Tag: Wayne County Michigan

Our main concerns were that government should not be in business. If they did this, what kind of transparency and oversight would there be? How would the liability be paid for? Who would pay the $10,000,000 that is anticipated for start up? What success has there been where it was tried before. Has It been tried before and succeeded?

Wayne County's track record, in my book, has not been very good. Even if it starts out costing less, taxpayers will eventually wind up picking up part of the tab. Even people who do not have the resources to own their own property. They had to stop the meeting because of conflicts but the are going to schedule another for more discussion. Good thing.

Forbes Magazine said that title insurance is the richest insurance racket. If Youngblood believes that, why does the county not prosecute instead of go into the business?

Youngblood's attorney, Patrick J. Bruetsch, approached us after the meeting. He says the county will have nothing to do with this, Youngblood just wants to endorse the idea. We asked then why is it before the committee. Then he said Youngblood will only let credible investors be involved. We asked "how does he get to pick the investors if he is not involved?" He claims he misspoke. He then proceeded to say much the same twice more. Something stinks here. The county should stay clear of this. They have enough problems to deal with. When they can do the job with what they have, even then it should not be expanding government. Besides, who is paying for youngbloods attorney? Why does he need one if he only wants to endorse the project?

If someone can do the job cheaper let them go in the business. If the title insurance companies are price fixing as they implied, then call in the feds.

I am delighted to say that I spent 6 1/2 hours in the Emergency Room at Oakwood Hospital last night. Oh it was tiring and aggravating but I was happy to do it.

The day before yesterday, my husband felt a pain behind his knee. We thought he must have pulled a muscle or stretched a tendon. He could not remember anything he had done to cause the problem. The next day it started to really swell and by evening his leg started to turn blue below the knee. At that point, it was off to the emergency room with his very swollen blue leg.

Our fear was that it could be a blood clot that might travel and kill him. They took his information as soon as we walked in. Then, proceeded to take his vitals and information about the problem. We waited about 45 minutes to be taken back to a examination room. Then it was wait for a doctor. In the mean time, a nurse came in and took his vitals again. The doctor finally examined him. He said it may be a cyst that had burst or a blood clot and an ultrasound was necessary to determine the problem.

We then had to wait a couple hours for his turn with the ultrasound machine and a reading from radiology. They determined that this was one of the biggest cysts that they had ever seen in a leg and it had burst. Keep the leg elevated and see your physician the next day was the advice. He thought that it might not require surgery and would eventually be absorbed by the body.

The point of all this is not that you care about my husbands leg but that in 6 1/2 hours we went from fear to diagnosis and treatment. Only in America!

Read on...

I am conflicted. As a resident of Wayne County I know that I should be doing everything I can to encourage business to stay and flourish in Wayne County. As I have just become a major stockholder in GM, I now have other considerations to take under advisement.

Right now Detroit and Warren are having a disagreement over where the Headquarters of General Motors should be located. First lets look at the taxes. Mayor Bing and Executive Ficano are proposing a tax free zone for the Renaissance Center. While, Th City of Warren has offered a 30 year abatement if GM moves its headquarters to the GM Tech Center.

If lower taxes are good for GM, why are they not good for everyone else. The small businesses that will suffer or be put out of business because of the automotive downsizing are sure to need propping up. There is also the average taxpayer who must pick up the burden for the hole in revenue left by breaks to business. I know, as consumers they we are paying them anyway, but somehow if you don't pay them directly they seem less harmful and there is still the possibility that they will not pass the brake on.

Then there is the employees. Would they rather go to Downtown Detroit and pay a fortune for parking or park in the huge parking lot at the Tech Center? If they wish to live near work, would they rather live in Detroit with poor services and poor schools or in Warren were schools and services are not so bad and their spouses will not have to pay the 2.5% resident income tax, if they work?

How about property values? Would you rather invest in housing which will continue to decline under present tax rates and exiting population or property which is likely to appreciate in the future? The Detroit News has given you an opportunity to vote on the question of whether they should stay in Detroit or move to Warren. I am torn. It isn't easy being a business owner in Michigan.