What will it take for us to start paying attention to the insidious and harmful work of the West Michigan Policy Forum? Monitoring the Rich and Powerful in Grand Rapids – Segment #7

“Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall recently praised the WMPF and Board Chair John Kennedy for backing House Republicans’ focus on core needs—like fixing roads and protecting pensions—while cutting red tape and rejecting tax hikes.”

The quote above was taken from the Facebook page of the West Michigan Policy Forum. In fact, in a video clip what was included in the WMPF Facebook page, Republican leader of the Michigan House said the West Michigan Policy Forum is, “the most respected policy organization in the State of Michigan.” 

So, why would Rep. Matt Hall make such a claim about the West Michigan Policy Forum? It could be because Rep. Hall has been the recipient of campaign funds from several board members of the West Michigan Policy Forum since 2017.

However, I believe that the reason the current Speaker of the Michigan House praises the West Michigan Policy Forum is because they are the best policy organization in the state. To be clear, when I say the West Michigan Policy Forum is the best policy forum in the state, I mean that they have had the largest impact on state policy since they were founded in 2008.

The West Michigan Policy Forum was an outgrowth of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, with the intent of working to influence state policy in Michigan. Their Leadership Team and their Board of Directors are pretty much a who’s who of the wealthiest people and most politically powerful in the area. If you look at their list of achievements it is an impressive list of ways they have won policies at the state level, policies that benefit their ideological, political and economic interests.

GRIID has been tracking the West Michigan Policy Forum since they first hosted their massive policy conferences in 2010. Since then, I have written over 50 articles on the organization that House Speaker Matt Hall praises because they have had a tremendous impact on economic policies at the state level, on taxes, public education, environmental regulation, development issues, labor unions and wages.  The West Michigan Policy Forum is also an integral part of the Grand Rapids Power Structure and is one of only a handful of groups that wield tremendous power in this city.

I rarely agree with politicians regardless of the party they belong to, but I agree with House Speaker Matt Hall that the West Michigan Policy Forum is the most effective policy organization in the state. And this point should scare the shit out of us, or at least those of us who care about collective liberation. Whatever social movements we are part of, whatever organization we are part of, and whatever autonomous groups were are involved in, we cannot afford to ignore the role that the West Michigan Policy Forum plays in state politics.