Follow The Money

The research, contained in a report released today, recounts an extensive history of spending on roads, jobs, government offices, and business development that is contributing to urban decay, environmental degradation, poor public transportation services, and increased hardships for people in general and for those with disabilities in particular. The study, Follow The Money: Uncovering and Reforming Michigan’s Sprawl Subsidies, is the culmination of a year of research by the Institute. Follow The Money comes as Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and the Republican-led state Legislature face a third straight year of political wrangling to close a stubborn budget deficit. The report describes how certain public investments accelerate sprawl; it also provides state lawmakers with a new way to evaluate how the state makes its economic development and investment decisions, and whether that money can be invested in new and more economically useful ways.