Rent Seeking

Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Elections, Government Incompetence, Liberty, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Rent Seeking, Republicans

And THIS is what we get when the republican party controls the House, Senate & White House???

by KG One • May 2, 2017 • 0 Comments

If Pres. Trump fails to veto this, I easily see him a being a one and done president.

Perhaps yesterday’s coverage of the May Day “celebrations” touched something inside of Congressional republicans?

Perhaps the were “channeling their inner Obama™”?

Whatever the reason, sometime over the past few days, Congressional republicans clearly demonstrated some severe cognitive dissonance with the American Voter (to say nothing about the election results from last November).

More below…

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Elections, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

Michigan republicans should just concede the next election to the democrats right now.

by KG One • April 25, 2017 • 5 Comments

Really! I’m a conservative just like the rest of you. Pinky swear!

Lil’ Guv Brian Calley, accompanied Gov. Snyder to Macomb County this week at the Macomb Chamber Alliance luncheon, and after a predictable speech on their successes in office, “teases” a potential run for Michigan Governor.

No, I’m not going to drive up web traffic to his soon-to-be campaign site by posting any links to it here.

Honestly!

This is the best that the republican kakistocracy can do?

So far, Team “r” has a candidate who supported bailing out Detroit and giving local governments the opportunity to drive themselves even further in debt by floating bonds to pay for promises they made to their employees which they knew they couldn’t possibly keep.

Now we’re seeing a candidate whose conservative philosophical leanings are questionable, at best.

Does Snydercaid, Common Core or using the power of state government to pay for his own daughter’s autism coverage ring a bell to anyone here?

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Michigan, Michigan Politics, Rent Seeking

Solar Powered Failure

by Jason • April 17, 2017 • 3 Comments

Same scat - different day.

Here’s to still and cloudy days

There must be a class in our taxpayer subsidized higher education system that trains government employees for subsiding business ventures that cannot survive on their own. A preparation of sorts for the most productive work in Michigan state government.

A123 systems, LG Chem, etc.. Energy is the hot topic, but renewable energy has gotten a stake of the treasury in the past few years.

And to date, it has never been completely debunked as being a future solution for diminished resources.

That’s OK actually. Under certain circumstances, renewable options provide ways to solve all manner of the issues. Lawn lighting, roadside signs, or limited use for the cabin in the woods, all of which can be effectively served with solar, or other off-the-grid generation

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Research & Analysis

The Fox Guarding The Hen House.

by Jason • April 12, 2017 • 2 Comments

Easter eggs hidden all over the place. What's a poor chicken to do?

The MEDC is off the hook corrupt.

I know we have expressed issues before with the cronyism going on with the MEDC and its failures of transparency and effectiveness. Picking winners only works for ..the winners.

Its not hard to recognize unadulterated failure when we see it. If a person is hungry for the truth, its right in front of us. One need only look at hangar 42, RASCO, overpaying Film credits by 42%, and A123 just to whet the appetite!

But certainly, the MEDC provides a lot of high paying jobs for otherwise failed business leaders and political partisans. No way in hell will it willingly surrender the family secrets and threaten the taxpayer goldmine. Indeed, no dog and pony show of ‘allowing’ bids for outside agencies to measure it’s (the MEDC’s) effectiveness will ever meet the threshold of honest brokering.

Not without some pressure anyhow.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Elections, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

She is going back to her old ways.

by KG One • March 30, 2017 • 2 Comments

OABTW, where IS Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith or Michigan AG Bill Schuette in all of this?

Well, that didn’t take long.

After crushing deeply ~~entrenched~~ embedded Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco last November by nearly a 40k vote margin, former U.S. Congresswoman Candice Miller packed her bags and moved back home to Macomb County. People were scratching their heads on why someone with a VERY safely gerrymandered political district would want to give up a cushy job in Washington and take a literal/figurative cut in position for this post.

Thank you, President Trump (and the fact that Lake St. Clair is undeniably a cesspool).

Then Public Works Commissioner-elect Miller danced around the question when interviewed repeatedly after her win last November regarding WHY she made this career move. Needless to say, THE reason is not as ominous as some theorists have speculated (yes, THIS writer does know the answer to that question…it is the worst kept secret in Macomb Co. circles), but since it is not germane to this post, I’m moving on.

Also late last year, a sinkhole (later determined to be very “man-made” sinkhole) developed in Fraser about 10 miles north of Detroit. Travel into some adjoining neighborhood streets was blocked and restricted until the severity of the situation could be determined. Families in several homes near the sinkhole were prohibited from returning to their homes for their own safety.

Several of those homes were ultimately condemned and demolished.

The cause of the sinkhole was determined to be a main interceptor line running under 15 Mile Road that had collapsed.

One would think that major sewer line falls under the purview of the Macomb County Public Works Department (and you’d be right).

And since it was their responsibility after all, that the Macomb County Public Works Commissioner would be on the scene immediately coordinating the investigation and repair efforts.

Well, did I mention that the previous Public Works Commissioner was a democrat?

And a very likely dirty one at that.

No, that wasn’t a bad pun.

This is where our story gets interesting.

{More tantalizing details below}

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Elections, Government Incompetence, Liberty, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

So, now what?

by KG One • March 26, 2017 • 2 Comments

And what does this mean when it comes to other campaign “promises” made to The American People like tax reform, the wall, bringing back American business and removing illegal aliens?

It really shouldn’t have been difficult.

Not at all.

All you had to do was to fulfill the promise that you made when running for Congress and REPEAL Obamacare.

It was not as if this day wasn’t coming?

After sneaking Obamacare through in literally the dead of night, the democrats learned a valuable lesson on stupidity and the resulting payback from it when they lost the House.

Give us the Senate, chimed in republicans and we’ll repeal it.

After numerous attempts to do so we are told that they cannot do it.

Give us the White House and we’ll repeal it.

So, after gaining majorities the House, Senate and the White House, everything was in place for a quick (and ridiculously easy) repeal.

Or so we thought.

{Oh, I‘ve got more below}

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All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Cronyism, Elections, Fees, Government Incompetence, Liberty, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

It took you this long to figure it out, eh?

by KG One • March 17, 2017 • 4 Comments

So, will this be the swan song for Snydercaid?

Like we didn’t see this coming?

And by “we” I mean real conservatives, not the bland neo-con, conservative wanna-bees around election season who revert back to their true selves the day after the general.

Thanks to the number-crunchers over at the SFA along with President Trump, Gov. Snyder’s signature achievement (Snydercaid), is in jeopardy of closing up shop due to its costs, and someone who had the foresight to include a weakness in the legislation which can be exploited when it grew into an ever-growing percentage of the budget.

What’s even worse (also on page 6 in the SFA link above):

“The new Federal law would increase GF/GP (General Fund/General Purpose) costs sufficiently to trigger this provision by the end of FY 2019-20. Thus, assuming no changes to the statute, the Healthy Michigan Plan would terminate.

If the State opted to continue the program (which would require Legislative action and a gubernatorial signature to change the statute), the GF/GP costs would increase significantly in subsequent years as noted above. Obviously, if the Federal legislation is enacted, the decision on whether to change the statute to continue the HMP would be impacted by the fiscal considerations outlined above.”

Gov. Snyder knew that this day was coming. He even went to Washington to personally lobby on its behalf.

But when you act like a wishy-washy, mealy mouth wimp who will not take a stand, people remember things like that.

Speaking of “never forgetting”…

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Cronyism, Government Incompetence, Liberty, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Rent Seeking, Republicans

Absolvendi Officium

by Jason • February 28, 2017 • 1 Comment

"Public-Private Partnerships" Are bad business for government.

SB 97 passed 32-4 last Friday.

Seriously flawed in it’s very concept, the bill grants private operators the ability to operate as-if they are the chartering government itself, sans the payback at the voting booth. Contracts could extend far beyond term limitations, and the ‘authorities’ created would be of a new design.

It will place those who fail to pay the private concern as immediately liable for fees as-if it were a government entity. It also brings back the spectre of eminent domain, and abuse of authority.

It also grants special rights to those who profit from such projects as described in the bill from paying property, sales or use taxes taxes.

Read it here.

Tell me I am wrong.

Please.

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Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Fees, Flint Water Fiasco, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Pensions & Retirement Benefits, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

Who Rules Michigan?

by 10x25MM • February 18, 2017 • 1 Comment

The Administrative State or the People?

The titanic political struggle unfolding in Washington is sucking the oxygen out of Michigan politics, but is analogous to the central political struggle which has been playing out here in Michigan for 48 years. Political media breathlessly report on a struggle between liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans. This struggle is not between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, nor RINOs and true believers. The Democrats, liberals, and RINOs are completely discredited in Michigan, as they are across most of the United States. All that remains of them is jammed into the Hillary archipelago.

The present political struggle is between the people and the administrative state. Call it bureaucracy, deep state, or administrative state: they are unelected government employees, their agents in the media, and the select beneficiaries of government largess. Their opponents in this struggle are the majority of Americans and Michiganders who pay the price for the administrative state; a now seething mass whose ascendancy was a rude surprise to the administrative state.

The outcome of the struggle in Washington is yet to be determined, but in Michigan the administrative state is clearly winning despite its total responsibility for the Flint water fiasco. The administrative state owns Governor Snyder body and soul. The administrative state will stop at nothing to manipulate the Michigan Legislature when the chips are down. Refractory (but innocent) legislators are expelled before legal process while cooperative (but guilty) legislators sit unfettered until legal process is completed.

How else can you explain the PA 177 of 2015 road tax package, indistinguishable from the soundly trounced Proposal 2015-01? Or the bogus Detroit bankruptcy which somehow neglected a $ 491 million financial hole which will haunt the city with a vengeance in 2024? Half the city’s annual budget. Or the refusal of Michigan government units at all levels to even consider tax reductions due to the simmering public employee pension catastrophe? Those pensions enjoyed by members of the administrative state are but a distant memory to the Michiganders who pay them. Indeed, all of Michigan’s units of government are jacking up fees to get around Headlee Amendment taxation limits.

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