Good question. Why are at-home babysitters unionized in Michigan?

On Thursday the state Supreme Court ordered a lower court to explain why it abruptly denied a Mackinac Center lawsuit which questions the state of Michigan's ability to unionize 40,000 babysitters who work at home.

The union was created in 2006 with help from Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s administration. The joint union of the United Auto Workers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — who are not defendants in the case -- automatically deducts 1.15 percent in union dues from state subsidies paid to those workers who take care of children from poor families.

The suit, which is against the state Department of Human Services, says the union is not legal under Michigan law because the babysitters -- who work in their own homes -- are independent business owners.

The governor and the state bureaucrats recently relented on state laws preventing citizens from making and selling food products like home-made jam. Why not also back off on interfering in the business of babysitting?