Grand Rapids Reporter

Leaders of the state of Michigan are struggling to keep up with the unprecedented number of unemployment filings due to the coronavirus.

As early as March 10, The New York Times was asking how the government of Michigan was going to deal with the unexampled unemployment levels that would be caused by the stay-at-home orders that were about to go into effect. 

On June 23, the state announced that there were approximately 11,824 people who had filed for unemployment benefits before May 1 who are potentially eligible and still waiting for a response, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential. State officials have announced a goal of making decisions on those claims by July 4.

The New York Times also wrote that the state of Michigan has a long history of undervaluing its state and its citizens.

Looking at the past 10 years, however, state budgets show an increase in state dollars being spent with adjustments for inflation, according to the Michigan Capitol Confidential.

“By late May, it was becoming clear to [Gov. Gretchen] Whitmer that instead of being the governor who reversed Michigan’s long history of underinvestment in the state and its citizens, she might well be one who accelerated the process,” said The New York Times in a June 25 article.

Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency reports show that for nine consecutive years, 2009-10 through 2018-19, Michigan saw an increase in spending from state government dollars even after noting inflation, reports Michigan Capitol Confidential.

The state spent the equivalent of more than $30 billion, in current equivalents, during the 2009-10 fiscal year, which saw an increase to more than $34 billion by 2018-19.

The state saw a decline in total spending, in inflation-adjusted terms, during Whitmer’s first budget year of 2019-20, in which she authorized $34.78 billion in state spending for the 2019-20 fiscal year beginning October 1, 2019.