Conservative News

Conservative News, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Proposal 15-1, Taxes

$ 70 Million More Down the Drain Every Year

by  •  • 3 Comments

Michigan Triples Down On The Most Abused Federal Program

Flushing-Money

The U.S. Government Accountability Office released its FY 2014 estimates of improper payments made by the Federal Government in testimony before the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs on Monday. The Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 and the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 require Federal Executive Branch agencies to estimate the levels of improper payments in all Federal programs. The GAO assembles this data and reports the levels of improper payments, along with recommendations to minimize such improper payments.

At the Federal level, all improper payments amounted to about $ 125 billion dollars in FY 2014. Even by casual Federal accounting standards this is breathtaking.  Three cents of every Federal Government dollar spent. Going through the GAO’s estimates by program, the Earned Income Tax Credit is at the top of the list by percentage of improper payments: 27.2 % of all EITC payments are improper. The GAO estimated FY 2014 improper EITC payments by the Federal Government alone amounted to $ 17.7 billion dollars. Other Federal programs burned more dollars, but none had the percentage rate of improper payments that the EITC has. Not even close.

The most obscure element of the tax increase package which Michigan voters will be asked to approve on May 5th is Senate Bill 847 of 2014. This bill is a $ 260 million annual increase in the State of Michigan’s version of the EITC. The EITC will increase from its current 6 %, to 20 %, of the Federal EITC credit allowed under Section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code. Currently, the Michigan EITC pays out about $ 80 million from the Michigan Treasury every year at the 6 % rate.

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (18)Nuh Uh.(0)

Conservative News, Michigan, Opinion, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

And in Other News… Water is Wet

by  •  • 1 Comment

Happen to notice this gem of true Romney/Rockefeller Republicanism in the Twitter feed sidebar? Unfortunately, with most focused on Snyder and Calley’s annually increasing $2,000,000,000 tax hike ‘wants’ on May 5th, pragmatic clown Nolan pumping our legislators to ram through Bolger’s Wholesale fuel tax hike boondoggle with same ratchet mechanism, which much to our disappointment this guy breathed new life in that false premise of throwing $1.2B more at a deeply flawed MDOT, and the looming Wayne County bailout. Did I forget to mention Snyder and Calley’s costly Green Energy mandate with 100% government bureaucrat control? Yes, that too. Well, here’s another one of Snyder and Calley’s latest big government central-planning ‘wants’ is deserving some attention, too.

happy-snyderIn an interview that aired Monday on Michigan Public Radio Network stations, Snyder said it will be a “huge issue” if Michigan residents are no longer able to qualify for the incentives [wealth redistribution]. He said U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, is leading discussion of a possible congressional solution if the tax credits are denied.

Short of that, Snyder said he would ask the Republican-controlled Legislature to make Michigan’s a state-run exchange.

“That raises the issue, should we be looking at a state exchange, and that’s a dialogue I’d have to have with the Legislature,” Snyder told MPR’s Rick Pluta.

MORE

Wouldn’t the Romney clan’s other Utah friends like Mike Leavitt, just love that? Cha-ching again! says those connected with BC/BS of Michigan. And, if one has read about Upton’s so-called “off-ramp” they’d quickly realize it’s just more of the same fixed market government overreach (yep, Ron Paul included) serving to illustrate how “R” is for reversing into a ditch when those with a “D” gladly drive off a cliff with the accelerator pedal mashed through the radiator. Is there reason why Rick Snyder is on the Top 10 List? You betchya.

And, it only gets worse.

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (17)Nuh Uh.(1)

Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Republicans, Taxes

Boy, are these people stupid!

by  •  • 4 Comments

Chumps!

Morons!

Idiots!

Dupes!

Simpletons!

Fools!

Betcha think these comments regarding Michigan Taxpayers was “secretly” overheard coming from the confab between Gov. Snyder, Ex-Speaker Bolder, Ex-Sen. Richardville, Rep. Greimel & Ex-Sen Whitmer last December just before they announced placing Prop 15-1 before Michigan Voters?

Close, but not quite.

{Tantalizing details after the fold}

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (10)Nuh Uh.(0)

Conservative News, Cronyism, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Republicans, Taxes

Pavlov’s Politicians

by  •  • 0 Comments

Reflex Conditioning Drives Uncontrolled Government Spending

Pavlovs PoliticianThe brilliant, Nobel Prize winning physiologist Ivan Petrovitch Pavlov demonstrated that you could condition a dog to salivate by sounding a metronome. All he had to do was sound the metronome when putting out food for his dogs. It did not take long for his dogs to associate the sound of the metronome with food.  Then he no longer even had to put food out to get the dogs to salivate; he only had to sound the metronome.

Today, inferior rank politicians have been conditioned to salivate when a financial grant is offered by superior rank politicians. The only problem with these grants of largess is that they always come with caveats, and usually require matching funds. These restrictions are a deliberate – and successful – effort to frustrate all efforts to manage government expenditures.

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (15)Nuh Uh.(1)

Conservative News, Cronyism, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Taxes

Michigan Political Math: $ 1.2 Billion = $ 1.08 Billion

by  •  • 11 Comments

Mass Transit Skims $ 120 Million from Proposal 2015-01 Road Work Funds

Train Wreck ImageEver hear of the Michigan Comprehensive Transportation Fund? Ten cents of every Michigan fuel tax dollar gets diverted to this mass transportation slush fund.  It is only just behind the sales tax as a diversion of your current fuel tax dollars from Michigan’s roads.

All motor vehicle fuel taxes collected in the State of Michigan are first deposited into the Michigan Transportation Fund. Then MCL 247.660 (1)(f) (Public Act 51 of 1951) dictates that 10% of the funds deposited in the Michigan Transportation Fund be immediately transferred to the Comprehensive Transportation Fund. The amended version of MCL 247.660 you are being offered in Proposal 2015-01 has the very same section (1)(f), making the same 10% immediate diversion.

So the $ 1.2 billion that Proposal 2015-01 supporters are promising you for road work is actually only $ 1.08 billion.  Kirk T. Steudle, P.E. gets a whole new stash to maintain and expand his stable of rotting train cars, $ 120 million that cannot be spent on the roads by law.  $ 120 million that gets skimmed from the $ 1.2 billion you are being promised for the roads.  And no, it is not skimmed from the $ 800 million that Proposal 2015-01 dedicates to the Democratic base.

Now you now know how Michigan political math works in the age of Common Core.  Pay $ 2 billion for roads, get $ 1 billion in road work.

You Betcha! (22)Nuh Uh.(1)

Conservative News, Democrats, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Proposal 15-1, Taxes

And this year’s award for most original tax hike goes to…

by  •  • 3 Comments

And our nominees are:

– Gov. Rick Snyder’s 16.7% sales tax hike raising $1.945-billion in order to spend $1.2-billion on roads.

– Sen. Rick Jones/Rep. Tom Barret’s school tax (extrapolating the same supporting arguments from the above can be easily made here).

– Rep Joel Johnson’s horse-drawn vehicle tax (no, I’m serious…this guy really wants a tax horse drawn carriages).

– Rep. Robert Kosowski “sinking fund” school bus tax.

Oh, and there’s one more.

{After the fold, of course}

READ MORE ►

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

Conservative News, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Taxes

We’re 31st!

by  •  • 1 Comment

FFI 2015 Overall Rankings Screen-Shot

The twenty-five year old John Locke Foundation has just released its First in Freedom Index for 2015. The Freedom Index ranks states for the level of freedom allowed their citizens in four weighted areas of policy:

Fiscal: 50%
Education: 20%
Regulation: 20%
Health Care: 10%

Michigan ranks 31st overall among the states in the Freedom Index. Dismal per capita levels of state taxes, spending, and regulation weighed down Michigan’s rankings. Michigan’s ranking in the individual policy categories are:

READ MORE ►

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

Conservative News, Michigan, Michigan Politics

A Good Start

by  •  • 2 Comments

Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform designed to restore 5th amendment protections.

presser-walber-randThe constitution laid out the responsibilities and roles of the different parts of the federal government.

However to clarify its scope and the limits, it was necessary to enact the bill of rights.  And over the years, as different administrations championed their own versions of judicial conduct, even THAT became corrupted in application. Business owners and citizens have had to fight the leviathan of big government simply to retrieve confiscated property that was either improperly taken, or destroyed by overly zealous authority, even without criminal charges being filed.

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Reps Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Keith Ellison (D-MN), and Scott Garrett (R-NJ) are hoping to correct this, and once again clarify the meaning of due process, and restore the value of the 5th amendment. The Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act is apparently designed to do that.

READ MORE ►

You Betcha! (10)Nuh Uh.(0)