Elections

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

Well THAT Was Disappointing ..

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What at first appeared to be a reach out to get input for a post-SCOTUS ruling direction was just a scam.

Not at all surprising however.

Given that it was from team Benishek. I though perhaps he was noticing how folks have lost all respect for him, and as contrition, was reaching out to see what would make folks a little more confident in his future performance.  Gosh, maybe it was in response to my put up or shut up articles!

The email arrived with this heartfelt message:

” Jason,

With more than three decades in the medical field, I know how important it is for our healthcare system to empower patients and their doctors, not federal bureaucrats in Washington.

Too often, Washington politicians try to pass laws without talking to the people who have to live with the consequences. Any doctor will tell you that listening to your patients is one of the most important parts of medicine. I believe this is true in politics as well.

That’s why I want to hear from you.

Jason, please take my survey to let me know what you think of ObamaCare, and how we can build a better healthcare system.

Our current system isn’t working, and I know we can do better. With your support, we can fight for a bottom up healthcare system that empowers people not politicians.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts,

Dr. Dan”

So I clicked the link.   I diligently filled out the form answering the ready-made questions, and then I offered offered some “other thoughts” that were being solicited at the bottom.  I typed in:

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

A Dead Man Walking: Wayne County

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Your Least Loss is Your First Loss

Bankrupcy WC 2Wayne County Executive Warren Evans told the assembled self very important persons at the Mackinac Policy Conference last Friday that he now believes that his county government can avoid bankruptcy. “He is now comfortable with the options” was the report. Little did he know that, on the very same day, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Lita Popke gave the County 48 hours to pay its retirees $ 49 million dollars to restore their 2010 ’13th check’ retirement benefit. Wayne County told the court flat out that it doesn’t have the money.

The Wayne County Commission voted yesterday to tap most of the last remaining funds in the County’s much abused Delinquent Tax Revolving Fund, however Warren Evan’s subsequent veto threat all but assures that this summer’s county property taxes will increase 1.23 mils to pay this judgement. This property tax increase will not even require a vote of affirmation under the Headlee Amendments to the Michigan Constitution, because it is pursuant to a court order.

’13th checks’ are a devious method of looting pension funds which began in the 1980’s, in Michigan. When some Michigan public pension funds earned more than their targeted rate of return in a year, say 8%, the ‘surplus’ earnings got doled out to retirees in the form of a 13th check.  These 13th checks could amount to far more than the pension fund’s actually surplus.  Retirees never had to give back their prior 13th check payments when the pension funds dialed up a big loss, so the 13th check was an opportunistic form of looting – not an equitable form of risk & gain sharing. This practice has occurred in state pension plans, county pension plans, and city pension plans across Michigan. The particular problem in Wayne County is that Robert Ficano stripped his pension funds of the 13th check payment funds in 2010 to make his books look better. Worst of all, Wayne County’s pension funds are only about 44% funded and their OPEB’s (retiree medical care, etc.) are essentially unfunded.

Wayne County’s accounting is nebulous, to be charitable. A read of their 2014 CAFR (22 MB document, it took a lot of lipstick to make this dead pig look good!) shows that the County is carrying forward an unassigned deficit of $ 82.8 million, and only got it down to this awful level by diverting $ 91.7 million from their dwindling Delinquent Tax Revolving Fund to their General Fund in 2014. Then, depending upon whom in Wayne County government you are talking to, Wayne County is still losing another $ 4 – $ 5 million each month.

This amounts to something over $ 50 million per year.

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

How about this for Plan “B”.

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Or, the “Right Michigan Solution for Fixing Michigan Roads”.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that. Soon enough, you’ve got the makings of a pretty good framework to work within.

If you’re really a Conservative, that is.

If not…well click below for more.

{Continued below the fold}

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Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Republicans

Because Michigan’s First Congressional District Is Supposed To Be Stupid

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Its as-if this is the first term for the third term Dr. Dan Benishek

benishek-mailThe picture at the right came in this morning

When opening it, I sat for a moment snickering at the sheer audacity of the Benishek re-election team in sending such a message in the fifth year of his ‘service’ to Michigan’s CD1 voters.  Suggesting that Dan Benishek  would raise a finger to fight for us is a hoot.

“We must raise $5,000 this month to show Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats that we will be ready for the fight ahead in 2016”

Nancy Pelosi?

Gosh Dan, this is the second session in a row (third starting) where the congress has been held by Republicans.  Truly, it is terribly embarrassing that you have not figured out that the opponent is actually in the executive seat.  Its been over 4 years Doctor B, and you haven’t yet lived up to a single promise made in 2010 with regard to the ACA, immigration, and a litany of other issues where you actually have some say.

While Dr. Dan fights Pelosi and the other shadows in the halls of congress, the EPA is shutting down our power, regulating our puddles, and the Liar in chief is going to import ISIS into Michigan with the help of our worthless governor.

Way to be on guard Mr. “We don’t control the money”

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Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Part Time Legislature, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

Mackinac Policy Conference At The Grand Hotel: Protect Your Wallet!

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Detroit Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference 2015 Starts Today - You Won't Like The Outcome

Is that a donkey in front of the Grand Hotel?

Is that a donkey in front of the Grand Hotel?

Later today Michigan’s Self Very Important Persons start checking in at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s 2015 Mackinac Policy Conference held on Mackinac Island. At $ 2,150 per person for Chamber members and $ 2,925 for Chamber wannabees, average Michiganders will not be much in evidence. The attendees list reads like the last itemized contribution report for SafeRoadsYes!, along with the clueless Michigan politicians who endorsed Proposal 1.

The Detroit Regional Chamber’s “Vision and Pillars” for the 2015 Conference is innocuous enough, but the Conference’s agenda is far less oblique. A host of left luminaries and crony capitalists orbiting Michigan government will be plotting higher taxes, bigger spending, and more vexatious regulations.  When they are not drinking.

The official agenda is all about Detroit, Michigan schools, alternative business subsidies, and the roads, but there is also the transformation of Detroit Water & Sewerage Department into the Great Lakes Water Authority lurking in the background. Roads are the most interesting part of the official 2015 Conference agenda, given the near universal support for Proposal 1 amongst the attendees. Despite touting ‘vision’, expect the Conference to endorse new taxes over improved efficiencies and better engineering.

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

From each according to their ability…to each according to their need – Part, oh, whatever

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First off, I’d just like to thank those who have sent in suggestions so far for “The Right Michigan Solution for Fixing Michigan Roads” (and yes, I have gotten a few already). I’ve got an update that I like to pass along after the fold.

And for the record, the title of this post isn’t referring to these “poor” schemps.

{More below the fold}

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

Mackinac Center’s ‘VoteSpotter’ Application for Smartphones

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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.

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2015 MIGOP State Convention, Democrats, Elections, Michigan Politics, Philosophy, Republicans

Protecting The Brand

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We have an opportunity to clean up the way in which Republican candidates are selected.

This weekend the Michigan Republican State Committee will likely vote on a motion submitted by Tom McMillin to rescind the Open Primary rules that were passed last year.

Generally, many of us who are still in the GOP have decried the corrupting influence of those who could give a rats ass about the platform; a platform which is perfectly reasonable if it was honored.   A couple days ago, Tom wrote to state committee members

Dear fellow State Committee members
Attached is an FAQ regarding rescinding the Open Primary rules passed by the prior state committee.

This year’s state committee, not last year’s, will administer next year’s primary.  We should not shrink back from that responsibility.  It’s clear that Republican activists are tired of people outside our party influencing the primary process, especially when casting votes.

I think it would be wise and healthy for us to reset the table, discuss and debate the options and have the current state committee come to a conclusion.

Sincerely,
Tom McMillin
8th District Chair

I don’t have a copy of the FAQ at this time, but have learned to trust McMillin’s instinct on items like this.

And frankly, we’ve seen the damaging effects of the corrupting influence.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

Plan B – A Philosophy

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Spending Money Is Not Leadership

Kwame's and Bobbie's 'Bridge of Bucks' over Telegraph Road

Kwame’s and Bobbie’s ‘Bridge of Bucks’ over Telegraph Road

Now that Michigan voters have mercilessly dispatched Proposal 1 to the garbage can of history, lets talk a bit about the philosophy of a truly effective plan to get Michigan’s roads and bridges up to par. This will provide a proper foundation for developing a ‘Plan B’ which will actually improve Michigan’s roads and bridges, and be acceptable to the population as well.

The underlying premise of Proposal 1 was that the only action required to fix up Michigan’s roads and bridges was injecting big money into the Michigan Transportation Fund. The depraved philosophy of modern American government. Not true and the voters knew it. But Michigan’s power elite believed that opposition could be neutralized by icing a pile of feces with chocolate frosting. Didn’t work despite a lavish $ 10 million effort.

The condition of Michigan’s roads and bridges has only a casual relationship with the funds available in the MTF. In 2014, 11% of MTF funds were siphoned off by various State of Michigan Departments in the form of charge backs for ‘services’ rendered to the MTF, as well as priority grants that have little to do with roads and bridges. Debt service is also a component of this 11%, but that is effectively a payment for previous time preferences of bureaucrats and politicians. Then 9.5% of the remainder was diverted to the Comprehensive Transportation Fund for mass transit. Finally, the MTF was partitioned amongst the State Trunkline Fund (36%), county road agencies (34.6%), and cities (19.8%). In each partition, further funds are siphoned off by charge backs, pension payments, and OPEBs. What’s left for the roads is more a function of politicians and bureaucrats preferences at every level than the amount of money front loaded into the MTF.

So how do we proceed? First develop a philosophy to frame and inform the ‘Plan B’ debate.  After the fold.

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Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Proposal 15-1, Taxes

Now What???…

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Plan "B"...

CautionHere is a suggestion for the Legislature…You want us to modify the State Constitution???…Try this one on for size…Two simple fixes:

Step One:
Asphalt is petroleum based, the vehicles traveling over it use fossil fuels…The Kammer Land Trust fund has $26 Billion in it last time I checked, and it is Constitutionally protected…The State of Michigan already owns too much land, especially here up north…Change the Constitution to allow 50% of ALL future trust revenues to be used EXCLUSIVELY for road construction, repair and maintenance…

Step two:

The Legislature is currently going after the $20 Billion “No Fault” insurance fund, to the benefit of insurance companies, and in turn, insurance lobbyists who donate heavily to our elected officials and other candidates…They seem to think they don’t need all that cash just lying around…While you’re amending the Constitution to use the gas & oil revenues to partially fund roads, modify the “No Fault” law to do the same…both in perpetuity…
Raising the gas tax at the pump slightly would do the rest…ALL of which MUST be spent on roads and bridges…PERIOD!!!…
Run that one by the voters…you just might see it pass by the same margin…
Way too simple for our masterminds in Lansing???…

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