Here’s a question.
Does it feel like your paycheck doesn’t go as far as it used to?
Maybe you’re making more money than you were a few years ago. Maybe you have a good job. You’re doing everything you’re supposed to do.
But then the bills show up.
Mortgage or rent. Groceries. Childcare. Insurance. Healthcare. Utilities.
And suddenly that raise doesn’t feel much like a raise.
That’s the conversation I want to have.
What’s happening at your kitchen table?
Because that’s where the economy becomes real.
WHEN INCOME DOESN’T COVER BASIC COSTS
Households can earn more than the federal poverty level and still struggle with the cost of basic necessities.
Many are working families earning more than the federal poverty level but still struggling with the actual cost of housing, food, childcare, healthcare, transportation and everything else it takes to run a household.
HOUSING NEEDS THROUGH 2030
Ottawa County’s 2025 housing assessment presents projected 2025–2030 needs of 12,526 homes for sale and 3,938 rental homes—16,464 in total. These are projected needs through 2030, not a count of homes missing today.
The largest for-sale gap in the assessment is for households earning approximately $82,000 to $123,000 annually.
We’re talking about teachers, nurses, police officers, skilled-trades workers, young professionals and small-business employees.
People can be doing pretty well on paper and still have trouble finding a home they can reasonably afford.
MAYBE WE SHOULD LOOK AROUND
Here’s something I think government should do more often:
Look for something that’s already working.
We don’t have to reinvent everything. And we certainly don’t have to copy everything another city does.
But if somebody else tried something and got measurable results? I’d like to know about it.
MINNEAPOLIS BUILT MORE HOUSING
Minneapolis changed several housing rules, including allowing more housing along commercial and transit corridors and eliminating minimum parking requirements.
Pew’s analysis found that Minneapolis housing stock grew 12% from 2017 to 2022 while rents grew 1%. This is an observed comparison, not proof that one policy alone caused the outcome.
Across the rest of Minnesota, housing increased about 4% while rents increased about 14%.
Does that mean Ottawa County should copy Minneapolis?
No. We’re not Minneapolis.
But here’s the question worth asking:
What did they do that worked?
HOUSTON TRIED SOMETHING DIFFERENT
Houston reduced minimum lot-size requirements, making smaller-lot townhomes easier to build.
Research on Houston’s 2007–2020 redevelopment links smaller-lot reforms to townhouse development and finds relatively reasonably priced homes in the redevelopment studied. It does not establish that every new townhouse was affordable to a low-income buyer.
It changed a rule.
Builders built the homes.
Could there be rules making starter homes unnecessarily expensive to build in West Michigan?
Maybe.
Let’s find out.
AND HERE’S ONE FROM MICHIGAN
Michigan’s Tri-Share childcare program divides participating childcare costs three ways: the employee pays one-third, the employer pays one-third and the State of Michigan pays one-third.
The FY2024 Tri-Share evaluation describes a 66% reduction in costs per enrolled child for participating families; 97% of surveyed families reported improved financial stability. These survey findings concern participants, not all Michigan households.
On May 26, 2026, Michigan reported 300 participating employers and $14 million in cumulative family savings.
Is it the answer for everybody?
Probably not.
But it produced measurable results.
And that gets my attention.
SEE THE PATTERN?
Minneapolis didn’t just complain about housing. It tried something.
Houston didn’t just complain about starter homes. It tried something.
Michigan didn’t just complain about childcare. It tried something.
Some ideas worked better than others. Some wouldn’t make sense here.
That’s okay.
The approach I’d like to bring to Lansing is simple:
Find what’s working.
Figure out why it’s working.
See whether it makes sense for West Michigan.
Try it.
Measure it.
And if it doesn’t work? Change it.
WHAT WOULD I WORK ON IN LANSING?
I’d start with attainable housing and identify regulations that unnecessarily increase the cost of starter homes, condos, townhomes and apartments while preserving a meaningful role for local communities.
I’d look closely at expanding programs that demonstrate measurable results, including Michigan’s Tri-Share childcare model.
I’d connect housing policy with infrastructure.
I’d strengthen the path between education and a paycheck — college, community college, skilled trades, apprenticeships, certificates and career and technical education.
And I’d ask one question about every major government program:
Did it work?
Did families save money? Did housing get built? Did businesses find workers? Did people’s lives actually get better?
If we’re spending your money, those shouldn’t be unreasonable questions.
NOW I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
What has become noticeably harder for your household to afford?
Housing? Groceries? Childcare? Healthcare? Insurance? Utilities? Transportation? Something else?
This is only Article #1.
Over the next several weeks, Issues That Hit Home will take these problems one at a time.
We’ll look at the numbers. We’ll look around Michigan and the country for ideas that have actually produced results. We’ll explain what Michigan government can realistically do.
I’ll tell you what I would do.
And when Joe Moss and I disagree, we’ll show you the positions and give you the sources.
You decide.
That’s what Issues That Hit Home is about.
— Meegan Zickus
Candidate for Michigan House, District 89
The examples above have different eligibility rules, funding needs, and local conditions. Reported participation, savings, and housing growth should not be treated as interchangeable measures of success.