It’s time to retire “unprecedented”

A version of this column originally appeared in Michigan Advance.

If I looked up the word “unprecedented” in the dictionary, it wouldn’t surprise me to see it defined as “2025.” 

No other word seems more apt a description of actions being taken at every level of government. From local schools to communities to the state and to the nation, we’ve seen unprecedented attacks on…

Data.

Democracy.

Civil liberties.

Education.

Health care.

Food assistance.

Our immigrant neighbors.

Process and procedures.

I’ve lost track of the number of lawsuits filed to force the federal government to do what it is legally required to do. Political violence is at an all-time high. And the animosity across the aisle continues to grow, even though lawmakers of different backgrounds, communities and ideologies have more in common than they think. Division and otherization have become the norm.

Unfortunately, the word unprecedented has been used so often that it feels less like something new or never done before and more like Tuesday.

I think it’s finally time to retire “unprecedented.”

Now, don’t get me wrong — I’m not harkening back to the “good ol’ days.” As someone who has spent their entire career in and around Lansing politics, I know that the secrecy, political jabs, lack of transparent information and lack of communication are nothing new. I know that the policy process is slow, and long legislative session days occurred even under single-party control. And not everything that happened this year was bad. We saw historic investments in school funding targeted to Michigan students who need it the most and support for 100,000 babies born over the next three years, helping them start off strong. We saw compromise, as members across the aisle and across the chambers worked together to improve policy and mitigate harm. 

But the good was vastly overshadowed by the onslaught of “unprecedented acts.”

So as we turn to 2026, we have a few resolutions that we think policymakers in Lansing should adopt.

First and foremost, mitigate the harm. Hundreds of thousands of Michiganders stand to lose health care coverage and food assistance due to the cuts included in the harmful federal megabill passed earlier this year. Even more will fall through the cracks due to complex federal rules and regulations and confusing paperwork. To be clear, these cuts do not mean savings for the states — they mean job losses, provider closures and higher food and health care costs for all 10 million Michiganders of every age, of all incomes and in every part of the state. The state must do what it can administratively and through budget decisions to reduce the negative impacts to the extent possible.

Get a balanced and equitable budget done on time. Families all over the state are struggling with the high cost of housing, groceries, utilities and child care. Michiganders deserve to see a doctor, put food on their tables, safely send their children to schools and reach toward economic security. School districts and local governments need to plan what services they’ll be able to continue providing. Our state budget is a moral document, and it needs to prioritize meaningful investments in Michigan’s people at a time when they need it most.

Pass evidence-based, data-backed, people-centered policies. As an organization rooted in data, we follow the numbers to determine whether our policy decisions are moving the needle on outcomes for Michiganders. We are also an organization that is informed by the community, and we know that ensuring the voices of those who will be most affected by policy change and budget decisions is a vital part of the policy-making process that is often missing. Consistent policies combined with sustained investments in what we know works are necessary in order to improve outcomes for Michigan’s kids, families and workers.

The Michigan League for Public Policy has been around since 1912. In that time, we’ve weathered economic ups and downs and shifted with political swings, but we’ve remained steadfast in our dedication to the issues Michiganders value most. Instead of policy decisions that divide us, we should be centering our family, friends, colleagues and neighbors in these conversations. And that would be truly “unprecedented.”