based Cornerstone Foundation provided early direction and some funding. The Center's first annual budget under Reed was $80,000. In 1999, the Mackinac Center moved from rented offices to its current headquarters after having raised $2.4 million to renovate a former

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses Australia and New Zealand * Woolworths Group (Australia), the largest retail company in Australia and New Zealand; named after the American F.W. Woolworth company, but unrelated * W ...

department store on Midland's Main Street. The Mackinac Center is classified as a

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. It is a member of the

State Policy Network The State Policy Network (SPN) is a nonprofit organization that serves as a network for conservative and libertarian think tanks focusing on state-level policy in the United States. The network serves as a public policy clearinghouse and advi ...

of state-level conservative and libertarian think tanks. The Mackinac Center published a 20-point plan for state fiscal reform, with Governor

fully or partially implementing 16 of those recommendations during his first term in office. In 1994, Engler said, "When the Mackinac Center speaks, we listen". When asked by Detroit's ''

Metro Times The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly newspaper located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. The ''Metro Times'' was an official sponsor of the now-defunct De ...

'' in 1996, the Center's President Lawrence Reed said: "Our funding sources are primarily foundations ... with the rest coming from corporations and individuals," but that "... revealing our contributors would be a tremendous diversion..." In 2001, Mackinac Center was described as "the leading advocate for a universal education tax credit" by a ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' editorial. In 2002, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) sued the Mackinac Center over the Center's use of a supportive quote by the MEA's President in fundraising material. In 2004, the

Michigan Court of Appeals The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reporter (law), reported both in an officia ...

threw out the lawsuit. In November 2006 ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' published a two-part series about state-based "conservative" think tanks that described how the Mackinac Center trained think-tank executives from 42 countries and nearly every US state. ''The New York Times'' also reported that, "When the Mackinac Center was founded in 1987, there were just three other conservative state-level policy institutes. Now there are 48, in 42 states." Reed served as president from the Center's founding until September 2008, when he assumed the title President Emeritus and also became the president of the

Foundation for Economic Education The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative, Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian economics, economic think tank. Founded in 1946 in New York City, FEE is now headquartere ...

. Former Chief Operating Officer Joseph G. Lehman was named the Mackinac Center's president on September 1, 2008. In 2014, the organization released a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

, VoteSpotter. The app allows users to track votes by elected officials in the United States. It was originally an extension of the organization's MichiganVotes.org website but has since expanded to include other states. The Mackinac Center in 2018 led several conservative groups urging teachers to leave unions with a national campaign called "My Pay, My Say". In 2019, a satellite office was opened in

. The Mackinac Center has criticized "

sin tax A sin tax (also known as a sumptuary tax, or vice tax) is an excise tax specifically levied on certain goods deemed harmful to society and individuals, such as Alcohol tax, alcohol, tobacco tax, tobacco, drugs, candy, soft drinks, fast foods, c ...

es" like tobacco

excise taxes file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

, vaping regulations and a variety of alcohol rules. It received donations from

Altria Altria Group, Inc. (previously known as Philip Morris Companies, Inc. until 2003) is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and medical products in the treatment of illnesses ca ...

in the 2010s, according to a 2019 investigation by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' about connections between the tobacco industry and free-market groups. The Mackinac Center fought in court against the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

's efforts to cancel some

student loan A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest ...

payments and extend pandemic-related pauses on loans. The Mackinac Center's director of energy and environmental policy was a contributor to the

Project 2025 Project 2025 (also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project) is a political initiative to reshape the federal government of the United States and consolidate executive power in favor of right-wing policies. The plan was published in ...

plan anticipating

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's second term as president of the United States. The Mackinac Center was removed from the Project 2025 credits after a request by the center. A Mackinac Center spokesperson said that it had "offered ideas on labor and energy policy" to the Heritage Foundation, which created Project 2025, but that "we do not endorse" some other ideas in the plan.

Coining of the term "Overton Window"

The concept of the "

" was introduced in the 1990s by

, former senior vice president of the Mackinac Center. After his death in a plane crash in 2003, his colleague Joseph Lehman named the idea in a presentation about the power of consistent and persistent advocacy. The "Overton window" refers to the range of ideas which are considered culturally and politically fringe to mainstream, and when a subject matter moves along this spectrum it is considered to have changed its status along the "Overton window". The Mackinac Center defines the Overton Window as:

...a model for understanding how ideas in society change over time and influence politics. The core concept is that politicians are limited in what policy ideas they can support—they generally only pursue policies that are widely accepted throughout society as legitimate policy options. These policies lie inside the Overton Window. Other policy ideas exist, but politicians risk losing popular support if they champion these ideas. These policies lie outside the Overton Window.

Legal advocacy

The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation is a non-profit, pro-bono organization associated with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy focusing on advancing liberty and free markets. According to the Mackinac Center, its key areas of focus include:

labor law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual prope ...

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

and laws pertaining to healthcare in America. In 2020, the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation initiated a lawsuit against Governor

Gretchen Whitmer Gretchen Esther Whitmer (; born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of R ...

, which ultimately led to the Michigan Supreme Court issuing a unanimous decision in favor of the Mackinac Center. The court declared that Governor Whitmer's attempts to extend a state of emergency beyond April 30, 2020, without legislative approval was illegal. Additionally, in a 4-3 decision, the Court ruled that the Emergency Powers of Governor Act of 1945, which Governor Whitmer had cited as the basis for maintaining unilateral control for an indefinite period, is unconstitutional. Consequently, all executive orders issued after April 30 are currently considered null and void.

Lawsuits involving Michigan Education Association (MEA)

''Michigan Education Association v. Mackinac Center for Public Policy''

In 2002 the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and its president, Luigi Battaglieri, sued the Mackinac Center for quoting Battaglieri in a fundraising letter highlighting its effectiveness. The MEA argued that commercial speech case law required the Mackinac Center to obtain permission for using the quotation. However, the Court concluded that the quotation in the fundraising letter "falls squarely within the protection of the First Amendment for discourse on matters of public interest."

''Mackinac Center Legal Foundation v. Michigan Education Association''

In January 2022, the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and its insurance affiliate, the Michigan Education Special Services Association (MESSA). The lawsuit was filed under the federal

False Claims Act False or falsehood may refer to: * False (logic), the negation of truth in classical logic * Lie or falsehood, a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement * False statement, aka a falsehood, falsity, misstatement or untruth, is a st ...

, maintaining that these labor unions improperly sought and received $12.5 million in COVID-19 relief money through the

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and ...

(PPP). The Paycheck Protection Program, which was intended to provide relief to small businesses, was not designed for 501(c)(5) nonprofits like the MEA or 501(c)(9) nonprofits like MESSA. Despite this, both organizations applied for and received funding through the PPP in April 2020, with the MEA receiving $6.4 million and MESSA receiving $6.1 million. In December 2020, the MEA and MESSA reportedly returned the funds. The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation filed the lawsuit on the grounds that the actions of the MEA and MESSA deprived other businesses of relief funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourteen months after the lawsuit was filed, the case was settled in favor of the Mackinac Center. As part of the settlement, the MEA and MESSA agreed to pay $200,000 in reimbursements and fines. Additionally, the two union organizations agreed to pay the Mackinac Center $77,000 in attorneys fees, and the federal government paid the Mackinac Center $23,000 for discovering the improper loans.

Positions

The Center writes that its ideology is most accurately characterized as flowing from the "classical liberal tradition" of

Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and ...

and others: "socially tolerant, economically sophisticated, desiring little government intervention in either their personal or economic affairs." In a 2011 interview about the organization, one of its founders, Olson, said "Some will say the Mackinac Center is a Republican front" but that he disagreed. The Mackinac Center was involved in the effort to pass a

in Michigan and has supported efforts in other states to expand right to work laws and workers' rights to not pay dues to a union they do not support. The Center also launched the website MyPayMySay.com to alert union members to their rights.

Funding

In 2022, the foundation's total revenue was $11.5 million, and its expenditures were $11.5 million, according to

ProPublica ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City. ProPublica's investigations are conducted by its staff of full-time reporters, and the resulting stories are distributed to ne ...

. Between 2008 and 2013, the Mackinac Center received $2.4 million from DonorsTrust, a

donor-advised fund In the United States, a donor-advised fund (commonly called a DAF) is a charitable giving vehicle administered by a public charity created to manage charitable donations on behalf of organizations, families, or individuals. To participate in a dono ...

used by conservative philanthropists, according to a liberal group called the Bridge Project. Donor-advised funds allow individuals, foundations and charities to give money anonymously. DonorsTrust has been used by the

Koch family The Koch family ( ) is an American family engaged in business, best known for their political activities in the Koch network and their control of Koch Inc, the 2nd largest privately owned company in the United States (with 2019 revenues of $1 ...

and other donors. The funding was for statehouse reporting and attendance at meetings of the

American Legislative Exchange Council The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of conservatism in the United States, conservative state legislature (United States), state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share Model act, ...

(ALEC).

Publications and projects

In addition to policy studies, the Center publishes a number of periodicals including ''Michigan Education Report'', ''Michigan Privatization Report'', ''Michigan Science'', ''Michigan Capitol Confidential'', ''Impact'', ''Michigan Education Digest'' and ''Michigan Context and Performance Report Card''.

''Michigan Capitol Confidential''

''Michigan Capitol Confidential'' is a nonprofit news service published by the Mackinac Center. It provides news and analysis of Michigan-specific issues, including state and local government policies, education, and economics.

MichiganVotes

MichiganVotes is a project whose primary objective is to facilitate access to information regarding historical and ongoing legislative actions. Its users have the capability to search for bills by their respective numbers, categories, or keywords. This platform is designed by Mackinac Center with the aim to enable individuals to stay informed about various legislations and to ensure that their elected officials are held responsible for their actions.

Personnel

Policy staff members

* Burton W. Folsom Jr., Senior Fellow in Economic Education * Lawrence Reed, President Emeritus

Adjunct scholars

Peter Boettke Peter Joseph Boettke (; born January 3, 1960) is an American economist of the Austrian school. He is currently a professor of economics and philosophy at George Mason University; the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism, vice president for r ...

Richard Ebeling __NOTOC__ Richard M. Ebeling (; born January 30, 1950) is an American libertarian author who was the president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) from 2003 to 2008. Ebeling is currently the BB&T Distinguished Professor of Ethics and ...

* James Gattuso * Paul McCracken (1915–2013) * Robert Murphy * Mark J. Perry * Robert Sirico * Bradley A. Smith * John B. Taylor *

Richard Vedder Richard K. Vedder (born November 5, 1940) is an American economist, historian, author, and columnist. He is a professor emeritus of economics at Ohio University and senior fellow at The Independent Institute. Biography Vedder was born on Novemb ...

* Gary L. Wolfram

Board of directors

Current members of the Mackinac Center's board of directors include: * Rodney M. Lockwood Jr., Chairman of the Board; Chairman/CEO of the Lockwood Companies * Joseph G. Lehman, President; Vice chairman of the

National Taxpayers Union The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) is a fiscally conservative taxpayer advocacy organization and taxpayers union in the United States, founded in 1977 by James Dale Davidson. NTU says that it is the oldest taxpayer advocacy organization in t ...

and a director of the Fairness Center * Richard D. McLellan, Secretary; McLellan Law Offices; formerly

Dykema Gossett Dykema Gossett PLLC, is an American full-service law firm. Founded and headquartered in Detroit, it has offices in various locations around the United States including California, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Wiscon ...

Law Firm * Clifford W. Taylor, Member; Chief Justice of the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the s ...

from 2005 through 2009 * Richard Haworth, Member; Chairman of

Haworth Haworth ( , , ) is a village in West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines south-west of Keighley, 8 miles (13 km) north of Halifax, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhop ...

, an office furniture and architectural interior company based in

Holland, Michigan Holland is a city in Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa and Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in the West Michigan, western region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula, the city is si ...

* Jim Barrett, Member; President & CEO of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce * Daniel Graf, Member; Financial analyst at Amerisure Mutual Holdings * J.C. Huizenga, Member; Chairman of and founder of Huizenga Group, Member of the

Acton Institute The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty is an American conservative and libertarian think tank in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with an office in Rome. Its stated mission is "to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by i ...

board of trustees * Edward C. Levy Jr., Member; President of Edw. C. Levy Co. * Joseph P. Maguire, Treasurer; President of Wolverine Development Corporation * Jennifer Panning, Member; President and founder of Artisan Tile Inc. Former members of the organization's board include: * Robert Teeter, Republican pollster and political campaign strategist * Paul V. Gadola, United States District Judge * Lawrence Reed, President Emeritus of the Mackinac Center and president of the

* Dulce Fuller, Member; Chairman of the Southeast Michigan Committee of

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

* D. Joseph Olson, Member; retired from Amerisure * Kent Herrick, Vice Chairman; President of Thermogy

References

External links

Mackinac Center's official website

Organizational Profile

National Center for Charitable Statistics The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is a clearing house for information about the U.S. economy as it relates to nonprofit organizations. The National Center for Charitable Statistics builds national, state, and regional databases ...

(

Urban Institute The Urban Institute is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that conducts economic and social policy research to "open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions". The institute receives funding from government contracts, foundations, and p ...

)
MichiganWorkerFreedom.orgMichigan Capitol ConfidentialMichiganVotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackinac Center For Public Policy 501(c)(3) organizations Libertarianism in the United States Midland, Michigan Organizations based in Michigan Political and economic think tanks in the United States Think tanks established in 1987 Libertarian organizations based in the United States