But then, starting in the 1970s, things went south — in part because of the might of the unions that ran the state’s political machine. That’s when Michigan transitioned into the sad symbol of closed factories: the American “Rust Belt.” Flint, Michigan, became a ghost town.
From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Detroit lost nearly half its population. Whole neighborhoods were bulldozed, and homes were selling for less than $10,000 as poor and minority residents fled the area’s crime, lousy schools, high unemployment and political corruption.
If you traveled to Florida or Arizona, you saw lots of Michigan license plates.
But then, Michigan began to reform itself with tax cuts and leaner and cleaner government. One big reform was Michigan became a “right to work” state. The state went through an amazing economic renaissance. According to the American Legislative Exchange Council’s “Rich States, Poor States” report (which I co-wrote), few states rose on economic competitiveness faster than the home of the Wolverines. Prosperity returned.
Now the shine is off the engine. The Democrats took back control of the politics in the state, and the first thing they did was repeal “right to work” — a big wet kiss to the union bosses for all those campaign contributions.
Just to set the record straight, the early seventy’s is when our country was flooded with imported cars and cheap japanese steel. That was the downfall of the Michigan rust belt. Also, the right to work law is actually the right to work for less pay if you look at the big picture.