The People Are Speaking Out on Proposal 6

Proposal Six says "the people should decide," but the people of Michigan are already speaking out against Proposal 6 --- and in favor of the new bridge to Canada. See what they have to say in letters to the editor in The Detroit Free Press:

Monopolists can make a lot of money from monopolies, and monopolists will do just about anything to preserve their monopoly power. The latest case in point is the series of misleading TV ads for Proposal 6. The monopolists who own the Ambassador Bridge have spent millions and millions of their monopoly profits on these ads, and on buying the signatures that got Proposal 6 on the ballot in the first place. 

The clever slogan of these ads is "let the people decide." Oh, please. This isn't about letting the people decide; it's about perpetuating monopoly profits. It would be closer to the truth to say "let the millionaire monopolists decide." The proposed new bridge will provide thousands of construction jobs in the near term, and a greatly improved transportation link with America's biggest trading partner in the long term. Better yet, the Canadian government is willing to foot the bill. Economically, the new bridge is a winner for Michigan. 

But the politics of the new bridge are at least as important as the economics. If Michigan voters are hoodwinked by this ad campaign, it will erase any doubt that our institutions are for sale to the highest bidder. If Proposal 6 passes, we may as well declare Michigan a monopolist-ocracy. I'm voting against this stinker of a ballot proposal. 

Charles L. Ballard Department of Economics, Michigan State University

Read more of the letters on Proposal 6.