Detroit

R Gang: 16.7% Sales Tax Hike for *roads* is a “Grand” Bargain

How will that Sales Tax Hike work? Here’s more Snyder/Calley & Jones Day “Grand” bargain at work.

Snyder_OrrCosts for water service would rise an average of 9.3 percent this year in Metro Detroit under rates proposed Wednesday by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

The department’s board discussed preliminary water rates for the 2015-16 fiscal year, which would rise 3.4 percent for Detroit customers and 11.3 percent for suburban users, on average.

Suburban customers’ water bills could be even higher, [snip]

MORE

Remember what WXYZ warned? Pay up, suckers.

Not to say I told ya so, but… I told ya so.

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The Detroit Bailout

The sausage making…

A comprehensive look and timeline of the Detroit bailout…You may want to read this…

http://www.freep.com/…/detroit-bankruptcy-rosen-o…/18724267/

Other articles are live linked throughout…

My thoughts…we owe Detroit nothing more in the future, and didn’t owe it the money we gave them…they broke it, let them fix it…

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Want to see what a Michigan republican party-backed $195-million Taxpayer funded bailout of Detroit gets you?

Just to be on the level, I’m not going to bring back stories about grossly overpaid art museum CEO’s and their boards, not-so secret loans to art museum CEO’s, and art millage scams promoted against Tri-County Taxpayers.

Feel free to use that search window in the upper-right corner if you’re inclined to read more about it.

No, I’m going to talk about what the good people in the Snyder/Calley/Weiser/et al republican machine are in effect helping to promote with your own hard-earned tax dollars.

Just a quick warning to those who wish to continue: The remainder of this post does contain some graphic and disturbing descriptions.

Consider yourselves warned!

{Continued after the fold}

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Maybe A little Mis-Read?

A Traverse City Retailer might well feel the pain of his misplaced good cents.

There will be more than a few legislators regretting their turkey moves of additional regulatory rules during the ‘lame duck’ session.

But its not just the legislators. ‘Exhibit A,’ might well be a story that ‘celebrates’ the “early Christmas present” that Front Street Traverse City business received via SB 569 and SB 658 on Friday Morning. Demonstrating that the lobbying efforts of a few rent seeking business interests are not at all in line with taxpayer interests, the piece on Saturday’s TC Ticker starts with the ‘celebration’ of the “main-street fairness” law:

“It’s been years in the making, but state lawmakers have handed brick-and-mortar retailers like Bill Golden and others throughout Traverse City and Michigan a welcome Christmas present. Starting in October, more online retailers will have to add on Michigan’s sales tax to customer purchases — just like Michigan retailers have always had to do.”

Of course, folks around here (and very likely in all other places) understand that what is sold as fairness is usually anything but fair.

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Why wait?

It's time for the creation a statewide "Tax Me More" Fund. Just think of the possibilities.

When I got back in range of Michigan radio stations this morning and caught the diabetes-inducing, sugar-coating that Gov. Snyder and the proponents of this road funding sham were trying to spoon-feed Michigan Taxpayers, several things came to mind.

Take a sip…you’ll enjoy it!!!

 

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Stop The 16.7% Tax Increase

Stop the sixteen point seven percent tax increase May 5th.

Higher taxes, and the return of redistribution aided advanced by Republicans in Lansing last night.

A May 5th special election will have poor voters deciding if they will be getting more cheese.  The corporate abusers will get their pie, and the rest of us in the middle will get the bill.  Pandering welfare gimmicks, corporate cronyism on steroids and a blanket party for the working class.  Whats not to love?

STOP-167

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Constantine is Giving us our Wings

Not sure if others noticed this in the Detnews.com yesterday, however, while our strabismus AG rummaged about his archaic footnotes of legalese, and even citing back to his Democratic Party predecessor as to somehow absolve an end to justify a collectivist means – there is this.

Macedonian_MafiaOlympia keeps all revenue, including concessions and parking, and any naming rights deal. In an earlier interview with The Detroit News, Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings Inc, defended the way the arena was paid.

“A public-private partnership is the only way any of these type of projects work in an urban environment,” he said.

He pointed out that while The Palace of Auburn Hills was paid for by private owners, the key difference is it’s an isolated venue in the suburbs.

“The Palace gets all the revenues from parking, concessions, retail,” Ilitch said, pointing out that those sources of revenue are key to the financial success of a major venue.

Did you catch that? Out in the boonies of alleged sparse populous, a billionaire with his own money, is to house his own business with rightful privilege to any and all revenue gained from his ancillary services provided to his customer.

Now, contrast the above with the “urban environment” festooned within a bailout, and the opulence of guaranteed populous in a 143 sq mile boundary, it is unequivocally noted by said li’l Caesar, that not only is what is his, his – what is ours is also his too.

Added bonus to us outside the bowels of “urban environment“?

The state reimburses schools for diverted money.

Well, golly gee. Thanks a lot for that, too!

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Here’s your cue. Now, smile for the cameras!

Are we really getting our money's worth on roads? The real answer just might surprise you.

Hey, did you know that the sky is blue?

Okay, maybe not in your part of Michigan and maybe not at this exact moment, but just go with me on this.

Did you know that if I were to spill coffee on my lap that it would hurt? I mean really, ,really, really hurt…a lot.

Hmmmmm, I wonder if I can get anything for the suffering I’ve endured?

And did you know that Michigan Roads are in terrible shape?

I’m so glad that we have a governor who is just so well-versed in the obvious.

{Oh, you’re going to love where this is going after the fold.}

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Seems About Right

The Michigan Senate Majority Leader gives 'honest cops' a good name.

And we haven’t even started the ‘Cotton’ picking.

When we start wondering about the passage of hospital related legislation in the state senate, perhaps we simply consider the source of the new legislation to be only as old as government itself. Something as simple as power brokering through backroom deals and a few well placed donations can alter public policy.  We have seen how the $100,000 given to Jase Bolger has brought about the threat of the unthinkable changes to the Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act.  Even now we should be looking at the reasons for our gas taxes being raised as well.

Though I disagree with bed counts and certificates of need, pushing legislation for ‘good friends’ specific projects violates the spirit of equal opportunity under the law.  Specific legislation that benefits donors as a result of donations offered, ought to be considered criminal if not already.

So when we see 2014 Senate Bill 1073 (Granting medical facility rationing exception to McLaren Health Systems Introduced by Sen. Randy Richardville (R) on September 11, 2014)  to authorize a special exception to the health care facility rationing imposed by the state’s “Certificate of Need” law?  We should be concerned.

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