When cities cry poverty, the organization helping them pursue more resources from state or local taxpayers is often the Michigan Municipal League. It is interesting then to see signs that the lobbying group is doing some self-reflection, in the form of allowing a city manager with a fresh point of view to address the organization's annual meeting. “Prosperity doesn’t come from government. It comes from freedom,” Port Huron City Manager James Freed told league members who gathered in September. Freed gave the group a candid presentation on how pension and retiree health benefits were making it difficult to govern his...