Tag: Michigan FairTax Proposal

We here in the Grand Rapids field offices have some "undercover operatives" in Dem-friendly organizations in our area (Central-West Michigan).  According to what they're passing on to us, Michigan Democrat Party wants Cox as the GOP nominee.  That's because they have a fairly thick dossier of dirt on our current AG . . . and they will use that file to full advantage in the general.  In fact, Mike Cox is a potential Republican gubernatorial nominee that Brewer's crew is convinced that they can beat, because there are problems with the man some view as Michigan's answer to Rod Blagojevich that haven't surfaced much on RightMichigan.

Everyone who's familiar with me is well aware that I'm a big fan of Mike Huckabee.  This is for multiple reasons.  The guy's a solid conservative and was - in my opinion - a better choice than John McCain for the Republican presidential ticket in 2008.  Most importantly, as far as I'm concerned, is the fact that Governor Huckabee is an open proponent of the National FairTax Initiative.  (Yes, he's also an open supporter of the Michigan FairTax Proposal.)

With that in mind, I fully expected that Governor Huckabee would, if he endorsed anyone in the Michigan Gubernatorial race, be endorsing Pete Hoekstra (who has openly endorsed both the national initiative and the state proposal).  Congressman Hoekstra has also actively and constructively engaged the Michigan TEA Party Movement, and I recall well that grassroots engagement was what kept Huckabee in the Republican primary race as long as he was.  I also know for a fact that HuckPAC will not endorse, support, or otherwise back any candidate who doesn't support the FairTax initiative.

So you can imagine my surprise when, around 8:30 this morning, I received a phone call from a close friend who just happens to be an insider to the Mike Cox gubernatorial campaign.

It is unusual that we can be thankful for our poor economy, but in this case we are.  Michigan's poor economy has resulted in our being able to choose from among top-qualified candidates who, likely, would not have been available to us had the MI FairTax had been enacted a year or two ago.  (Logic: Had the MI FairTax already been adopted our economy would now be going "full tilt" and all well-qualified people would have been very much in demand, and not available to us.)

Our Executive Director, Ms. Dawn Dayton, has had just the fundraising and non-profit leadership experience we need.  A recruiting / selection committee narrowed the original pool of candidates down to a very few.  The Board of Directors then had the difficult task of choosing the best of all well-qualified individuals.  We are privileged to have Dawn accept our offer . . . to earn her own way and to fund the MI FairTax at the same time.

What follows is a press release that was issued today:

Are you looking for a career challenge that directly benefits the future of Michigan?  How about an opportunity to jump start your career by leading a citizen effort to fundamentally change state government and permanently reform the Michigan tax system?

To best advance the Michigan FairTax Proposal (MFTP), the Michigan Fair Tax Association (MFTA) Board of Directors has created the staff position of Executive Director so that we will have a person able to devote full time to the enactment of the MFTP.  It is expected that other staff positions will be created as we grow and as funds make this possible.  The advertisement showing the job description is posted below for your consideration of this position for yourself and/or other applicants you may want to refer for consideration.  Your assistance in recruiting the best possible Executive Director is an important part of our executive search, so please give your considered thought as to whom you could recommend for this most important leadership position and encourage them to apply.  Applications are to be sent to the special e-mail address shown in the description below.

Michigan TEA Party activists, a growing movement across the state, convened near Lansing on Saturday, June 13th, 2009, to hear speakers, learn about grassroots activism, and show a sense of support for possible 2010 ballot initiatives.  The Michigan FairTax Proposal (MFTP) was selected by the majority of voting delegates as the proposal of choice to unify behind and support, from amongst four suggested initiatives.  The MI FairTax focuses on job creation and economic growth by changing the method and structure of the state's tax system from taxing income to taxing retail consumption.

In my first essay in this series, "The Government's Authority to Tax," I mentioned that all arguments to the contrary aside, the government (federal, state, and by extension local) does have the constitutional authority to levy and collect taxes.  The secret to permanently reforming the government lies in constitutionally restricting its ability to tax at will.  While this will be difficult to accomplish at the federal level, the Michigan FairTax Proposal makes this something readily doable at the state level.  But the government's misuse of its legitimate authority is not the only reason to support and pass the MFTP; and with this in mind, I present the second essay the "Continuing to Beat the Fair Tax Drum" series here (with a hat-tip to John Crawford for the basic idea):

Michigan TEA Party activists, a growing movement across the state, convened near Lansing on Saturday, June 13th, 2009, to hear speakers, learn about grassroots activism, and show a sense of support for possible 2010 ballot initiatives.  The Michigan FairTax Proposal (MFTP) was selected by the majority of voting delegates as the proposal of choice to unify behind and support, from amongst four suggested initiatives.  The MI FairTax focuses on job creation and economic growth by changing the method and structure of the state's tax system from taxing income to taxing retail consumption.

It's a fairly well-known fact to regular contributors to this site, to my associates at the Kent County Republican Committee, Libertarian Party of West Michigan, and TEA Party of West Michigan, and to just about anyone who knows me well that I am an open and unapologetic (and occasionally shameless) advocate for, and supporter of, the Michigan FairTax Proposal.  I am so because I have done the "deep-digging" homework on this proposal, and fully understand its value.  With this in mind, I intend to present a series of essays to explain the reasoning behind this proposal in what should be an easy-to-understand way - under the umbrella title of "Continuing to Beat the Fair Tax Drum."  The first of these essays I present here: