Tag: Theft (page 2)

Using the "Keep home care safe" canard, these rotten thieves are literally asking for permission from Michigan voters to steal from those who can least afford it.  They are asking voters to endorse a harder life for the handicapped, the unfortunate, and looking to kick them when they are down. A yes vote would be akin to removing the wheels from a paraplegic's chair.

Under Jennifer Granholm, they (the unions and her administration) did it, and Snyder's failure to FIRE former head of community health Olga Dazzo right away gave these reprobates the courage to keep this farce alive through court action.  In the meantime families of those afflicted with debilitating conditions must suffer a little longer. The mass fraud her administration perpetrated, ought to have seen our former governor and her toadie lt. behind bars.

Its that bad.

Just imagine, life is clicking along fine, then something happens to a family member. Something that takes their ability to provide for themselves, or even perform the most rudimentary tasks.  A decision is made to either institutionalize them, (at great cost to the taxpayer typically) OR a career is suspended, and a job is given up by a family member to personally handle the situation.

We have made the decision as a state that we will provide that safety net, as it meets the definition of truly needy. IF we are going to provide assistance, that is an appropriate use. The better alternative for taxpayers is chosen.  Keeping folks in their homes is by far less expensive, and offers the afflicted a dignity seldom found in the institutional environment. As family members take on those responsibilities, it quite obviously comes at a cost.  A stipend is provided by the state to pay those family members for the loss of income they incur.

Then someone walks in the door and steals the silverware.

. . . Article 1, Section 10 of that same U. S. Constitution:

    "No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation ..."

No modifiers, no qualifications, no "consent of Congress" clause . . . nothing.

Even the president must have consent of the US senate before entering into a treaty.  And if one looks at the Lefty cheerleading media, one might find cheerleading liberal democrats extolling the virtues of our one term potentate.

There is nothing more exhilarating than allowing the socialist neighbors to put down a Michigan business that pays Michigan taxes, employs Michigan workers, and spends money in Michigan, right Rick?  What did they pay you? Where are the accounts?  Why the obsession with giving CANADA the upper hand?

Michigan has been fighting a battle that should never have been fought.  It is nearly over now, and after nearly $30,000,000 has been taken from the pockets of those who could least afford the theft, the Senate leader has relented and allowed the vote, and subsequent passage of SB1018. Because the house version of the bill HB 4003 is so similar, it should be expected to reach the governor's desk nearly immediately.

The scam came as a result of an inter-local agreement arranged by the former governor's office, and the hokey work around in defining employment based on contract labor.  Unions, and their willing accomplices in state government ceded the rights of the independent contractors who provide care services to a previously unknown place as employees of the state.  This allowed for the vote establishing a union to represent the new "employees" and begin withdrawing dues from their contract payments.  Child care workers, and home health workers were all affected if they received payment for their services from the state of Michigan.

Nearly all of them had no idea what was going on until the money was being held back.

In January of 2011, Maura Corrigan, former Michigan Supreme Court Justice, and the newly installed DHS director, rightly declared the child care workers were NOT employees of the state, ending their nightmare, but the Director of the Department of Community Health Olga Dazzo had no such plans.  This required further legislative action to clarify the status of the contractors.

The first counter tallies SEIU dues skimmed since the union and state officials first launched this scheme in 2007. The second shows the amount skimmed since June 9, 2011, when the Michigan House passed and sent to the Senate a bill to ban this and all similar "stealth unionization" efforts.

Fact of the matter is, any substantive reform in labor should not be expected until a vote of no-confidence for the senate majority leader is held, and he is removed from his powerful post.

There's a very interesting and disturbing story in Bloomberg News that hits close to home with me. I've long been preaching about how important it is to get a good and trustworthy treasurer if you are running a campaign or forming a PAC. Some of my previous posts on this area are as follows.

Shameless business plug for my company, posted in 2009

2006 - What not to do. This was one of the inspirations of me forming the business.

From 2008 - Report on an embezzlement

From Bloomberg

Representative Susan Davis' latest letter to supporters said: "We have been robbed!!"

Davis, 67, is one of several California Democrats whose campaign accounts were allegedly looted during the past year by their treasurer, Kinde Durkee. On Sept. 10, Davis sent out the appeal to begin rebuilding her account.

Five days after Durkee's arrest in Burbank on Sept. 2, Representative Frank LoBiondo's former campaign treasurer was sentenced to 30 months in prison for embezzling more than $450,000 from the New Jersey Republican's campaign committee.

As candidates raise more money for their campaigns, there is greater opportunity for nefarious treasurers to embezzle campaign cash from politicians accustomed to putting their careers in the hands of consultants, aides and volunteers, said Michael Toner, a former Federal Election Commission chairman.

Now don't get me wrong.  I am a firm believer in contracts. I ARE A RULE OF LAW GUY.

If a contract is created between parties, those parties ought to be bound to the terms of the contract.

Makes sense right?  As an example, if I voluntarily agree to terms that bind me to a particular end (like paying on a phone contract),  in exchange for something else (the use of the phone service at a particular rate), then I should be held to account for the terms of the contract agreed upon.  If a termination of the contract results in one of the parties violating their obligation, then they should be held to the punitive measures agreed upon when entering the contract.

Yes, I believe in contract.  Morality is best served through the honoring of established agreements.

GM breached a contract promising to fund a voluntary employee beneficiary association, or VEBA, for Delphi retirees, according to the lawsuit filed yesterday in Detroit federal court. General Motors, Delphi's former owner, made the promise in 2007. The court overseeing Delphi's bankruptcy approved the agreement in October 2009, the union said.

In October, "the UAW made a written demand that the company honor its contractual obligation to make the foregoing payment to the DC VEBA," the union said in its complaint. In November, "that UAW demand was rejected and since that time the company has failed and refused to make the contractually required payment."