The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has often disagreed with the Whitmer administration's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. | Facebook
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has often disagreed with the Whitmer administration's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. | Facebook
For years, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy has been on the front lines of protecting the citizens of Michigan, their taxpayer dollars and their constitutional rights.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has prompted unprecedented action on the part of the state government, the Mackinac Center has released ten suggested rules for dealing with the pandemic while, at the same time, respecting the constitutional rights of the citizens of Michigan.
The pandemic has proven extremely difficult for state and local governments to navigate without infringing upon the rights of their constituents. The Mackinac Center believes the goal should be to help all parties involved by containing the virus without violating the rights of private citizens.
Michael Van Beek, director of research at The Mackinac Center, believes these principles will help create a better environment for both lawmakers and citizens. He wrote the rules, which can be viewed here. Van Beek suggests that government shouldn't favor one health concern over another nor restrict individual rights in a permanent way and that voluntary compliance should always be the default approach.
The Mackinac Center is stressing the importance of following these rules for Michigan's state government going forward. Van Beek is also bringing attention to the fact that many lawmakers and policymakers chose to ignore the pandemic plans that had been previously put into place, opting instead to make policy on the fly. This resulted in poorly thought-out policy that, in some cases, did not adhere to the constitutional rights of the citizens.
“No matter what you think of the state’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are lessons to be learned about how these decisions were made. These ten rules will help policymakers create policies that are consistent, transparent and treat Michiganders fairly. This will help protect the rights of Michiganders while also improving our ability to limit the harms of a pandemic,” he said, according to the Mackinac Center's website.
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