| Public
Sector Reports
1994
Michigan Roundup
| Health Policy Bulletin | Michigan
Economic Bulletin |
Election Watch | Public
Opinion Monitor
Public Policy Advisor
A periodic series that examines such subjects
as fiscal and tax policy, health and environmental issues,
and education policy and offers commentary on current or emerging
political, social, and policy issues.
- School
Finance Reform: Effect on Taxpayers
by Robert Kleine, M.B.A., Vice
President and Senior Economist, and Alec Rodney, M.A., Economist
The first of a series of
reports on various aspects of the March 15 ballot proposal
to fund K–12 education from sources other than property
taxes and on the statutory fall-back plan already in place,
which will take effect if the ballot proposal does not
pass. Examines the effect of the two plans on Michigan
taxpayers at different income levels and in different
circumstances.
January 14
- School
Finance Reform: Taxes on Tobacco
by Robert Kleine
Discusses the effects
of the statutory plan and the March 15 ballot proposal
on the taxation of cigarettes and other tobacco products
and on state revenue.
January 21
- School
Finance Reform: Charter Schools
by Laurie A. Cummings, M.S., Economist
Includes information
about what charter schools are, who may start one, who
may attend, and their potential effect on education.
January 28
- School
Finance Reform: Budget and Fiscal Effects
by Robert Kleine
Examines the two school
finance plans' fiscal effects on individual and business
taxpayers and on the state budget.
February 4
- Overview
and Analysis of the Governor’s Recommended Budget,
Fiscal Year 1994–95
by Robert Kleine, Laurie A. Cummings,
and Alec Rodney
Examines the governor's
spending recommendations and revenue assumptions for the
fiscal year that will begin October 1, 1994.
February 4
- School
Finance Reform: Which Districts Will Benefit Most?
by Laurie Cummings
Discusses the effects of
the ballot and statutory proposals on funding equity for
Michigan school districts.
February 14
- Why
We Will Have Comprehensive National Health Care Reform
by Peter Pratt, Ph.D., Vice President and Senior Consultant
for Health Care Policy
Predicts that there will
be comprehensive health care reform and presents the reasons
why.
February 18
- School
Finance Reform: Comparing Proposed Income and Sales
Taxes
by Robert Kleine and Alec Rodney
Explains how using the sales
tax to replace property tax revenues will differ from
using the income tax to replace them.
February 28
- School
Finance Reform: Effects on Property Taxes
by Robert Kleine
Discusses the effects of
the ballot and statutory proposals on local property taxes.
March 4
- School Finance Reform: Effect
on the Real Estate Market and Business
by Alec Rodney
Examines how the real estate
transfer tax and lowered property taxes will affect the
value of homes and the real estate market and discusses
how the different components of the ballot and statutory
plans will affect business.
March 7
- School
Finance Reform: Summary
by Robert Kleine and Laurie A.
Cummings
Summarizes the competing
school finance plans and discusses how each will affect
various taxpayers.
March 7
- Decision
Making & Public Support
by David Gruber, M.A., J.D., Senior
Consultant
Discusses how organizations—public
and private—can gain consensus and public support for
their projects and policies.
March 18
- Saving
Our Cities: Can the New Federal Urban Initiatives Succeed?
by Jack Bails, M.S., Vice President and Senior Consultant
for Natural Resources
Makes the case that new
federal initiatives (e.g., empowerment zone and enterprise
community designations) to address the problems of the
nation's inner cities should be coupled with state strategies
for sustainable land use. Reports that in Michigan, consensus
is growing for a policy to discourage urban sprawl and
encourage reuse of property in older urban areas.
April 8
- A
Closer Look at Four Health Care Reform Plans
by Christa Rosenberg, Consultant for Health Policy
Discusses how the following
elements of health care reform are treated in each of
the four major universal plans (Clinton, Stark, Cooper,
and Chafee) currently under consideration: provider partnerships,
purchasing cooperatives, employer contributions, cost
containment mechanisms, and insurance industry practices.
April 15
- A
1995 Constitutional Convention?
by Kathleen E. Schafer, Director
of Public Affairs
Every fourteen years, state
voters must be given the opportunity to call a convention
to rewrite the state constitution. Presents the history
of Michigan's four constitutions, several constitutional
conventions, and considers the possibility of there being
another convention in 1995.
April 29
- State
Government Can Help Voters Decide Ballot Measures
by Craig Ruff, President
Points
out that the State of Michigan gives residents no help
in understanding or weighing the consequences of referenda;
voters are left to the mercy of misinformation campaigns.
Suggests that California's ballot pamphlet/cassette is
worthy of emulation.
May 13
- Distance
Learning: A Primer
by Leslie A. Brogan,
Senior Consultant
Describes how distance learning
is defined in Michigan and the problems of evolution that
face government, education, and the private sector in
keeping up with and employing the technology.
May 27
- The
1993–94 Michigan Education Poll: Focus on Reform
by William Sederburg, Ph.D., Vice President for Public Policy
and Director of the Public Opinion Research Institute
Discusses results of a statewide
survey measuring public attitudes about K–12 education.
June 3
- Tax
Cut Fever
by Robert Kleine
Comments on the shortsightedness
of current proposals to cut taxes because there is a short-term
budget surplus. Believes such cuts are foolish in view
of the new K–12 financing burden on state government and
the traditional Michigan business/economic cycle.
June 17
- The
Suburbanization of Politics
by Barry Dehlin, Guest Writer, and Craig Ruff
Discusses the consequences
on politics, at every level of government, of the increasing
dominance of suburbs.
June 17
- The
Trials and Tribulations of the Employer Mandate
by Peter Pratt
Examines the reasons an
employer mandate is unlikely to be included in the health
care reform package and the failure of the debate to address
the concerns of middle-income employees.
July 29
- Overview
and Analysis of the Michigan Budget, Fiscal Year 1994–95
by Robert Kleine, Laurie Cummings,
and Alec Rodney.
Describes the state budget,
now finalized, for the fiscal year beginning on October
1, 1994. Includes changes from last year's appropriations
and from the governor's recommendations.
August 5
- Selling
the Superhighway: Information May Have a Price Beyond
the Cost of Hardware
by David Gruber, Director of Public Involvement
Reviews two recent books
that discuss new information technology and pose questions
about who will control it—big government, big business,
or the public.
August 12
- New
Book Looks at Corporate America's Effect on Our Communities
and the Environment
by Leslie Wells, M.E.M., Consultant for Natural Resources
Reviews Paul Hawken's The
Ecology of Commerce, highlighting its major themes,
including the problems with the current system of commerce,
efforts to address the problems, the role commerce should
play in society, and how to make that transition.
September 30
- The
Engler Record on Taxes
by Robert Kleine
Addresses a contentious
issue in the 1994 gubernatorial campaign—the extent to
which taxes have been reduced or increased during the
Engler administration and whether the tax cuts have been
good public policy.
October 7
- Job
Growth in Michigan
by Robert Kleine
Analyzes job growth in Michigan
since 1988, with particular attention to the 1992–94 period
and the private sector.
October 14
- Motor
Vehicles and Michigan: How Bumpy Is the Road Ahead?
by Robert Kleine
Examines some of the trends
that are likely to affect the U.S. and Michigan automobile
industry through the end of the century.
October 21
- New
Approaches to Managing Energy Production and Consumption
by Leslie Wells
Describes current U.S. energy
policy—or lack thereof—and presents some options that
are being espoused to promote a more managed approach
to energy production and consumption.
October 28
- FY
1992–93 State-Local Expenditures and Revenue: State
Comparisons
by Laurie Cummings and Robert Kleine
Compares combined state-local
spending and revenue in Michigan with that of selected
other states and the country as a whole; areas in which
comparisons are made include education, welfare, highway,
and health spending.
November 4
- Health
Care: What’s Next?
by Peter Pratt, Ph.D.
Reports on public opinion
on health care reform and suggest what we may expect in
the way of reform at the state and federal levels in 1995.
December 16
Michigan Roundup
(top)
A one-page summary of Michigan legislative
activity and political news of significance to government
operations, public policy, and voter attitudes. Published
weekly during legislative sessions and intermittently during
legislative recesses.
Written by David L. Kimball, Senior Consultant for Public
Policy.
Health Policy
Bulletin (top)
A monthly publication that provides
analysis of important health care issues under consideration
by the legislature, executive branch, and professional associations.
Written by Peter Pratt, Ph.D., Vice President and Senior
Consultant for Health Care Policy; Corina Andorfer, Consultant
for Health Policy; and Christa A. Rosenberg, Consultant for
Health Policy.
- What
Are the Real Costs of Health Care to Consumers?
Points out that despite
perception, consumers—defined as families and households—shoulder
a significant portion of the financial burden for health
care expenditures.
January
- Uwe
Reinhardt and Health
Care Reform and Primary Care Physicians
Presents highlights from
a speech by Uwe Reinhardt, a noted Princeton University
health care economist, about health care reform. Also
reports on the comments of a Health Policy Forum panel
on how a state could increase the number of primary care
physicians.
February
- Rep.
Pete Stark’s Plan for Health Care Reform
Describes Congressman Stark's
alternative to the Clinton health plan. Of the eleven
proposals, to date only this plan has been reported out
of subcommittee.
March
- MDPH
Director’s Conference
Reports on the viewpoints
and approaches to the development and dissemination of
"report cards" on providers, which was one of
the major topics of the 1994 Director's Conference of
the Michigan Department of Public Health.
April
- Rationing:
The Role of Policy in Reducing Health Spending
Points out that national
policy could be used to reduce explicitly the quantity
of health services consumed; that is, rationing could
be imposed. Discusses this aspect of the Clinton, Canadian,
and Oregon plans and raises issues and presents options.
May
- SelectCare
Reports on an interview
with Mark Bertolini, president and CEO of SelectCare,
an HMO in southeastern Michigan. Bertolini discusses SelectCare's
philosophy, technology, flexibility, and success. He also
comments on some of government's regulatory failures,
which have led to overcapacity in the area, and also on
health care reform.
June
- House
Republican Special Committee on Health Care Reform
Presents highlights of the
committee's report and describes the effect the proposals
would have on state government, the medical community,
health insurers, and consumers.
July
- Medical
Care Savings Accounts
Describes MCSAs as legislated
in Michigan—one of the few states to permit them—and capsulizes
the arguments for and against them.
August
- Business
Coalitions
Discusses the approaches
being used by business coalitions—also known as purchasing
cooperatives or health care purchasing groups—to find
ways to reduce health care costs, improve the quality
of care, increase access to care, and hold providers and
insurers accountable.
September
- Community-Based
Health Initiatives
Reports that across the
country, citizens and organizations are coming together
to find local solutions to local problems and outlines
the elements of community-based health initiatives. Mentions
the eight Michigan efforts and asks the key policy questions
that face such efforts.
October
- The
1993–94 Legislative Session in Review
Reports the highlights of
the current legislative session insofar as health matters
are concerned. Three hundred six health-related bills
were introduced, and forty-five thus far have been passed
and enacted. Among the issues addressed were tort reform,
abortion consent, certificate of need, tobacco use, professional
licensure and discipline, and pain management.
November
- Predictions
for 1995
Presents predictions made
by several leaders in Michigan health care and health
policy as to the major issue(s) in 1995.
December
Michigan Economic
Bulletin (top)
A monthly review of economic
indicators, state revenue receipts, and appropriations and
tax developments. Each issue contains current good and bad
economic news, an article of special focus, a list of publications
of interest, and economic news from the state capitol; in
alternating quarters, a special insert presents a general
economic forecast or analyzes economic data for each of the
seven Michigan regions.
Written by Robert J. Kleine, M.B.A., Vice President and
Senior Economist; Laurie A. Cummings, M.S., Economist; and
Alec R. Rodney, M.A., Economist. (available in Acrobat™
format)
Election Watch (top)
A periodic publication of observation,
speculation, and commentary about state and federal political
and election-year matters. Examines key issues, the political
fortunes and campaigns of candidates, and anticipates how
election outcomes will affect future state public policy.
Written by Craig Ruff, M.P.P., President and Senior Consultant
for Public Policy.
Public Opinion
Monitor (top)
A periodic publication that
reports results from our own statewide polls of public opinion
on issues of the day and analyzes the implications. Most include
trend data on the governor's and legislature's approval ratings,
economic confidence of the public, and respondents' political
party affiliation.
- A Cynical Public Looks Toward
the November Elections (Survey underwritten by Michigan
Hospital Association)
by William Sederburg, Ph.D., Vice President and Director
of Public Opinion Research Institute
Reports on Michiganians'
opinions about (1) health care reform and (2) Governor
Engler.
June 3
- The 1993–94 Michigan Education
Poll: Focus on Reform (Survey conducted in cooperation
with the Michigan Department of Education)
by William Sederburg
Reports on opinion across
the state about the quality of educational and noneducational
aspects of the public K–12 system, the best approaches
to use to improve schools, and expectations of recent
reform legislation.
June 10
- Michigan’s Mixed Moods
(Survey underwritten by Michigan Hospital Association)
by Craig Ruff, M.P.P., President and Senior Consultant for
Public Policy
Reports on Michiganians'
opinions about health care reform, crime, and the gubernatorial
election.
October 21
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