Sometimes, the sheer size of government programs can make waste and fraud difficult to uncover.
In other cases, however, the ineffectiveness of leftist money grabs is as clear as day. And one recent program initiated under Michigan’s far-left Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer seems to fall in that category.
As the Post Millennial reported:
During her terms in office, Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer offered billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies to select companies. Overall, she authorized $6.9 billion in subsidies during her tenure. Of that, $2.7 billion was offered to just eight major projects. Of the $1.8 billion of that figure that has been spent so far, there have only been 602 jobs created, breaking down to about $3 million spent per job, according to a new report from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
ADVERTISEMENTAccording to the report, the Whitmer administration said that the major subsidy projects would “create 20,595 jobs in Michigan. So far, these deals have created 602 jobs, just 3% of expectations. Of the $2.7 billion offered, $1.8 billion has been spent — transferred either to companies or to local economic development agencies.”
The eight deals that took up the $1.8 billion in taxpayer funding include projects for Fiat Chrysler, General Motors/LG Energy Solutions, a Ford expansion, Gotion, Our Next Energy, Billerud, a Ford plant in Marshall, and a project at the Mundy Township site.
The boondoggle drew widespread criticism on social media:
Travesty. Yet another Democrat grifting scheme enriching insiders personal bank accounts.
— Ironball (@Ironball_T) June 29, 2026
“Government” spending/projects are never about achieving goals or objectives, they are simply wealth redistribution programs.
— Porsche Guy (@PorscheGuyGT2RS) June 29, 2026
This is why $ is better left in the hands of the "producers" who earned it ….yes even it means more trillionaires!
And that's a good thing.
We should be encouraging more young Elons, not less.
— Dug (@duginabox) June 29, 2026
Did they include the fake government jobs created?
— Morbidly Obtuse (@MorbidlyObtuser) June 29, 2026
Here’s more from the original report, via the Mackinac Center:
As seen in this review, elected officials treat the economic development deals they make as a wellspring of broad economic prosperity. Yet, these deals rarely deliver on their promises.
ADVERTISEMENTPeople should not expect these projects to lead to economic growth, even if officials repeatedly say that they will. The state’s economic trends come from the decisions made by millions of people responding to their own opportunities and incentives. It is difficult for even the $1.8 billion of subsidies spent on these projects over eight years to have a material difference on the state’s $730 billion-per-year economic production.
This can also be seen in the figures on the state’s job creation and loss. Most of the people who make decisions that add jobs or eliminate them do not ask for permission from state lawmakers. Michigan employers have created an average of 884,580 jobs per year from 2019 to 2024 and eliminated 878,843 annually over the period.
Had all the companies included in Whitmer’s major economic development deals created the number of jobs that
were announced, they would only have been able to replace 2% of the jobs lost in the state in a single year. Even had these deals performed as expected, they would have had a minor effect on the state’s job trends. The 602 jobs that have been created from these projects matter to the people who have them, but they account for 0.01% of total job creation during the Whitmer administration.
To be fair, these major economic deals look like they have a bigger impact if compared to net job creation rather than gross job gains and losses. Net job creation in Michigan has struggled during Whitmer’s term. The state added 42,700 jobs from January 2019 to April 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is only a 1% increase, the ninth-worst among the states. No other state had made more deals worth more than $100 million during this period, according to Good Jobs First.
Whitmer maintained an active business subsidy agenda during her term, and the state economy struggled.
The gambles she made have not paid off, nor should voters or lawmakers expect them to in the future.
Meanwhile, taxpayers in the state recently learned that they’ve been supporting at least one daycare center that doesn’t seem to ever care for any actual children:
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!