Monthly Archives: May 2015

Michigan, Michigan Politics, Part Time Legislature, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking

Really?

by  •  • 1 Comment

There is enough evidence to demonstrate pay increases have not been earned.

Perhaps we take a different look at how we compensate our legislators (and maybe most of the top level bureaucrats)

Perhaps we do away with all of the term limit nonsense, and decrease the salaries of those who remain in government (YES including those who are high dollar appointees) by 10% each year to encourage them to return to the private sector.

Maybe THAT would be the direction pay should go in the future?

Check this out.

You Betcha! (12)Nuh Uh.(0)

Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Michigan, Opinion, Part Time Legislature, Rent Seeking

Forget it, Duggan, Your Bailout Subsidy Answered the Door Naked

by  •  • 1 Comment

Slick Rick’s clown-car of gimme, gimme, gimme actors in Detroit, are completely delusional.

Money SwirlMayor Mike Duggan says he doesn’t expect his proposal for low-cost auto insurance in Detroit to be derailed by the legal troubles of the bill’s planned sponsor, state Sen. Virgil Smith.

According to an article I read while going through Safeco insurance reviews, Duggan told City Council members on Tuesday he is pressing forward with his January timetable for the plan, which would allow auto insurance companies to sell Detroiters lower-cost policies with a maximum of $275,000 in medical coverage for auto-related injuries.

Smith, D-Detroit, who last month announced he would sponsor the proposed legislation, was arrested in connection with an assault and shooting involving his ex-wife.

The mayor stressed Tuesday that Smith’s challenges will not jeopardize the proposal. The next stop, he added, will be to seek a Senate hearing.

“We’re going to do what we’ve got to do and line up our votes,” Duggan told reporters, adding he’s confident that he’ll ultimately gain the support of the Michigan Legislature.

MORE

Ya, right. Below is a glaring representative example why insurance rates are higher in the City of Detroit.

So, which legislator would like to sign his name to Duggan and Snyder’s special carve out? Better yet, which legislator would like to put his name next to a vote for that?

Good luck.

You Betcha! (14)Nuh Uh.(1)

Cronyism, Humor in Michigan, Michigan, Opinion, Part Time Legislature, Rent Seeking

Tesla Motors: Round 2

by  •  • 3 Comments

Slick Rick along with Joe and Marcia Hune stepped in it this time.

The Federal Trade Commission on Monday strongly urged the Michigan state legislature to reconsider its ban on Tesla Motors Inc. and other automakers from directly selling vehicles to owners.

In a 10-page letter to Michigan State Sen. Darwin Booher, R-Evart, three senior FTC staff members urged the state to drop its long-standing bar to automakers selling vehicles directly to consumers, saying “Michigan’s consumers would more fully benefit from a complete repeal of the prohibition on direct sales by all automakers.” The commission voted 5-0 in favor of the comments.

rick-snyder-the-calley-crusherThe letter came after Booher asked the FTC about a pending Michigan Senate bill that would create a limited exception to state law that would allow manufacturers of “autocycles” — enclosed three-wheelers that are more like cars than motorcycles — to sell vehicles in some circumstances. But the FTC said the Senate bill “does not go far enough,” and would “largely perpetuate the current law’s protectionism for independent franchised dealers, to the detriment of Michigan car buyers.”

Booher’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The bill was introduced April 15 and referred to the state Senate economic development committee, which has taken no action.

MORE

But, I don’t want everyone to get too down on our Lansingcritter’s moronic displays of legislative prowess. Remember, they went to public schools.

You Betcha! (14)Nuh Uh.(0)

All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Part Time Legislature, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

Weasel Words? Really? We can do much better than that!

by  •  • 4 Comments

You people in Lansing are supposed to be Conservatives. Why not try acting like a Conservative for a change?

There is an axiom that everyone has probably heard numerous times already that goes something like this: “Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.”

A friend of mine would add in a second line to that to make it a little bit more interesting…”Those who fail to learn the lesson of history correctly, well they are just plain doomed.”

It strongly looks like were seeing that second line play out here in Michigan after the defeat of Proposal 1.

This time around, though, it doesn’t have to end that way.

{More after the fold}

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (7)Nuh Uh.(1)

Democrats, Detroit, Michigan, Opinion

LMAO: Detroit Teh #ComebackCity

by  •  • 1 Comment

Mike Duggan’s auto insurance subsidy legislator buddy in action…

Police: State senator facing charges after Detroit shooting

2015_mercedes_benz_gla

Sorta looks like ‘ol Virg took Slo-Joe Biden’s advice to heart, huh? Actually, it also appears that ‘ol Virg took Bill Clinton’s advice to bed, too. Yep. Democrats being Democrats. #WhiteMercedesMatter

But, never fear, Worthy is kicking that can down the memory hole from the 36 hour *news* cycle.

You Betcha! (13)Nuh Uh.(2)

Conservative News, Democrats, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy, Republicans

Mackinac Center’s ‘VoteSpotter’ Application for Smartphones

by  •  • 4 Comments

A Useful Political Intelligence Tool for Political Junkies

VoteSpotter JPG Image
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has created a free, interactive smartphone app which tracks state and federal bills pending floor action and your legislators’ votes.on those bills. This useful app is called VoteSpotter and has has been debugged to the point where it works well. There are only about 1,000 Android users of this app presently, but it is growing in popularity. It is available from both the Google PlayStore and the Apple IOS App Store.

You enter your voting address and the program determines your state and federal representatives from its database. Then you receive regular notifications of impending legislation soon to be voted upon by those legislators, described in plain English. You can then contact your legislator on any legislation for which you receive a notification, indicate your preference before the vote, and then concur or disagree with your legislator after the vote. Legislators have access to the ‘polls’, but not your individual information unless you elect to send them an email through the program.

Mackinac Center is now in the process of extending this application beyond the State of Michigan.

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (7)Nuh Uh.(1)