Fact-checking the Michigan economy: Prices up. So are wages. What’s true?

The 72-year-old from Lansing is on a fixed income and has reduced her spending, eating out less and buying fewer Happy Meals for her grandchildren at McDonald’s and shopping around on car insurance.

“I never used to play that game,” she said. “But now $100 means something.”

In most elections, the economy is a huge issue. It could be a defining one this November in Michigan, which has ridden an economic roller-coaster for decades because of its manufacturing-reliant economy, pollster Richard Czuba told Bridge Michigan.

“But (now) in virtually every election we poll, the economy dominates the concerns,” he said.

Jobs, the economy and inflation, combined, were the top issues for 32% of residents in August, he said.

Abortion and women’s rights was No. 2 at 12.5%.

Unlike other elections dominated by angst over slowdowns, traditional economists say this economy is actually robust.

The state’s workforce, which has swelled in recent months, is at its largest since 2001 and still enjoying a relatively low jobless rate. Homeowners with mortgages locked in before 2022 have avoided the rising interest rates.