Michigan Political considerations.
There is more of a problem with common core than bizarre math.
Melanie Kurdys is probably the foremost expert on the common core curriculum in Michigan. She has logged hundreds of hours speaking on the topic and making folks aware of the ruination of our educational system.
In this video Melanie speaks to the Traverse Bay 912 group at one of it’s weekly meetings.
Enjoy.
(12)Nuh Uh.
(0)RightMI.Com readership can make a difference in the effort to defeat the $2 Billion Dollar tax increase.
Scales reminds us yesterday that all it takes is 50% +1 to “entrench this mess into our constitution.”
Even the polling a month out that shows the crushing defeat of this boondoggle, but we need to be aware that it probably ought not be trusted. People are fickle, and the herds of Michigan voters are carefully being prodded along using every tool in the toolbox.
On this site there are no fewer than 70 articles directly or otherwise related to proposal 15-1. Each of them highlighting a failure of leadership, misuse, or misrepresentation of resources and fact with regard to the stewardship of our transportation dollars. We are doing our part to make folks aware that all-is-not-as-it-seems in our state capitol.
But our readership is not the entire population of the state. (even though it should be)
(18)Nuh Uh.(0)Journalists Bravely Display Their Mathematical Deficit, or......?
The MLive Media Group Editorial Board endorsed Proposal 2015-01 this morning. The endorsement was no real surprise, given the blizzard of slanted reporting MLive has been posting on Proposal 1 over the last 30 days. The real surprise here was the shoddy math cited in the endorsement:
If you currently pay $100 per month in sales tax, which is the average for median income households in Michigan, you’ll pay an extra $1 per month. Because the sales tax is regressive — it falls disproportionately on the poor — Proposal 1 evens the playing field by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, which was cut in 2011.
The fuel tax changes will result in an additional 2 to 10 cents per gallon, depending on gas prices. Some of these costs will surely be offset by reduced damage to vehicles as the roads are improved.
Governor Snyder’s FY 2015 Executive Budget projects that Michigan’s current 6% sales tax will collect $ 7.89 billion in FY 2015 on $ 131.5 billion in taxable products. This is $ 797 per year, per Michigan resident. The U.S. Census says that the average Michigan household is composed of 2.53 persons. Thus the current 6% sales tax is projected to collect $ 2,016 per household in FY 2015, or $ 168 per household, per month. Not $ 100 per month.
Looking at FY 2015 as if Proposal 2015-01 was in effect, the 7% sales tax would collect $ 8.5 billion on $ 121 billion in taxable products. Keep in mind that road fuel will no longer be subject to the sales tax, so we have to back out S 10.2 billion in formerly taxable fuel sales on just over 4 billion gallons in road fuel. This is $ 855 per year, per person. Thus the proposed 7 % sales tax would collect $ 2,165 per household in FY 2015, or $ 180 per household, per month.
So the difference is $ 12 per month, per Michigan household. Not MLive’s $ 1 per month fantasy factoid.
(19)Nuh Uh.(0)Sales Tax Retention on Off-Road Fuel Will Trigger Pandemonium in Michigan's Fuel Distribution Network
Part II
As Proposal 2015-01 stands now, ORV operators, snowmobilers, boaters, lawn mowers, generator users, and others purchasing non road use fuels from gas stations will be in violation of PA 167 of 1933, the Michigan sales tax act. The way PA 167 of 1933 is worded, compliance is primarily the responsibility the fuel retailer. However those who, for whatever reason, escape paying the sales tax become liable for the Michigan use tax under PA 94 of 1937. This includes tourists who trailer in fueled boats from out of state. The ‘Amazon tax’ returns with a vengeance in a new guise.
Barring further convoluted legislative action, on October 1st Michigan gas stations will have to collect the 7% sales tax on gasoline and diesel fuel sold for any purpose other than propelling a vehicle “used to operate a motor vehicle on the public roads or highways of this state”. Seems simple enough given the electronic calculation capabilities of most modern gas pumps, right? Just push a button and the sales price increases by 7%.
Wrong.
(25)Nuh Uh.(1)This is not the time for chutzpa!
If our elected representatives in Lansing are in need of any suggestions to “find” money to reallocate towards more important matters affecting Michigan, a local vote that was taken yesterday afternoon by an advisory committee would be my recommendation for a great place to start.
{Story continues below}
(9)Nuh Uh.(0)Sales Tax Retention on Off-Road Fuel Will Trigger Pandemonium in Michigan's Fuel Distribution Network
Part I
Let’s walk through the numbers and consequences of the most disastrous aspect of Proposal 2015-01: the retention of the sales tax on fuels used almost everywhere but on the roads. Most disastrous because this will be enshrined in our Constitution if Proposal 2015-01 passes. No act of our Legislature or sleight of hand by our Governor can correct the Michigan Constitution if Proposal 2015-01 passes. They can only decide to impose astronomical costs on the petroleum distribution network, create a lot of new criminals, spawn a black market in fuels, forego sales tax revenues, or some combination thereof. The Michigan Constitution gets its first intractable dilemma.
HCJR UU contains the actual language amending the Michigan Constitution. Sales and use tax rates go from 6% to 7%, and the sales tax is no longer permitted on “gasoline or diesel fuel used to operate a motor vehicle on the public roads or highways of this state”. So the plain language of HCJR UU authorizes continued sales tax collection on all gasoline and diesel oil which is not used to operate a motor vehicle on the public roads or highways of this state, at the new 7% rate.
This 7% ‘ORV’ fuel sales tax will be over and above the motor vehicle fuel tax, which continues to be applied to recreational off-road vehicle and marine fuels as a ‘privilege tax’ under PA 451 of 1994. To make things even more confusing for fuel suppliers and consumers, there will be a third category of fuel subject to the sales tax, but not the motor vehicle or privilege tax: fuel used industrially, for construction, for farming, for lawn care, generators, and other miscellaneous purposes.
Less noticed, the 7% sales tax is also authorized on fuels other than gasoline and diesel oil used to operate vehicles on the public roads or highways of this state. This is quite a surprise since PA 468 of 2014, the motor vehicles fuels tax law of the road tax package, goes to great lengths to bring alternate transportation fuels such as liquid or compressed natural gas and lighter alternative petroleum products (LPG, propane, etc.) into the general road fuels tax regimen. This is significant; the U.S. Energy Information Agency estimates that these alternate transportation fuels currently account for about 6% of ground vehicle propulsion on the public roads in 2009 and their usage is increasing sharply. The sales tax liability on these ‘green fuels’ will put them at a serious economic disadvantage to gasoline and diesel fuel. But this did not deter the Sierra Club and their fellow environmental wackos from endorsing Proposal 2015-01. David Holtz and the Michigan Sierra Club board would appear to have a ‘Common Core’ reading comprehension level.
(28)Nuh Uh.(0)Taking away the options, our elected class leaves us with no choice, right?
So, do you say “Baaaa” or “Moooo” on Wednesday May 6th?
That is, if you intend on voting for proposal 15-1. And all the animal sounds notwithstanding, will anyone reading this accept the fact that they have pretty much been ‘herded’ like common farm critters if they decide to support the measure?
Consider how ‘heeling’ with a border collie is done. By taking away the options for movement, a nip at the herded animal’s feet, and the dog manipulates the path of the animal so that it pursues the desired direction. When one goes astray, the new direction is blocked ensuring a return to the planned route.
When looking at proposal 15-1, it should not have gone unnoticed that the scheduling of the proposal’s vote is at the time when the roads are at their peak ‘crap’ condition. The end of winter and at a time when patching work by the local road commission has not completely caught up with the seasonal destruction.
(17)Nuh Uh.(1)Among other things, the state needs to pay up.
And we’re here to remind them, as this isn’t the first time its been said.
Here’s hoping every township, and county clerk is ready with a bill for services on May 6, 2015. In fact, maybe it might not be a bad idea to remind your local election officials to ready the receipt pile and get a stamped envelope ready to submit the invoice for officiating one of the most senseless proposals yet.
Proposal 15-1 is going to cost us money no matter what. Legislators added about $9 million or more dollars to the cost of doing state business when they punted to the citizens of Michigan in that December lame duck. A recent special election in Grand Traverse County cost over $85,000 and we have about 90,000 for population. At a cost of about $1 per Michiganian, each county, city, and township government is having to officiate what is accurately called a ‘special election.’
And how special is it?
(22)Nuh Uh.(1)The contentious May issue is complicated, but understandable. It just takes time.
There is a ton of information to be shared on the road funding issue.
RightMi.com has pointed out many of the flaws, and the bad policy associated with the late night lame-duck session passed monstrosity voters will be asked to approve May 5th. We pointed out the obvious in a graphic (to the right) only 24 hours ago, and as of this writing, the graphic has been viewed over 2200 times on Facebook alone. (still climbing fast) We invite those who are here looking for information on this constitutional disaster to sift through a few pages on our site for all you need to know about the single biggest tax increase many of Michiganians will face in their lives.
And the argument is fierce. On one side we have the shills for the road industry pimping the YES vote, and the other side we have families who don’t much feel like picking out the switch so ‘daddy’ government can beat them down with an additional $500 a year in taxes.
Then there are the studies. Like the one published by the Mackinac Center’s James Hohman:
(17)Nuh Uh.(1)Is responsible for spending another $3,800,000,000,000 as of December, 2014 – busts out with the taxpayer funded knee pads for another golfer.
(10)Nuh Uh.(1)
