CDC Data Suggests Stricter Lockdowns Didn’t Reduce COVID Deaths

Michigan had substantially more deaths than its neighbors despite more significant restrictions

By Tom Gantert | June 22, 2021

The state of Michigan will eliminate capacity limits on indoor and outdoor restaurants and other facilities as of June 22. The state government will also lift all the face mask mandates it has imposed in response to COVID-19.

Throughout the 15-month pandemic, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has repeatedly said the goal of this mandate and other restrictions was to save lives.

April 2, 2020: “Now I know this is hard. I know this is going to be disruptive and it’s certainly going to be hard on our economy as well. But our action will save lives.”

April 24, 2020: “I know there’s been a lot of discussion about these restrictions. I know they haven’t been easy and they’ve seemed inconsistent or confusing. But, the data shows that what we have done is working. We’ve saved lives in this process. The thing about public health is, when you do it well, you never know how many lives you’ve saved.”

But statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest little relationship between the rigor of state lockdown policies and their COVID death rates. The data show that Michigan experienced a higher COVID mortality rate than any other Midwestern state.

COVID deaths per 100,000 residents:

Michigan: 209

Indiana: 204

Illinois: 202

Ohio: 172

Wisconsin: 138

Minnesota: 135

Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.

Michigan’s 100 Year-Plus Teacher Shortage

The topic has been a state media staple

By Tom Gantert | June 21, 2021

Michigan is facing a serious shortage of school teachers, according to the state superintendent.

The state superintendent fears the shortage will persist into next fall, explaining that “many young men and women have been in the teaching profession have decided to enter some other line of industry.”

It’s a familiar storyline to consumers of Michigan media outlets. But this example is not from 2021.

The quote and claims are from a Lansing State Journal article published in June 1917. More than 100 years ago.

In the 105 years from 1917 to 2021, just 18 passed without at least one example of a newspaper article, feature or commentary broaching the subject of teacher shortages.

That’s what was revealed by a search for the topic in Michigan newspapers whose archives are available on Newspapers.com, a subscription-based archive site that includes 94 state newspapers.

Sometimes the item was a national story on teacher shortages. Often it was a story on a local district facing a teacher shortage.

While the times have changed, the talking points are the same.

“The acute shortage of teachers was blamed today on low salaries,” reported the Lansing State Journal on May 20, 1945.

In 1966, the Ludington Daily News reported, “Some crises never seem to be resolved. The critical problems of local school districts fall in this category, and particularly the teacher shortage. As far as memory goes back, it seems school teachers have always been in demand. This year apparently will be no exception.”

In 1953, the Wakefield News reported, “Teacher shortage is bad, but there’s a disagreement about how bad.”

That article reported the average teacher salary in Michigan was $3,900 a year. Adjusted for inflation, that would be $37,590 in 2020 dollars. According to the state of Michigan, the average teacher salary in Michigan in 2020 was $63,553.