Making Sure Companies Choose Michigan

An editorial in the Wall Street Journal treated erroneous claims by an advocacy organization as proven facts. When the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) reached out to provide accurate information, they published multiple significant corrections. Quentin L. Messer Jr., the CEO of the MEDC and Chief Economic Competitiveness Officer for the State of Michigan, also wrote a letter in response, which was published on July 6, 2026. The text of the letter is included below, with added links to supporting details for ease of reference.

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Making Sure Companies Choose Michigan

Our incentives for business are milestone-metered and performance-based.

Regarding your editorial “A Corporate Welfare Bust in Michigan” (June 30): Michigan competes every day against states and nations that are spending and recruiting aggressively to attract the same investment and the same jobs. Competitors rely on financial incentives to attract business investment. It’s worth asking which de-risking incentives produce results.

A recent report from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research finds the net benefit-cost ratio of five battery facilities in Michigan was 1.55. In other words, over the life of these projects, expected benefits for Michigan communities will exceed costs by 55%, which represents about $880 million in profit.

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

When Ford committed $2 billion to accelerate vehicle production, my teammates and I were proud to work to ensure the company’s footprint grew. When the defense sector brought new opportunities to Selfridge Air National Guard Base and throughout Michigan’s defense corridor, state financial support ensured Michigan would be the 21st century’s Arsenal of Democracy.

Since 2021, Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s entrepreneurship and innovation investments catalyzed more than 15,800 jobs and more than 1,400 high-tech companies, with every $1 in state investment leveraging $85 from other sources. The MEDC is rigorous about fiscal stewardship. Our incentives are milestone-metered and performance-based.

My team is focused on ensuring companies choose Michigan. This means having the tools that allow companies to make risk-taking investment decisions that spur employment, entrepreneurship and community revitalization.

Quentin L. Messer Jr.
CEO and Chief Economic Competitiveness Officer
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Lansing, Mich.