Monthly Archives: November 2014

All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Proposal 15-1

Hey, would you look at that? We’re right back where we started from.

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Betcha didn’t see this coming:

“Today, Detroit’s five state senators stood united in supporting a major road funding package. This bill will allow us to speed up repair of Detroit’s roads and make major improvements to the bus service for our 100,000 passengers daily. With their support HB 5477 passed the Senate by a 23-14 vote. Be sure to thank Senators Virgil Smith, Coleman Young, Jr., Burt Johnson, Morris Hood III, and Tupac Hunter for their leadership and encourage your representatives in the State House to support this important legislation.”

Did anyone catch anything earlier about paying more at the pump to support mass transit?

Me neither.

Oh, and it gets better.

{Story continues below the fold}

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Cronyism, Detroit, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Proposal 15-1, Republicans

And So It Begins

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Taking no chances that the grassroots come out in opposition, the Progressives strike.

The Michigan State Senate nearly doubles our state gasoline taxes.

Voting to raise the gas taxes by 17 cents at legislative maturity, RINO Senate Leader and tax raiser Randy Richardville’s bill will create even more hardships on those who are already struggling to put fuel in the tank.  Much of it earmarked for mass transit too?  Wonderful.  The Ivory Tower reports:

The bill from Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, was passed quickly and without debate, by a 23-14 vote, after a number of false starts earlier in the day.

The Senate took “a big step to show people we’re serious,” Richardville said. “If you’ve got an alternative, we’re going to take a look at it.”

Emphasis provided to demonstrate what double speak is

those-guys

Cowards and thieves.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Elections, Proposal 15-1

Senator Richardville: You are not a stupid man.

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So, let’s see if I got this straight:

You have a “conservative” majority in the Michigan Senate.

You have a “conservative” majority in the Michigan House.

You have a guy who only slapped on a republican moniker after his name because he knew that was the only chance that he had of ever getting elected governor back in ’10.

And with only 9 scheduled days left in your term (after today), you want to literally relieve yourself in the punch bowl and gleefully hand out samples to Michigan Motorists telling them it actually is Dom Perignon because…

…help me out here?

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Michigan, Michigan Politics, Republicans

Gary Peters, Governerd Rick Snyder, and Gun Control

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Bloomberg has a story about the “Paltry” Democrat freshman class, whose only lawmaker elected is Gary Peters of Michigan.

Michigan is a good example of why the efforts to repeal the 17th Amendment makes clear sense.  The framers of the constitution intended for senators to be picked by the legislatures of the respective states, and for the past four years in Michigan and for the future four years, Michigan will be dominated by Republicans.  If the 17th Amendment had never been instituted a hundred years ago by progressivist constitution destroyers, it is highly unlikely that Michigan would have either Debbie Stabenow or the newly elected Gary Peters as senators, since they are both Democrats.

But to truly understand who the voters of Michigan picked as their newest Senator, you really do not need to go any further than Bloomberg.

Michael BloombergAfter leaving elected office as mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, the anti-Second Amendment billionaire, has been working to be the counterweight to the NRA.  He is the founder and owner of Bloomberg LP.  He means business on gun control, and flexed his muscle in the 2014 elections by contributing over $20 million dollars.  It is worth noting that he did not spend his money for short term gain alone, he is in it for the long haul, spending $50 million to start a  grassroots gun control network called Everytown that claims to be for gun safety, but it is for gun control.  Above education, above immigration, gun control is Bloomberg’s number one issue, and he is focusing all of his attention and resources toward it.  As he told the New York Times, “You have to be careful if there’s two issues you care about, and they’re good on one, bad on the other, what do you do? And I think you’ve got to pick your issue. In our case, my case, it’s guns,” he told the New York Times. “I care very much about immigration. But guns are the No. 1 thing.”

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Rent Seeking

Cuban and Gilbert On HB5606

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Perhaps it takes a rent seeker to know a rent seeker?

I have spoken to a couple of representatives about the passage of HB5606, disappointed with the way that they voted.

One says “It was not at all presented to us in this way,” remarking that he would have voted differently if he had only fully understood it.  This of course revealing that sleight of hand, obfuscation, and maybe a little laziness by representatives is easily exploited in Lansing. Should there be any wonder why a certain amount of time must pass before bills are voted on in their finality?

This competition limiting act is perhaps a little rent seeking at its best, and flat out corruption by those who designed the changes.

Two folks whom I regard as rent seekers in their own right are correct in this video; Dan Gilbert in particular. But when he says “Man up and compete” with regard to the automakers? 

Woof.

Oh, and thank you Representative Tom McMillin for actually paying attention.

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All the Other Stuff, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1

Hey Tim Skubick!

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Where is that 'tax cut fever' you promised?

cobweb-booksReposted from the Mackinac Center

Posted by Michael D. LaFaive on November 5, 2014 at 12:55pm

Nearly a year ago, popular Michigan pundit Tim Skubick opined on MLive.com that “another disease is starting to make the rounds in this town (Lansing): Tax Cut Fever.”

Personally, this observer welcomed the prospect of a bipartisan frenzy to convert a projected state budget surplus into tax cuts, even if the politicians’ motives included wanting to “help cement their 2014 re-election bid …”

The promise was especially welcome given that Lansing then looked more ready to raise taxes than cut them. I pointed out some examples in an article published last January. Among them:

The Legislature had recently enacted $82.6 million in fee hikes. It had also granted certain local “Business Improvement Zone” authorities the power to levy additional property taxes. And there was plenty of chatter about imposing taxes on Internet transactions (an Amazon tax) and other new extractions.

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