Obama policies have helped Michigan, experts say

The Detroit News has an article assessing how the policies of the Obama administration have affected the state of Michigan, particularly on economic questions. The opinion of the experts they cite suggests that without those policies, the auto bailout in particular, Michigan’s economic situation would be infinitely worse:

Looking back on the start of Obama’s term, Michigan State University economist Charles Ballard gives the president a “B/B plus” grade.

He says without Obama’s help, Michigan’s unemployment could have skyrocketed to as high as 30 percent.

“If the president had done nothing, it’s almost impossible to imagine how bad it would have been,” Ballard said.

The article also cites the benefits of the stimulus package in paying for infrastructure projects that have created jobs. But what really helped the state were the direct payments to states included in the stimulus bill; without the more than $2 billion in federal funds the state received under that bill, the state’s budget deficit would have been more than twice what it was and would have precipitated an even bigger budget crisis than we already faced.

In fact, if you want to see how bad things would have been without those funds, wait until this year’s budget battles. Because most of that federal money is gone, this year’s budget fight will make last year’s look like a walk in the park.