Incomes rising since Michigan became a right-to-work state

By Tom Gantert | Michigan Capitol Confidential

When Michigan passed right-to-work in December 2012, critics were quick to predict that workers’ compensation would plummet. Union officials derided it as “right-to-work for less.”

Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said that right-to-work legislation would lower employee wages.

But the early returns show that hasn’t happened.

Michigan’s per-capita personal income increased from $38,291 in 2012 (before right-to-work became law) to $39,215 in 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis. That increase was the ninth highest in the country.

at Michigan Capitol Confidential.