February 24, 2021
Media outlets across the state are repeating claims from state government that certain grants of taxpayer money have helped Michigan businesses keep 54,000 jobs during the coronavirus pandemic
But a closer look indicates it is highly unlikely that the handouts, called Michigan Small Business Survival Grants, do that.
MLive reported that, according to the state, the grants are “helping retain more than 54,000 jobs in Michigan.”
According to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, it was up to each business to determine how many jobs would be retained or rehired at the time it applied for one of the grants.
The state then used these figures to claim that just that many jobs had been saved.