Look at which groups are opposing the ballot initiative that would raise taxes for millionaires and billionaires in Michigan

There is a ballot initiative in Michigan called Invest in MI Kids, which is slated to be on the ballot in 2026. The premise of this ballot initiative is to restructure the tax system in Michigan so that millionaires and billionaires will be more in taxes. It’s about time.

In addition, the additional tax revenue that will be generated will be used to fund public schools in Michigan. At the state level, the Michigan Education Justice Coalition is coordinating the campaign, with groups like the Urban Core Collective (UCC) in Grand Rapids acting as a partner in UCC has been doing lots of education justice work in Grand Rapids. 

So, people want to pass a ballot initiative that would appropriately tax millionaires and billionaires, then turn around and use that money to fund public schools. Sounds like a winning combination.

However, not everyone is enthused about the Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative, especially organizations that represent millionaires and billionaires. In late June, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce released a statement against the Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative, claiming the “tax increase would be particularly devastating to smaller businesses.” The Michigan Chamber of Commerce doesn’t really providing any evidence or support for how it would impact smaller businesses. Making this claim is a standard claim from the Chamber of Commerce, so they don’t have to substantiate it, since it is designed to get people to doubt the benefit of taxing millionaires and billionaires.

The Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce came out with the same position against the Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative in early July, stating that the ballot initiative “would add a 5% income tax on small businesses and individuals earning over $500,000/couples over $1 million, raising the total rate to 9.25%.” Again, they offer to concrete evidence for how the tax increase will hurt small businesses.

Then there is the West Michigan Policy Forum (WMPF), which also came out against the Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative. The recently appointed President of the WMPF, Jase Bolger, wrote an opinion piece in the Detroit News on July 14th, with the headline, State must reject graduated income tax hike proposal. 

Bolger uses the same arguments about opposing increased taxes for the wealthiest residents of Michigan, writing: 

“This isn’t just about a few high earners — it’s about thousands of small-business owners who reinvest in Michigan, hire locally, and are the foundation of our economy. And the workers they support with pay, benefits and future growth.”

Actually, the Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative is about the high earners. In Michigan right now, there are 12 billionaire families, 11 according to this news article, but they forgot to include the DeVos family. Another source says that there are 73,364 households in Michigan with $500,000 or more in income, which makes up only 1.8% of the population. Therefore, if the ballot initiative is passed, then 1.8% of the population – the wealthiest members of Michigan – will pay increased taxes that will generate billions for public schools. 

The West Michigan Policy Forum President was also recently interviewed on the Michael Patrick Shiels podcast, to encourage people not to sign the petition for the Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative.

For those who are unfamiliar with Michael Patrick Shiels, he used to be a radio show producer, but then decided to start a career in talk radio himself in 2005. He is the host of Michigan’s Big Show Starring Michael Patrick Shiels, which is a production of Spotlight Media Marketing and Productions, a pro-business media company. Sheils has written several books on golfing and writes for the Travel Tattler.

In the podcast with WMPF CEO Jase Bolger, Michael Patrick Shiels essentially agrees with Bolger and doesn’t question any of the information that for State Representative share on the graduated income tax ballot proposal. Bolger makes the claim that the Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative would hurt the Michigan economy, but doesn’t really offer any evidence to support such a claim. 

If you support taxing millionaires and billionaires and use that money to support public schools in Michigan, then you can reach out to the Urban Core Collective about being a Justice Captain. Use this form to sign up now and be part of the movement: https://bit.ly/justice-captain-training