Rent Seeking

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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Cronyism, Elections, Michigan, Opinion, Rent Seeking

Top Republican Hails Foolish Busy Work He Voted For

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Anyone ever shakes hands with this guy, they might want to count their fingers when they’re done.

So, what are some of the highlights?

The current and next-generation Volt will continue to be built at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant.

The Volt has not met sales expectations set in 2011 by former CEO Dan Akerson, who wanted production to hit 60,000 annually by 2012. Since the plug-in hybrid was launched in late 2010, GM has sold about 69,000. Last year, GM lowered the price by $5,000 to boost sales.

Barra would not give volume targets for the newest Volt, saying she thinks GM has learned its lessons from sharing overly optimistic sales goals.
…..

Barra wouldn’t comment on whether the Volt is profitable; she said GM doesn’t comment on profitability of specific car lines. She also declined to say whether the sticker price of the 2015 Volt would be lower, and wouldn’t say if it would be offered in multiple models.

Oh please, stop with the crap: http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/16192

The battery cells for the Volt are produced at LG Chem in Holland.

Jase, you’re an ass. So is the entire Senate.

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Cronyism, Detroit, Rent Seeking, Republicans

Pay up Suckers

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Never underestimate the local ‘Team R’ actors who will roll with RINO Ron’s DIA Bailout.

gingell_mike_smIn the letter, which Gingell read to The News, Gargaro said he wants to work on connecting the three art authorities — which are contracted with the DIA and collect tax money on behalf of the county — with compensation decisions by meeting with them three or four times a year.

“So the county art authorities have opportunity for input, so that’s a good measure,” Gingell said. “They would review the DIA audited financial statements and discuss it in an open forum with the art authorities. It’s definitely more outreach, more transparency, more practical steps to address compensation.”

Reached by The News Wednesday afternoon, Gargaro declined to discuss the specifics of the letter or what it was offering. “I haven’t had a chance to speak with the commissioners about it yet,” Gargaro said.

In other words, Eugene Gargaro hasn’t read the official script yet.

Gargaro is expected to meet with commissioners during their caucus Thursday morning, Gingell said. That will take place just before the start of the regular board meeting, at which commissioner Dave Woodward, D-Royal Oak, had planned to offer a resolution to dissolve the Oakland County Art Authority, which sends $11 million a year to the DIA.

Gingell said once all 21 members of the board read the letter and speak with Gargaro, “my personal opinion is things will move on” and the issue of dissolving the art authority will be over.

REST

Yep. Easy peasy. Just another case of watching the layers of bureaucrats and their insider onion peel.

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Cronyism, Elections, Michigan, Opinion, Rent Seeking

So, Weiser was in on the DIA Raises too

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Ho, ho, ho, this certainly is fun. The chair of the DIA just threw RINO Ron under the bus.

“We sincerely regret that we did not anticipate the way in which our promotion and compensation decisions in late 2011 and early 2012 would be perceived in late 2014 in light of the conditions that developed for the city and the region as the DIA millage was approved in late 2012 and as the City of Detroit entered bankruptcy in 2013,” Gargaro said.

This from, Thursday, December 16, 2010:

“We are happy to welcome these prominent community members to our board,” said Eugene A. Gargaro, DIA chairman of the board. “Their dedication to the arts and array of experience and expertise will help us continue to provide great art and educational programs to the community.”

Re-elected members include Jeffrey Antaya, chief marketing officer, Plante & Moran, PLLC; Eleanor Ford, philanthropist; Thomas Sidlik, retired from Chrysler; Ronald Weiser, retired ambassador to Slovakia; and Janis Wetsman, art collector and philanthropist. Marc Schwartz, managing partner in SM/ART Editions, was re-elected to the board after a two-year hiatus.

Lying frickin’ liars.

Shall we talk about those low interest loans, Ron?

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Cronyism, Detroit, Elections, Michigan, Opinion, Philosophy, Rent Seeking

WTF! Now it’s Speed Cameras?

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Yet another good argument for a part-time legislature.

“I signed on to this bill because it was presented to me as something to protect the safety of children,” Sen. Jones continued.

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AbsurditiesThat is perhaps one of the dumbest walk-backs I’ve seen in a long, long time. Hello? Who was the sponsor of the bill? Senator Jones, your village called the offices of RightMi.com looking for their missing idiot. Please return to your district ASAP.

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All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy, Rent Seeking, Republicans

License Of Looters

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The problem is not the expense of the tools, but the tools themselves.

hammerI have frequently argued that the problem with campaign finance is not the ability of donors to support candidates, but rather the destructive hammer that government wields.

Full disclosure, as we have argued on these pages is critical.  The process out in the open encourages good behavior, and provides a limiting effect on pandering to financial interests by politicos.  Even the amounts even being less important to the argument. Saying:

We DO agree that limits should be removed from campaign finance. We agree that limiting to an arbitrary amount can impede free speech and political expression. What is considered a fair contribution into the process is a completely subjective matter that can only be resolved by the person who is willing to contribute into that process.  A person’s individual priorities and where a subject reaches a level of importance are hardly the providence of external assignment.

The full argument making the point that ‘effect’ of the contributions  being known, lessens the harmful power of the influence.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Rent Seeking, Republicans

In For A Penny

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Lets simply call it what it is; a corrupted system

waiting-homerIn for a pounding.

The collapse of our healthcare model was not enough for the bureaucrats and politicians, but now they want to double down on stupid by selecting ‘failure’ as the option.  Aside from adding untold numbers onto our welfare rolls, disrupting doctor patient relationships and encouraging sloth, Michigan’s brain trust wants to go with a high bidder who has demonstrated they suck, and is also based out of the country, to handle your sensitive data.

The unicornfarts.org site was designed and implemented by a Canadian firm, and it never worked. It was slow, and had severe security flaws exposing personal records to those of criminal AND innocent intent.  And now Michigan [Take A Vote Not a Vacation©] officials have decided that Michigan deserves more of that, thank you very much. According to the Free Press

“Officials in the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder chose CGI Technologies and Solutions, whose parent company is headquartered in Montreal, over three U.S.-based firms.

CGI did not submit the lowest bid. Accenture, a management consulting and technology firm headquartered in New York, offered the lowest price by nearly $5 million, but “CGI provided best value,” Kurt Weiss, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, said Friday.

Oh yeah, did we mention there were US firms bidding?

RightMi.com feels it unnecessary to elaborate further at the moment.

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All the Other Stuff, Cronyism, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Rent Seeking

Franchise Envy

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The power of government can be instructive AND abusive.

When an operation hosted in publicly owned property is as successful as what might be considered only in ‘wildest dreams,’ it is then eyed with a lust that is found only within the failure of bureaucracy.

baseball1I’ve seen it first hand.  In Grand Traverse County in 2010, a highly successful  baseball program run by veterans was quite literally confiscated, and taken over by the landlords.  An empire building, bureaucratic strategist, coupled with a misunderstood management glitch in the popular 62 year old program opened the door to it being taken over by the county.

The PRIVATE program which began more than a half century earlier by veterans building ball fields was summarily sequestered because the landlord didn’t like the way ‘management’ of the program was operating.  The county board was convinced to back a parks decision to take the program away from the vets, and the participation dropped by 30%.

In the end, a newly elected county board (including myself) in the beginning of 2011 convinced enough of the old to give it back.  In the end as well however, we should note that it was a government entity (the parks department) trying to justify its existence, (programming beyond rental of properties) show a profit (a stated argument during the takeover) and be a controlling authority.

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