FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2026
Contact:
Laura Millard Ross
lauramr@mlpp.org
517-281-1084
Affordability in Michigan requires boosting incomes, investing in families and avoiding tax cuts
Two new reports from the Michigan League for Public Policy lay out policies around wages, taxes to help families get ahead
LANSING – Four in 10 Michiganders are struggling to afford the basics, and two new reports from the Michigan League for Public Policy (MLPP) show that the problem goes far deeper than recent, dramatic price spikes. Released today, the reports note that Michigan’s affordability crisis is due in major part to decades of stagnant wages and tax choices that have shifted costs onto working families. The reports from policy analysts Patrick Schaefer and Nicholas Hess also provide policy recommendations for the state.
View the reports:
Treading Water: How to Reverse Decades of Stagnant Wages that Contributed to Michigan’s Affordability Crisis
Revenue Solutions for Michigan’s Affordability Crisis
“The affordability crisis is very real, and people feel it every time they pay rent or open a utility bill. It has hit so hard, too, because almost half of Michigan families have already been treading water for decades,” said Karen Holcomb-Merrill, acting president and CEO of the Michigan League for Public Policy. “The state can’t set the price of groceries and other necessities, but it can make sure workers are earning a living wage, and it can make sure Michiganders have the support they need.”
Wages haven’t kept up for decades. Treading Water finds that after adjusting for inflation, the median hourly wage in Michigan has grown just 3.87% since 1978. Meanwhile, wages for the top 10% of earners grew nearly 33%. Today, 26% of Michiganders are working but can’t afford basic needs, and another 13.4% live below the federal poverty line.
While the coming $15 minimum wage is a step in the right direction, it falls well short of what people really need. A single adult needs almost $26 an hour to reach financial stability, according to the United Way’s ALICE stability budget. Median rent rose 31.5% between 2019 and 2024, and center-based infant care now averages over $14,000 a year. Women and workers of color carry the heaviest burden, with women holding 60.5% of the state’s low-wage jobs and Black workers’ median wages actually falling since the 1980s when adjusted for inflation.
Tax cuts — and proposed tax cuts — have made things worse. Revenue Solutions reveals that taxes are not driving up costs and have been decreasing for decades. Michiganders pay less in state and local taxes as a share of their income than residents of 38 other states, and if Michigan collected taxes at the level it did 20 years ago, it would have more than $14 billion in additional revenue today.
Meanwhile, the top 1% of earners pay a lower effective tax rate than the bottom 20%.
“Tax cuts, especially during election seasons, are always sold as relief for regular people. But every time, the biggest ‘relief’ has gone to people at the top while regular families lose the services they count on,” said Holcomb-Merrill. “If we want to make Michigan affordable, we need to focus on supports that help those who are scraping to get by, not tax breaks for the wealthy.”
The report notes that public investments and cash benefit programs are a major part of families’ budgets, but with recent cuts to programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Michiganders in the bottom half of Michigan’s households will have even less to work with when it comes to affording what they need.
Together, the reports recommend that Michigan:
- Set the minimum wage at a true living wage
- Strengthen organizing rights by banning captive audience meetings, letting striking workers collect unemployment benefits and extending protections to agricultural and domestic workers
- Create a fully refundable state Child Tax Credit and expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to young adults without children and Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) filers
- Raise childcare reimbursement rates and expand eligibility for the Child Care Scholarship
- Ease household costs by passing water affordability legislation, expanding the housing supply, and protecting ratepayers from potential data center and infrastructure upgrade costs
- Make the income tax more progressive either by repealing Michigan’s flat tax mandate or by adding a surtax on high earners, extending the sales tax to include services and tax wealth through an inheritance tax, and taxing based on net investment income
- Give local governments the ability to raise revenue beyond the property tax
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The Michigan League for Public Policy, www.mlpp.org, is a nonprofit policy institute focused on opportunity for all. Its mission is to advance economic security, racial equity, health and well-being for all people in Michigan through policy change. It is the only state-level organization that addresses poverty in a comprehensive way. It is the home of Kids Count in Michigan.
Maisha Massey is a Detroit native, educator, researcher and advocate committed to creating more equitable experiences for young people and the communities that support them. She currently teaches 11th-grade English Language Arts in Detroit Public Schools Community District and serves as a TeachMichigan Michigan Education Policy Fellow. Maisha holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and is currently pursuing her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Wayne State University, where her research centers the experiences of Black girls in schools. Her work is grounded in the belief that meaningful policy should be informed by the voices and lived experiences of the students, educators and communities most impacted by it.
Betsy Zobl-Tar 
Jay Cutler joined the League in March 2026 as the Kids Count Senior Data Analyst, where he collects, analyzes, and prepares data for Kids Count in Michigan.
Danielle Taylor-Basemore joined the League as the Development Data and Stewardship Coordinator in June 2025. She brings with her five years of nonprofit experience with a special focus on community engagement, data visualization and strategic programming. Prior to joining the League, Danielle served as the Business District, Safety, and Digital Manager at Jefferson East, Inc.
Scott Preston is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Michigan League for Public Policy, where he leads the organization’s immigration and criminal justice reform portfolios. In the three years prior to joining the League, Scott facilitated the Southeast Michigan Refugee Collaborative and managed a small business economic development program at Global Detroit. His work included launching Michigan’s first Refugee Film Festival and building on a trusted connector model that linked marginalized communities with crucial resources. Scott’s work at the League is informed by his background in journalism and research. He spent four years covering the Syrian refugee crisis in the Middle East for publications such as The Economist, and later worked with unaccompanied refugee minors through Samaritas. Scott holds a master’s degree in international migration and public policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Kate Powers joined the League as the Chief Development Officer in February 2025. Prior to joining the League, Kate held leadership positions at many Michigan nonprofit organizations, most recently serving as the COO and Chief Development Officer of Ele’s Place. Kate has spent the bulk of her career in fundraising, with a short stint in the state Legislature as a legislative aide to members in both chambers. Kate is a graduate of Michigan State University’s James Madison College with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Relations and has a certificate in fundraising management from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Additionally, Kate served on the East Lansing Public Schools Board of Education and is a past President of the Junior League of Lansing. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband and her son and saving outfit of the day and home decor ideas on Pinterest. 
Nicholas Hess joined the League as the Fiscal Policy Analyst in September of 2024. In this role, Nicholas focuses on tax policy, government revenue, and their impact on working families and racial equity, including the effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). Nicholas values the role that judicious fiscal policy can play in the improvement of people’s lives and the economy, alleviating inequities along the way.
Audrey Matusz joined the League as the Visual Communications Specialist in September 2024. She supports the team with implementing social media strategies and brainstorming creative ways to talk about public policy. She brings with her nearly a decade of experience in producing digital products for evidence-based social justice initiatives. 
Jacob Kaplan 
Donald Stuckey 
Alexandra Stamm 
Amari Fuller
Mikell Frey is a communications professional with a passion for using the art of storytelling to positively impact lives. She strongly believes that positive social change can be inspired by the sharing of data-driven information coupled with the unique perspectives of people from all walks of life across Michigan, especially those who have faced extraordinary barriers. 
Yona Isaacs (she/hers) is an Early Childhood Data Analyst for the Kids Count project. After earning her Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience at the University of Michigan, she began her career as a research coordinator in pediatric psychiatry using data to understand the impacts of brain activity and genetics on children’s behavior and mental health symptoms. This work prompted an interest in exploring social determinants of health and the role of policy in promoting equitable opportunities for all children, families, and communities. She returned to the University of Michigan to complete her Masters in Social Work focused on Social Policy and Evaluation, during which she interned with the ACLU of Michigan’s policy and legislative team and assisted local nonprofit organizations in creating data and evaluation metrics. She currently serves as a coordinator for the Michigan Center for Youth Justice on a project aiming to increase placement options and enhance cultural competency within the juvenile justice system for LGBTQIA+ youth. Yona is eager to put her data skills to work at the League in support of data-driven policies that advocate for equitable access to healthcare, education, economic security, and opportunity for 0-5 year old children. In her free time, she enjoys tackling DIY house projects and trying new outdoor activities with her dog.
Rachel Richards rejoined the League in December 2020 as the Fiscal Policy Director working on state budget and tax policies. Prior to returning to the League, she served as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Michigan Department of Treasury, the tax policy analyst and Legislative Director for the Michigan League for Public Policy, and a policy analyst and the Appropriations Coordinator for the Democratic Caucus of the Michigan House of Representatives. She brings with her over a decade of experience in policies focused on economic opportunity, including workforce issues, tax, and state budget.
Simon Marshall-Shah joined the Michigan League for Public Policy as a State Policy Fellow in August 2019. His work focuses on state policy as it relates to the budget, immigration, health care and other League policy priorities. Before joining the League, he worked in Washington, D.C. at the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), providing federal policy and advocacy support to nonprofit, Medicaid health plans (Safety Net Health Plans) related to the ACA Marketplaces as well as Quality & Operations.
Renell Weathers, Michigan League for Public Policy (MLPP) Community Engagement Consultant. As community engagement consultant, Renell works with organizations throughout the state in connecting the impact of budget and tax policies to their communities. She is motivated by the belief that all children and adults deserve the opportunity to achieve their dreams regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or economic class.
Emily Jorgensen joined the Michigan League for Public Policy in July 2019. She deeply cares about the well-being of individuals and families and has a great love for Michigan. She is grateful that her position at the League enables her to combine these passions and work to help promote policies that will lead to better opportunities and security for all Michiganders.
Megan Farnsworth joined the League’s staff in December 2022 as Executive Assistant. Megan is driven by work that is personally fulfilling, and feels honored to help support the work of an organization that pushes for more robust programming and opportunities for the residents of our state. She’s excited and motivated to gain overarching knowledge of the policies and agendas that the League supports.
