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

Not in today’s market.

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While still remaining cautiously optimistic on the results of today’s vote, I would still like to take the high road here and avoid doing “a victory lap”, even one that is well deserved.

That been said, one of the pat responses that I can practically guarantee will come from Lansing in the coming days is the worn out lament that “there is nowhere to cut”.

You know that this is bunk.

I know that this is bunk.

The answers are there.

The clip below is just one example of where substantial savings can be found from Lansing.

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

So, this was what we were missing?

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Just dusting off one of a few old projects that I’ve had one hell of a time trying to finish up over the past few weeks.

Composing a post on a tablet is relatively easy compared to trying to edit something on video. Even moreso when the truck is moving

Watching the local news this afternoon gave me the final push to finish things up before tomorrow.

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Cronyism, Elections, Michigan, Opinion, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Taxes

MRP Extreme Games: Proposal 1 Damage Control™

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Or, is it? Is this just how slippery Michigan’s modern-day Republicanism works, and how easily seen through their actor’s have become?

Some well informed RightMi.com readers may have thought this poke at the Lt. Gov. was just in jest – it’s not.

Turkish_proverbIt is no secret that Rick Snyder’s political career is washed up in 2018. The further Snyder drifts his term limited “apolitical” Agenda to The Left, the more credence he lends to the Progressives in the Democratic Party. Face it, nobody buys Democrat-lite when the real thing is available for the price of a vote. It’s also no secret that I will not hesitate to take a poke at Rep. Barky when he deserves it for his hypocrisy.

So, what has Snyder’s SRY Team, and the Party’s apparatchik decided to do with young Justin’s #BFF?

Hide Brian Calley in Bogota, on a MEDC junket until the May 5th election fallout is over on the 36 hour news cycle.

Yet, corporate welfare, Rep. Barky says? Gas tax hikes and Medicaid expansion? Brian Calley cheer-led that.
rick-snyder-the-calley-crusher
It is what it is.

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Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Humor in Michigan, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

The Editor’s Choice Awards

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RightMi.Com editors weigh in on their favorite anti-prop 15-1 articles.

GasTaxRegistrationFreesHikeWe’ve had plenty to say about proposal 15-1.

In fact, there was so much to be said that we had to create a special category for it, and all things leading up to, and related have been edited by Kevin to reflect their importance to the issue.  While the traditional media sources play the equal opportunity game with both proponents and opponents of HR UU (proposal 15-1), it’s been our position to not do so.  We have maintained that equal opportunity is already a function of those who would lie about its ‘advantages,’ and it needs no further promotion to make it one of the most dangerous options Michiganians have ever faced at the ballot box.

As we wrap up the arguments with only 2 days left before the polls close, RightMi.com editors thought it important to offer up a few ‘MUST READS!’ As you make a special trip to the polls for an election day that you wouldn’t have if the last legislative session would have done its job we have highlighted the most compelling.  The editors have selected 5 or more articles from RightMi.com directly, and one other from anywhere else, traditional or otherwise.

Let the review begin!

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Cronyism, Detroit, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Proposal 15-1

Prop 1…Detroit’s ‘River’ of Opportunity

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Prop 1 is for roads???...Hardly...

Detroit is deadDetroit’s ‘Core’ a ‘Common’ problem…

Being a ‘newbie’ senior citizen, I’ll have to rely on the ‘old school’ math, but…let’s at least try to sum this up, shall we???

We don’t have to go back too far, let’s just start with the Guv’s 2012 budget, and it’s expansion since then… http://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_state_budget_%282011-2012%29#Deal_negotiated

$47 billion for 2012, and now asking $53 billion…and an estimated $2 billion more each year in tax increases proposed in Prop 1…Just where is all this money going???…Let’s follow some (most) of it…I have…

Starting with the Detroit bankruptcy bailout, $195 million, our State tax money…We’ll try (try, that is) to keep a running total…Stay with me here, the ‘River” gets murky in some spots…http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/detroit-bankruptcy/2014/11/08/detroit-bankruptcy-timeline/18680129/…Speaking of rivers, let’s cross this one… http://blogs.windsorstar.com/news/snyder-canadian-leaders-urge-washington-to-fund-dric-customs-plaza. The $550 million Canada has promised for the bridge construction is a loan, to be repaid from tolls, but that’s another story entirely…So Detroit has $195 million in State money to get itself out of Court…

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