Government Incompetence

Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Part Time Legislature

A House Divided – And Its Not Republicans!

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Replacement of Representative Plawecki on the Ballot Reveals Democratic Party Discord, Preparation for a Lame Duck Session?

Julie PlaweckiDuring a week of dramatic racial conflict across the U.S.A, few noticed a more subdued racial conflict which surfaced right here in Michigan. First term Michigan State Representative Julie Plawecki died on June 25th during a hike on Misery Ridge at Smith Rock, Oregon. Representative Plawecki was running unopposed for reelection in the Democratic primary on August 2nd, in Michigan’s 11th State House District. Representative Plawecki’s death occurred after the April 19th Michigan primary election filing deadline, so it is up to the local party to select a replacement Democrat to appear on the November 8th ballot in accordance with PA 116 of 1954.

The ‘local party’ in this particular instance is the Michigan 13th Congressional District Democratic Party (SoS BoE 516418). Representative Conyers represents the 13th Congressional District, even though he hasn’t lived in it since the 2012 redistricting. Even so, Representative Conyers does maintain control over the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party apparatus through his agent Jonathan C. Kinloch. Jonathon C. Kinloch 2Mr. Kinloch, a Detroiter who also resides outside the 11th State House District, is perhaps best known as an Emergency Manager appointed member of the esteemed Detroit Board of Education.

Half of the 11th Michigan House District’s population is in Garden City and Inkster, with the balance in attached pieces of Westland, Dearborn Heights and Livonia. Garden City and Inkster are polar opposites ethnically, but both vote heavily Democratic. The Westland and Dearborn Heights segments of the 11th are somewhere in between Garden City and Inkster, while the small segment of Livonia trends Republican. Hidden in the Census data for this district are substantial South Asian and Arab ethnic communities, but the district’s African-American population fraction is pretty well identified by the Census at about 35%.

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

Exactly whose agenda is Gov. Snyder promoting?

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"While shutting down the schools would be horrible. It is a better option than the alternative."

“This marks a new day for Detroit families, with DPS free from debt and strong accountability measures for all schools in the city that promises a brighter future for all of Detroit’s children.” – Michigan Governor Rick Snyder after signing the DPS bailout package last month.

If only that were really true.

There’s a story making the rounds here locally, that to put it mildly, I am more than a little surprised hasn’t been picked up by other media outlets around Michigan.

It seems that Emergency Manager Transition Manager Stephen Rhodes, Michigan Treasurer Nick Khouri, Gov. Snyder and a few select others within Michigan Government have felt that it is more important to bury some rather disturbing facts relating to Detroit Public Schools, rather than to make them public (Read: Better make sure that Michigan Taxpayers don’t EVER get wind of this!).

 

What was John Burroughs Intermediate School.

Nope, not the crumbling infrastructure of DPS.

And what is this little nugget you may ask?

{Continued below}

H/T to the good people at Channel 7 in Detroit for breaking this story.

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All the Other Stuff, Cronyism, Democrats, Government Incompetence, Philosophy

Welcome To The Third World.

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bananas-504478_1920I have been amused in the past when liberal Democrat demonstrations spark a chant of “This is what Democracy looks like..”

No.  its not.

They have achieved the goals of their epic struggle against tradition, rule of law, and flat out decency and morals. It is NOT what a Democracy looks like.   This is what a Banana Republic looks like:

FBI Director James Comey has announced that Hillary Clinton acted ‘carelessly’ but committed no crimes with regards to her private e-mail server through which she conducted official government business.  Further, he announced there would be no charges filed whatsoever.  This is despite numerous criminal offenses being already known by the general public through a plethora of FOIA.  Officially, there is no longer any rule of law in this country.

Read the rest.

Ya Mon.

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Democrats, Detroit, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Part Time Legislature, Republicans, Taxes

The DPS Bailout – Debts & Obligations

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Part II - The Eventual Cost of DPS Liabilities to Michigan Taxpayers and Detroit Schoolchildren

Debt ImageDPS has two types of formal debt: operating and capital. Operating debt is a conversion of present and past annual operating deficits into ‘long-term notes’ sold to the financial markets, as well as more immediate debts owed to the State of Michigan directly. DPS capital debt exists only in the form of bonds which were sold to financial markets to purchase and rehabilitate facilities.  DPS’ formal bonds are identified by Series, which consists of the year issued and a letter suffix when different purpose bonds are issued in a single year.  The financial markets apply a further identifier, CUSIP, which is a unique identifier of municipal bonds by series and their intended dates of redemption.  All of the DPS debt sold to the financial markets has been enrolled in Public Act 92 of 2005, a program designed to reduce interest rates to local school districts in accordance with the 1963 Michigan Constitution’s Article IX, Section 16.  Most DPS debt is effectively secured by a general obligation to pay, which requires Detroit taxpayers to increase taxes and reduce spending should financial difficulties repaying arise.

DPS 2009B Bond StatementDPS pays off its capital debt in annual installments of both interest and principal, before it pays off (or adds to) its operating debt.  Bond interest and principal payments are required by bond terms which – if ignored – would result in immediate default and bankruptcy.  The exact contract terms of DPS debt sold to the financial markets are laid out in official statements which detail all the formal legal and financial features of the bonds.  The official statement is essentially a contract between DPS and its bond purchasers.

DPS’ operating debt payments are somewhat more flexible than capital debt payments because only a portion of operating debt has been converted into formal bonds covered by statements; much of it is separately owed to the Michigan School Loan Revolving Fund. The SSLRF can best be thought of as a State sponsored credit card. School districts tap into it when they are short of cash, and pay off their balance when they are flush.  Operating debt is only converted into formal bonds when Michigan school districts exceed their limits at the SSLRF.  Those limits are not exact, and generally come into play when DPS goes through one of its periodic financial spasms.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Part Time Legislature, Republicans

The DPS Bailout – The Bankruptcy Alternative Not Taken

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Part I - No, The Richmond USD Case Did Not Challenge U.S. Bankruptcy Court Authority

Daniel Howes ImageGovernor Snyder browbeat the Michigan Legislature to approve the $ 617 million bailout of Detroit Public Schools which he signed today by regaling them with a parade of horribles which would occur if the bailout was defeated and DPS was forced to file for bankruptcy. Daniel Howes regurgitated Governor Snyder’s compelling tales of impending doom delivered behind closed doors in a Detroit News article, but was any of it true?

Right at the top of Governor Snyder’s parade of horribles was the Federal bankruptcy filing of the Richmond [California] Unified School District on April 19, 1991 . Governor Snyder portrayed the outcome of this action as the U.S. Bankruptcy Court denying the petition and ordering the State of California to financially bail out the district.  From Daniel Howes’ article:

There is scant precedence for school districts filing for bankruptcy, the Snyder administration found. In 1990, according to an administration letter to state Rep. Laura Cox, R-Livonia, the Richmond Unified School District in Northern California filed for bankruptcy because of $42.5 million in debt. The judge ruled the district could not be protected by the court in bankruptcy and ordered the state to provide the district with operating funds.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Detroit, Elections, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Part Time Legislature, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

I can’t wait until the rest comes due!

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Gov. Snyder, Sen. Meekhof and Sperker Cotter demonstrating their best use for Michigan Taxpayer dollars.

With that conveniently (and consistently) “overlooked” $3.5-billion in debt, the Mi(a)GOP just handed the Michigan House to the democrats in the fall.

Screwed Image 1

Here’s a not-so-subtle hint.

 

More to follow…

 

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Cronyism, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Part Time Legislature, Philosophy

Greasing The Monkeys

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Apparently there is never enough choice choking regulation for some in our legislature.

car-repairWithout written permission to spend less, your auto repair bill will cost you more.

Incredibly, that first line above was a last minute ‘fix’ in HB4344.  Prior to it being added as an amendment by Pete Petallia, there was no wiggle room for any aftermarket part that wasn’t subjected to the extremes set up by the automakers to make their parts competitive. Meaning, if I wanted Miata wheels to replace the factory wheels on my Miata for any reason, I’d have to go through a lengthy process obtaining them EXCLUSIVELY from the manufacturer, creating time/effort hassles noone wants to deal with. The section of HB4344 addressing this:

House Bill No. 4344 as amended May 31, 2016

1  original warranty, or during the first 5 years of the vehicle  manufacturer’s original warranty, whichever is less, the motor  vehicle repair facility shall replace the major component part, and  a person that is an owner or operator of the motor vehicle repair facility shall ensure that the major component part is replaced, with 1 of the following:

(a) A new original equipment manufacturer part.

(b) A used or recycled original equipment manufacturer part.

(c) A part that meets any applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards established under 49 CFR 571, and meets the standards for parts recognized as OEM comparable quality as verified by the Certified Automotive Parts Association, NSFInternational, or another nationally recognized automotive parts testing agency.

(d) A part that does not meet subdivision (a), (b), or (c), if the facility is directed by the owner of the motor vehicle in writing to install that part.]

Michigan Capitol Confidential might be thanked for bringing this up originally.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Part Time Legislature, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes

Democratic Socialism Comes to Southeast Michigan

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RTA Funding Could Buy All Their New Riders New Cars, And Pay For Their Fuel and Insurance To Boot!

RTA Transit Map aThe new Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan is out today with their transportation master plan to soak taxpayers in Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties for another $ 3.3 billion in property taxes over a 20 year period.Michael Ford Smiling RTA CEO Michael Ford released the regional mass transit plan RTA will submit to voters on November 8th under PA 387 of 2012. A 1.2 mill property tax increase and $ 1.7 billion in new Federal & State subsidies will provide four new bus rapid transit lines, 11 cross county connector lines, one regional rail line, and some extended/intensified local service.

Let’s have some fun by subjecting the new RTA regional mass transit plan to some real, pre Common Core, mathematics.

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Rent Seeking, Republicans

If we can convince you that smoking is good and get you to eat for breakfast what we want you to, then we can definitely get you to support this.

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Take a good look at the picture below.

Edward Bernays Image

He’s going to factor heavily in this post (and more importantly, what YOU can do to protect your pocketbook).

{Continued below the fold}

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Cronyism, Democrats, Flint Water Fiasco, Government Incompetence, Michigan, Michigan Politics

Same As It Ever Was

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Why would we expect anything else from the party of Clinton?

Flint Water ImageDemocrats have been screaming about Republican leadership’s failure on the Flint water issue.

While we have no overreaching love for the governerd, who brought us expansion of Obamacare, lost our insurer of last resort, broke the law for his ‘roads’ funding boondoggle, and still hands out money like its not his own, it was not Rick Snyder who put lead in the pipes of Flint.  He took credit for the failure of his bureaucracy to properly assess a fast developing public health issue, but he surely did not cause the problem.

Was it the bureaucracy itself?  Yes.  Decades of poor decision making by those who have by hook or crook made their life’s work to be the decimation of ‘Buick City.’  Poor planning and perhaps a little power mongering graft?  From Reuters:

“Henderson’s lawsuit alleged that Mayor Karen Weaver ordered her assistant and a volunteer to redirect donors from a local fund set up to help families affected by the water crisis to her political action committee instead.

The lawsuit charged that the city employee was “specifically directed” to instruct people “step-by-step” to donate to the mayor’s “Karenabout Flint” fund through its website, rather than the Charity Safe Water/Safe Homes fund through the city’s website.

Sure thing.

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