Economic Development is a Long Game

An opinion piece in the Detroit News used faulty assumptions about job creation to minimize the value of several major Michigan projects. Quentin L. Messer Jr., the CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, wrote an op-ed in response, which was published on July 15, 2026. The text of the op-ed is included below.

Michiganians See the Value of Economic Development

In reading a recent op-ed in the Detroit News, I was reminded of the story of a man hired for a job with an advertised salary of $100,000. He opens his first paycheck after the first pay period and stomps into his supervisor’s office. “I was promised a hundred thousand, but this check is only a few grand! Where’s my money? I quit!”

Those who judge the success of a decade-long project by its first few years are making a similar mistake. When a company announces plans to build a new factory with the intention to hire a thousand employees, they must complete construction before they can hire those permanent employees. And when they do, the increased wages of those employees can have incredible impact on local communities, in addition to the temporary jobs created during the construction period.

As one example, look at the LG Energy Solution battery plant in Lansing. A recent report by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research found a baseline benefit-cost ratio of 2.53 for its state incentives. This means for every dollar of state support, the project will create $2.53 in economic benefits to state residents, mostly as higher wages.

That’s an added $489 million going to people’s pockets and paychecks. Across all five projects in the report — all of which are projects that MEDC helped make possible — the total net benefit was about $880 million.

Often, a project will exceed initial plans without additional financial support. In 2024, Corning Inc. announced a $900 million investment in Saginaw County to expand its facility and create 1,100 advanced manufacturing jobs. Subsequently, Corning increased its investment by 67% to $1.5 billion, adding 400 more jobs to its plans. Those direct jobs represent families, the retail they patronize and the communities who now have more tax revenue.

Some projects don’t turn out as we hoped. The marketplace has never been 100% clairvoyant. Incentives recommended by the MEDC are milestone-metered and performance-based. In other words: state funding is only provided once performance milestones are met.

The company doesn’t receive a check up front. If there is no performance, then none of the committed dollars will ever leave the state treasury; in those exceptional cases where companies perform well initially and meet milestones but then go back on their word, we have strict measures to recoup those funds to ensure Michigan taxpayers’ dollars are recovered.

Every commitment of incentives is made in good faith, after an exhaustive due diligence process and public meeting. I applaud every business that chooses to establish or expand operations in Michigan and hire members of our communities statewide.

While some might wish to live in a world without government intervention in the markets, the reality is that Michigan competes every day against other intervening governments. These states and nations are spending highly to de-risk investment decisions and recruiting aggressively to attract companies, industries and supply chains that have anchored the Michigan economy.

My team is focused on ensuring companies choose Michigan, not philosophical debates on perceived market distortions. Our focus means having the tools that allow companies to make risk-taking investment decisions that deploy capital in our state, spurring employment, entrepreneurship and community revitalization. The result? Look at the CNBC Top States for Business rankings, where Michigan reached #6 in 2025 and earned that spot again in 2026.

I welcome the free exchange of ideas and viewpoints. Often, we share common goals ― higher wages, lower costs and sustained prosperity for our state ― even if we differ on the means to achieve them. In a representative democracy, the final word goes to the people and their elected representatives.

Their continued support of the MEDC and our programs through the bipartisan Fiscal Year 2027 state budget gives me confidence that Michiganians appreciate the value of remaining in the competitive arena of economic development. While work remains and I acknowledge the need for continuous improvement, the MEDC accepts the challenge of working with businesses to deliver jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities that underpin a strong state economy for all.

Quentin Messer, Jr. is CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.