A new report by the National Employment Law Project says that the bankruptcy of Michigan’s unemployment insurance fund can be blamed on a series of ill-advised tax breaks given to employers starting in the 1990s. Noting that the state has borrowed $3.2 billion from the federal government to keep the unemployment insurance fund solvent over the last few years and that the state must make a $117 million payment on those loans by the end of September, the report says: Michigan’s most recent round of benefit cutting began in March 2011, when Michigan lawmakers enacted legislation to reduce UI benefits by six weeks (from a maximum of 26 weeks to 20 weeks for a regular state claim). This change will take effect for new UI claims filed after January 15, 2012.