Tag: tax policy

• David M. Olander, majority chief tax council, U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means
  
• The Honorable Maurice P. McTigue, former cabinet minister of the New Zealand Parliament and vice president, the Mercatus Center, George Mason University
  
• Jonathan Williams, director, Tax and Fiscal Policy, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
  
• Leo E. Linbeck, Jr., co-founder and chairman, Americans for Fair Taxation
  

Anyone with the stomach for regular reading in the regressisphere or the ability to listen to news reports featuring state Democrats without throwing shoes at the television has probably noticed a regular theme that looks to make excuses for the party in power by telling us things really aren't that bad.  The line you hear and read most often typically goes something like this- `Michigan is currently in the middle of the pack when it comes to tax burden...it's all John Engler's fault.'

We even got an unhealthy (and somewhat sneakily delivered) dose of that nonsense over the weekend from Booth's Peter Luke.  In an article ostensibly written to chide Liberals like Rick Snyder and Mark Brewer over their penchant for hyperbole in place of common sense reform, the author furthers the Lefty meme that A) taxes really aren't that high and B) it is all John Engler's fault.  

...Current economic policy, to the extent there can be one at the state level, isn't much different than the policy in the 1990s that saw record growth... In 2000, state tax collections equaled 9.5 percent of personal income. In 2010, it'll be 7 percent.

Now, adjust that rate for inflation and then consider the fact that the statistic is abso-freaking-worthless to begin with and we'll be halfway to an honest conversation about Michigan's economy.

See, the thing about 2000... Michigan's unemployment rate was hovering in the 3 to 4 percent range.  In other words, "a whole lot of people" were working then who aren't now and those people paid taxes.  The state was taking in more adjusted dollars from a significantly larger pool of taxpayers.  Fast forward to 2010 and we've got fewer people working fewer jobs for a less valuable dollar and enduring higher tax rates.  There's also "a whole lot of (jobless) people" taking in "personal income" directly from the state.  

Even if one bought the Lefty lie that the state's tax policy isn't onerous and isn't a problem, the argument that there's no difference between Granholm and Engler economic policy is ridiculous on it's face.  The last six-plus years in Lansing have been perhaps the most antagonistic towards job makers in the history of the state of Michigan and in direct contrast to the first ten years of the previous administration.  

Not that you have to take my word for it.  Ask one of the thousands of former Michigan small business owners now pulling down profits instead in other states.

Read on...

Err, well, OK, not really.  But he did utter the words "taxes," "cuts," "pay" and "benefits."  So that's something.

Yesterday the Michigan House of Representatives got to work for the first time in the new legislative session and the Speaker of the House was reelected by his caucus members to a fresh two year term.  Because the last two years were so successful, I guess.  So what does the guy do?  He finds the cameras and microphones and tells the Capitol press corp that House Democrats are interested in cutting lawmaker pay, except they're constitutionally prohibited (true), want to cut lawmaker benefits, except they're constitutionally prohibited (not true) and that he wants to cut taxes except, you got it, he's constitutionally prohibited (again, a load of malarchy).

His tent pole of his fancy little tax cut proposal is creating a ballot proposal to ask Michigan voters to decide whether or not they want to approve a tax cut.  Senate Republicans called bologna sandwiches immediately, reminding the man that the legislature exists for a reason, and Dillon's response was to call for.... Yes, call for a repeal of the Democrats' hated, job killing MBT surcharge.  One teensy-tiny little problem with that... as the Ivory Tower reminds us, he already had a chance to do that this time last month!

Dillon also called for repeal of the 22% surcharge on the state's business tax -- a repeal approved by the Republican-controlled Senate in 2008 but not by the Democratic-controlled House.

Nice of him to call for the repeal today, though.  I'll take a gander at Michigan Votes and the new bills being advanced through the chamber by the end of the week but something tells me that repeal won't see a vote on the floor of the overwhelmingly Democratic House anytime soon.

Jobs will continue to die, business will continue to close their doors and families will continue to flee the state in search of brighter pastures.  Some folks, though, will find a job down around Battle Creek later this summer.  Only job requirement, qualms about swindling the last dollar out of desperate moms and dads in the most desperate times are strictly prohibited.  The Associated Press reports on a hiring spree about to begin at Michigan's newest casino.  1,500 new jobs running tables, working food service, opening doors and welcoming bleeding lemmings into a circle of sharks.  (What?  No, I'm not a fan of casinos... how could you tell?)  

But hey, 1,500 new jobs, right?  That's bound to create quite a stir.

Casino officials say they expect a lot of competition for the jobs, with a projected 20,000 applications. It's set to open late this summer.

20,000 applications for 1,500 jobs.  That's more than ten applications expected for every job.  Maybe if Dillon had done his job in December instead of TALKING about doing his job in January we'd be in better shape than we are.  Alas.

Good luck to everyone down in Battle Creek as they vie for just one of those "jobs of tomorrow."