Last night.
Michigan
Cronyism, Democrats, Michigan, Opinion, Part Time Legislature, Rent Seeking, Republicans
Day by Day the Irony Grows Thicker
by Corinthian Scales • • 0 Comments
Prop 1 Unpopularity to Voters was Unprecedented
‘We can elect Democrats and get that result’
Go read for yourself.
All I’m going to say about Snyder’s SRY Team is, does it take a $100k contribution to sit at the table?
Now, we return you to regularly scheduled blame the other Party programming…
Cronyism, Michigan, Opinion
Another 500+ Snyder Pardons on the way?
by Corinthian Scales • • 1 Comment
Go, HERE.
Just $aying what’$ good for the golden goo$e should be good for every Michigander, right?
Snyder spokesman Dave Murray said Thursday. “The earlier mistake they made was holding them back from a job, a passport.”
Really? Is that so? Despicable.
But, well-informed RightMi.com readers already knew about that.
Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy, Republicans
Reconciliation To End Obamacare
by Jason • • 1 Comment
Dear Congressmen, you have not done everything in your power yet. The End.
Lying liars.
Frankly that is the first description I have for the Republican Congress critters who have assumed their positions of power in the last few years. Especially given that there have been several ways to stop Obamacare in its tracks; up to, and including impeachment for executive authority run amuck.
Heritage makes a point that there is STILL a way to effectively repeal the ACA, aka: Obamacare. It is called reconciliation, and it merely requires a majority vote in the Senate.
Dan Benishek – Put Up Or STFU. I name you specifically, because you are my congress critter. You are also arguably the most ignorant in Michigan of the power that congress wields. Get this message across to the senate Republicans or get lost. If you leave office and have not even tried to own up to the multiple promises you have made with regard to appeal of the ACA, then you are as much of a worthless liar and cheat as the president.
H/T Abigail
Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Detroit, Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Republicans, Taxes
Plan B – A Philosophy
by 10x25MM • • 7 Comments
Spending Money Is Not Leadership
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.
Michigan, Opinion
Run Rick, Run!!!
by Corinthian Scales • • 1 Comment
Shut up, bur-head. ANYTHING to get the a****** out of Michigan.
A-n-y-t-h-i-n-g
Michigan, Michigan Politics
Who let the Dogs out???
by Tom Backers • • 13 Comments
Woof!…woof…woof, woof!!!
Today on Patriot Voice Radio, “Your Defending Fathers” got a bit carried away with the ‘thrill’ of victory…Trucker Randy evidently told the folks in northern Michigan about plans being laid to recall State Senator Wayne Schmidt…This is not new, as of the August primary campaign many of us paying attention to it were absolutely disgusted with then Representative (104) Schmidt’s campaign practices, and his insistence in his ads that he was a true conservative with conservative values…We know this is a blatant, arrogant lie…The only fly in our ointment is the timing, as we were on schedule to launch the recall organizational effort in August, to be totally prepared for an all out effort to get the recall on a statewide ballot by May of 2016…
After today’s radio program, my phone never stopped ringing, three calls from around the State from people who heard the broadcast, three conversations with Mr. Bishop, and then a blind call from a reporter at MIRS to confirm the effort…busy day…As this is now in the public forum, and supposedly in the news statewide, I feel obligated to confirm the facts of the matter and dispel any rumors to the contrary…We will be mounting an effort to remove State Senator Wayne Schmidt from office…The abysmal failure of Prop 1 yesterday shows support for conservative, common sense government in Michigan on a scale we could only imagine…The architect of this fiasco…one Senator Schmidt…
His record as Chair of the House Transportation Committee will be documented in following articles, where they may be checked for accuracy and authenticity…His sponsorship and support of Prop 1 will be duly noted as well, and his penchant for expanding government at ever increasing taxpayer expense will be exposed for anyone who cares to follow the course of this effort…Every phase of the recall procedure will be published, and released to the media…We may fail in the effort, but the mere attempt should put Wayne (as I like to call him) and all other legislators on notice…We will no longer stand by and watch as our government destroys the people they are Oath bound to serve…We’re NOT going away…
The Wayne Schmidt recall effort has now formally begun, May 6th, 2015…
Tom Backers
Committee to recall Wayne Schmidt (Not yet organized)
Michigan, Opinion, Part Time Legislature, Taxes
Pssst! Hey Lansing?
by Corinthian Scales • • 4 Comments
Yes, I said Lansing, because, well, it took complete Republican control 4 years, 5 months, 5 days and $10 Million of our dollars to do absolutely nothing about our roads.
I’ll also remind readers that both the current Senate Majority Leader, and Speaker of the House, voted for and promoted Proposal 1 – Not One County Approved – by a devastating margin. That means for those elected ‘public servants’ in Lansing… with a rusty chainsaw.
Now, you boys and girls playing politician want to keep screwing around gouging us while shirking basic duties?
What’s most offensive is that voters were put in this position at all.
Road repair is a basic part of any state budget, one that the other states — 46 of them with part-time legislatures — are able to manage. There’s no excuse for underfunding our roads.
Our state budget increased $4.7 billion, nearly 10%, from fiscal years 2012 to 2015. New money was there: It just wasn’t spent on roads.
We’ll all be in Lansing if you keep it up. Sorry, former Rep. McMillin, but simply throwing more money at MDOT is not the complete solution and inspires others to consider that the path of least resistance answer.
Speaker @Rep_Cotter on new taxes: “I don’t want to rule it out because I think that’s just irresponsible.” #MiProp1 #miLEG
— Chad Livengood (@ChadLivengood) May 6, 2015
No more tax hikes – No more excuses.
Kirk Steudle? Fire or prosecute… preferably both. Really, a missing bridge?
Rep. Pettalia, and Sen. Casperson, you’re both a disgrace. So is Schuette’s Public Integrity Unit.
The Nerd’s Ann Arbor SPARK clique days of maxing-out contracts are breathing its WALLY scheme death rattle. Complete Streets? Repeal that wasteful garbage. Neuter the MDOT bureaucracy. Streetscaping? NO. Michigan is underwater $7,500+ per head, and has yet another money vacuum waiting, which was aided by ineffectual state control.
Fix the goddam roads. Full stop.
Ps. we’ll see you Nerd bootlickers soon on your bullshit costly energy package…
Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Proposal 15-1, Taxes
Now What???…
by Tom Backers • • 0 Comments
Plan "B"...
Here 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???…
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.
by KG One • • 0 Comments
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.