Nearly half of likely Michigan voters oppose governor's Detroit bailout plan, poll says

Nearly half of likely general election voters in Michigan oppose the multi-million dollar plan proposed by the governor to bail out the city of Detroit, according to a new poll.

Some 49 percent said they opposed Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposal to give $350 million in state funds to the Motor City in a new public opinion poll commissioned by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a non-profit free market think tank headquartered in Midland, Michigan..

“These numbers should make Gov. Snyder and the Legislature sit up and take notice,” Michael LaFaive, director of the Center’s Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative, said in a statement.

“Bailing out the Motor City with state money is fundamentally unfair and will only encourage more bad behavior from Detroit and perhaps other Michigan municipalities,” he added. “This might have other cities holding their collective hand out. Where will it end?”

Of those who objected to the bailout, 25 percent said they “oppose” the plan and another 24 percent were strongly opposed.

“The vast majority of Michigan residents never voted for the political leadership that helped bankrupt Detroit,” LaFaive said. “It makes sense that they feel no compunction to see their money go to the city.”