Tag: economy (page 3)

Here is your official invite:

It's no secret that along with the national economy, our Michigan economy is going to get much worse.  So finding ways to cut costs makes sense.  Besides, even if you're not worried about the economy ... gardening is fun!

Gardens are popping up all over America, partly because of the "green movement."

From For a Better Day

Most of you are local-government kind of people.  You realize that the closer government is to us, the more say we can have in how it operates.  That is why contemplating the question of county-wide school districts has been an interesting proposition.

After looking at our county and all the changes that are going on, it seems like the perfect time for Livingston to become the first county-wide district.  While this goes against local government philosophy, we don't really have that much say in our districts anyway. Most of the curriculum is decided at the State level via the MEAP.  The MEA, a state-wide union, strong arms districts into submission by electing school board members who will vote for their interests or by threatening action if the districts don't cooperate.  With all the increased Federal and State involvement, there are laws that cover most everything else.  

Yes, school boards are charged with passing the budget.  However, the State determines how much money we get and the union determines how much we spend, given 88% of our budget is wrapped up in personnel.   We get to decide what to cut.  Yes, we are charged with making policy, but much of that is governed by law and the Department of Education.  Some of it isn't but we are given "model" policies that we are (wink, wink) free to use if we want to.  

So what are the advantages of having a county-wide school district?

Amidst filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, General Motors announced positive news regarding Arnold Schwarzenegger's choice vehicle, the Hummer.

The all-terrain military tank-like HUMVEE was originally produced by AM General. However the Hummer brand was later purchased by General Motors who has since expanded the line up to include several specialized sport utility beasts and pickup trucks (M.C. Keegan).

For years, the Hummer has been an icon of status and style. Many of Hollywood's elite celebrities have owned a Hummer including Paris Hilton, Mike Tyson, and of course Arnold Schwarzenegger (who at one point owned eight).

In contrast, some celebrities, including green-guru Al Gore and his "greenwashed" worshipers, have long since desired Hummer's demise. Their green-cultic-dream nearly became reality, but General Motors announced a tentative agreement with the Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company of China which would acquire the touted brand.

According to Fox News the "Sichuan Tengzhong deals in road construction, plastics, resins and other industrial products, but Hummer would be its first step into the consumer automotive business."

In my experience, we on the right have a habit of jumping to immediate concepts, hopes and dreams for solutions.  It isn't that we're incapable of addressing the entire mess in our minds, it's just that we tend to be semi-neat and orderly.  Solve the immediate problem first then move to long-term solutions.

I know that's the way I typically think.  When news of the deficit jump broke mid-week I blogged that the legislature should be called to (or convene themselves) an emergency session to immediately right-size the budget.

Four days later and they haven't (why take your problems seriously when there's on-the-clock drinking to be done?) but they should.  

And while they dawdle, it is worth taking a look at the bigger picture.  We know what has to be done.  The Constitution requires a balanced budget so they're going to have to make some tough cuts and they don't have to but WILL use up a lot of one-time cash via the so-called stimulus package.  But how did we get here?

Exhibit A: LS Power.

LS Power is a New Jersey based energy company that was preparing to break ground near Midland, Michigan on a project that was expected to create thousands of new jobs... the construction of a new clean-coal power plant.  

On Friday they announced they were canceling those plans because of an unfriendly business climate and insanely complicated permitting requirements foisted on them by the Granholm-Cherry administration and their Department of Environmental Quality.  

The project was expected to create 1,500 construction jobs, 241 permanent jobs on-site and billions of dollars in regional economic activity.

Read on...

The Detroit News details the latest report this morning, this one from the Brookings Institution, that shows most big cities are home to about 55% of the total jobs in the metro area, the remaining 45% more than ten miles from the "city center."  

Detroit is home to only 23% of the jobs in her metro area, with 77% more than 10 miles away, and the effect that has on native Detroiters is pretty heavy.

"Job sprawl is detrimental to employment and raises a lot of challenges," said author Elizabeth Kneebone, whose study of employment trends mapped 98 metropolitan areas, from 1998-2006.

It means many low-income and minority residents are often isolated from job opportunities, she said, and it adds to commute times and expenses.

On a morning like this, that's an especially frustrating reality.  We're talking, what, five inches of snow in the D?  Love these Michigan springs.  But... and this is a big but... John Cherry may actually have a silver lining in all of this.

The Democrats presumptive 2010 Gubernatorial candidate has been running around the state telling voters and newspaper editorial boards (those still in operation) both that the record of his administration these last six-plus years is a strong one and that he'll be proud to run on that record next fall.

The Associated Press offers a headline this morning that provides the man with the perfect "I told you so!"

Bad economy holds highway deaths to 1960s levels

That, my friends, is the way you find a silver lining.

Read on...

When it comes to desperate folks depending on the government to NOT take more than they're legally entitled through the property tax assessment process, so they can provide for themselves without ever having to go to the nobility... shoot, did it again... the politicians with a hand out and a "by your leave," Governor Granholm fires Tax Tribunal workers and creates a 22,000 case backlog.  

Now, finally, she's offering to hire a couple dozen new "referees" to help resolve a backlog that's only getting bigger but unlike phone bankers, these folks need to go through a lengthy training process that will prevent any relief from arriving for the next three months.  You know, because if you tossed amateurs into the gig they might actually agree with taxpayers a little too much.

The Detroit News reports:

Michael Kiwak, a 59-year-old out-of-work auto engineer from Livonia, has been waiting over a year and a half for his case to be decided. He says he's been unable to sell his home for $250,000, even though its assessed value is about $320,000.

"I'm way beyond frustration. The state of Michigan is stealing from me," Kiwak said. "The whole thing is almost criminal. We both know my property tax is way too high."

He's not the only one.  Between 2005 and 2008 the number of cases being heard at the state level has more than doubled and run to the largest level since 1993 as starving state coffers devour every dollar they can, even (and maybe especially) when they shouldn't but think they CAN get away with it.

And while Lansing steals from hardworking homeowners, exacerbating home loss and serious family financial stress the Detroit Water and Sewage Department is preparing to dramatically spike utility rates for metro-Detroiters.  

Read on...