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America’s once-iconic industrial hub is primed for an economic comeback as major metropolitan areas continue to bleed residents to lower-tax states, a prominent Michigan developer told Digital.
Rodney Lockwood, Board Chairman of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, warned that high-tax cities like New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are facing serious structural trouble.
“I think we have to look at both sides: what is not working, and then what will work,” Lockwood said. “Right now, socialists are on the march, and Zohran Mamdani in New York is perhaps the best example of that. They’re winning races, and their answer is always the same: more taxes and more free stuff.”
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Detroit’s skyline. (Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Lockwood’s comments come as progressive-led cities nationwide—including New York, Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles—struggle with taxpayer flight driven by high state and local taxes, lingering crime concerns, and an astronomical cost of living. A new study by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF), released April 7, 2026, confirmed that taxpayers are fleeing high-tax environments for more fiscally friendly states.
While Texas and Florida remain the top targets, states like North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are also seeing record gains. Notably, the NTUF “Migration in Minutes” metric found that Texas surpassed Florida in 2022 as the state gaining a new taxpayer most frequently — one every 4 minutes and 40 seconds.
“I sort of see it as a case of suicidal envy,” Lockwood explained. “Belle Isle would be on the opposite side of that equation. We would have a taxation system aligned with the best of human characteristics. If you want people to work for the income and dignity of it, don’t tax work—so there’d be no local income tax. If we want people to come, invest, and produce the tools of productivity, don’t tax investments.”
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Lockwood is championing a proposal to transform Detroit’s Belle Isle into a self-governing “Freedom City” aimed at setting a new blueprint for urban revival nationwide.
First developed as a public park in the late 19th century, Belle Isle spans 982 acres in the Detroit River—making it roughly 140 acres larger than New York City’s Central Park. While the city owns the land, it is currently leased to the State of Michigan and operated as a state park under a 30-year agreement signed in 2013.
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Sebastien Bourdais exits a turn during race two of the IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix auto racing doubleheader on Belle Isle in Detroit, Sunday, June 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (The Associated Press)
Under Lockwood’s proposal, private investors would purchase or lease the island from Detroit to build a mixed-use residential, retail, and commercial district. The goal is to generate massive economic activity and private-sector jobs for a city recovering from decades of population loss.
Lockwood pointed to recent polling by Michigan pollster Steve Mitchell indicating strong interest in bold economic solutions, with 68% of likely Detroit voters and 51% of voters statewide approving the concept of special economic freedom zones.
Detroit’s economic trajectory highlights the stark reality of post-war urban decline, Lockwood noted.
“We’re trying to restore it back to being the world-class city it once was,” Lockwood said. “Back in 1950, it was the world’s richest city. Today, it ranks among the poorest in the United States. We’ve gone from 1.85 million people down to around 600,000.”
Lockwood believes the island represents a vastly underutilized asset ideal for conversion into a tax-friendly special economic zone designed to draw global capital. His vision projects a permanent population of 50,000 residents across 20,000 households—all built without relying on taxpayer dollars.
The “Freedom City” concept, supported by free-market advocates at the Mackinac Center, hinges on courting private venture capital through light-touch regulation and a growth-oriented tax framework.
Lockwood pointed to long-standing socioeconomic challenges across the Motor City as evidence that conventional municipal governance has failed.
According to a report, Texas surpassed Florida in 2022 as the state gaining a new taxpayer most often. (iStock)
“Detroit is stuck,” Lockwood asserted. “Its population has struggled to rebound, and it faces a looming fiscal issue. COVID-era federal relief funds sustained municipal budgets for a few years, but that money is exhausted.”
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Lockwood argues that transforming Belle Isle could provide the spark needed to revitalize the entire region.
“What Belle Isle would do with 50,000 residents and $50 billion in private investment is attract an entrepreneurial class,” Lockwood said. “These are business leaders looking to take proven concepts and expand into the heart of the world’s largest economy.”
