Mackinac Center for Public Policy

Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Established1987; 37 years ago (1987)
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
38-2701547
Headquarters140 West Main Street, P.O. Box 568 Midland, Michigan 48640
President
Joseph G. Lehman
Chairman
Rodney M. Lockwood Jr.[1]
Budget
Revenue: ~$11,500,000
Expenses: ~$11,500,000
(FYE December 2022)[2]
Websitemackinac.org

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy (/ˈmækɪnɔː/) in Midland, Michigan, is the largest U.S. state-based free market think tank in the United States.[3][4] The Mackinac Center conducts policy research and educational programs. 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.[5] Mackinac Center scholars generally recommend free market policies such as lower taxes, reduced regulatory authority for state agencies, right-to-work laws, school choice, and enhanced protection of individual property rights;[6][7] they avoid socially conservative issues such as reproductive or marriage rights.[3]

Joseph Overton (1960–2003), a senior vice president of the Mackinac Center, stated the political strategy that later became known as the Overton window. Overton said that politically unpopular, unacceptable policies must be changed into politically acceptable policies before they can be enacted into law.[8][9] The Center was ranked among the top 5 percent of almost 1,900 think tanks in the United States by the 2018 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.[10][11]

  1. ^ "Lockwood Named New Chairman of Mackinac Center Board of Directors". Mackinac Center.
  2. ^ Roberts, Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford, Ash Ngu, Brandon (May 9, 2013). "Mackinac Center - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b "Right-of-Center Guru Goes Wide With the Gospel of Small Government". The New York Times. November 17, 2006.
  4. ^ Heinlein, Gary; Livengood, Chad (March 4, 2015). "Worker Says Ending Film Incentives Will Cost Mich. Jobs". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  5. ^ STAFF, HP. "Legislative Roll Call". The Herald Palladium. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  6. ^ Gardner, Greg (September 1, 2013). "After Firestorm, Michigan Right-to-Work Law Has Had Little Spark". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  7. ^ "After firestorm, Michigan right-to-work law has had little spark". Detroit Free Press. September 1, 2013. Archived from the original on March 9, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  8. ^ "A Brief Explanation of the Overton Window". The Overton Window. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  9. ^ Astor, Maggie (February 26, 2019). "How the Politically Unthinkable Can Become Mainstream". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  10. ^ Beacom, Ron (March 26, 2019). "Mackinac Center for Public Policy continues to prosper in Midland". Midland Daily News. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  11. ^ McGann, James (January 1, 2019). "2018 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report". TTCSP Global Go to Think Tank Index Reports.