Big corporations use big money to abuse their power, and Michigan voters pay the price.
If you’re on the fence about signing the petition for a statewide vote on the conflict of interest between major corporations and our elected officials, allow me to present ample exhibits from February to make the case.
On Feb. 12, DTE Energy reported record quarterly earnings of $1.5 billion. Then the utility asked the state government to let it raise our bills by $242 million. And the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) said yes, which means 4% higher bills for all of us from DTE. This company still struggles with reliability and was recently fined $100 million for polluting our air.
It gets worse. DTE is adding yet another charge: a $2.99 bill-paying processing fee for residential customers who use a credit or debit card online or through autopay, and a $9.99 fee for commercial accounts. If you want to avoid the fee, you have to change how you pay by attaching your bank account.
As of 2023, approximately 3.2% of Michigan households did not have a checking or savings account with a bank or credit union. That may sound minor to corporate executives, but for working families already squeezed by rising costs, every added charge is another reminder of who has the power.
And worse. DTE has now begun seeking yet another electric rate hike for 2027. That means a company that just locked in an additional $242.4 million in revenue from the current increase is already back for more. DTE wants permission to raise rates, tack on fees and keep coming back to the same well, while the people paying the bills are left with less and less say.
Earlier this month, Consumers Energy reported quarterly earnings of $2.23 billion. It has a similar $240 million rate-hike request before the MPSC; if approved, the increase would raise monthly costs for single-family homes by 8%. And if that wasn’t jolting enough, Consumers Energy CEO Garrick Rochow recently derided promises by gubernatorial candidates to freeze utility rates as pushing the issue for show.
When a company can continue to punish our pocketbooks and pollute our communities largely without our input or say, and brush off attempts to rein them in, the system is out of whack. That needs to change.
How did we get here? Money talks. The people who are responsible for holding these monopoly utilities accountable — our elected officials — get contributions from the very firms they’re supposed to regulate. DTE and Consumers contributed more than a quarter of a million dollars to Michigan legislators in the first six months of 2025.
While DTE and Consumers Energy are the storyline for February, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is equally culpable in bankrolling legislators’ campaigns.
There really are too many exhibits to present, so I’m resting my case here: It’s clear that we need to get big corporate money out of politics.
That’s why we’ve joined dozens of grassroots organizations from across the state in support of the Michiganders for Money out of Politics campaign. The ballot measure would prevent DTE, Consumers Energy, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and other corporations with state government contracts worth $250,000 or more from donating to elected officials. Also, the elected officials would not be able to accept corporate donations.
We know that the state’s voters are on our side: More than 80% of Michigan voters support banning political donations from regulated monopolies.
To get this measure on the ballot, more than 350,000 signatures are needed. Let’s make our case to the community about these corporations by signing the petition. Let’s put the power back where it belongs: with the people of the state of Michigan.
Ken Whittaker is executive director of Michigan United Action, a statewide organization that is building a movement to put people and the planet before profits, forge a more just and sustainable future, foster participatory democracy at every level, and create an economy that works for the many.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Whittaker: Get money out of politics
Reporting by Ken Whittaker / The Detroit News
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