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Cronyism, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Proposal 15-1, Rent Seeking, Republicans

Snyder’s Not A Political Guy

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Certainly, 'politics' has been the buzzword for what should be completely accepted as simple coincidence.

gas-tax-hike-snyderRight?

Some amazing things have happened over the last couple of years.  A transparency bill that had 100% support in both houses was vetoed; likely because of its implication of deals going down with Canada on the international trade crossing.  The only other way besides political pressure to stop an override of the veto would literally be a gun to the head of our legislative leaders; and we know that didn’t happen did it?

Somehow, his legislative lapdogs (Bolger and Richardville) still pushed through (against caucus desire) the medicaid expansion which has an even more threatening effect on Michigan’s treasury.  Again, seeing no open coercion, it seems he was able to get his way quite easily.

Now in lame duck, all bets are off for a couple of moves that are sure to keep the crony friends of Rick Snyder rolling in dough.  Randy Richardville has moved forward on a monster GAS-TAX increase that will stuff the wallets of a lot of contractors, put steam in train engines, and make all the bike riders ‘complete’ly happy.  I don’t even need to drop the links on those; you know we’ve talked about it before.

But what pray tell might be the payoff for Richardville?  What might he see for his part in sticking it to the taxpayer of Michigan? Well certainly he has been shtooping us for the love of shtooping, right? But I would wager that if the interviews for the following happened last Wednesday as they were supposed to, I’ll bet you can guess what happens next.

Lets lay it out there.   There is an open district judge position in Novi. Over 30 people applied for the gubernatorial appointment, which is expected this month. On Wednesday the governor’s office was interviewing the five finalists. They are:

  • Marsha Kosmatka
  • Beth Hand
  • Gary Klein
  • Lori Fitzpatrick Timar
  • Margaret Scott
Guess which one is Randy Richardvilles special friend?  Here is a clue: It AINT the guy, and she doesn’t even live in the judicial district (psst ..I think she lives over in Birmingham)
Of course..  I could be proven wrong. The clock is a ticking, and there are so many more Michiganites waiting to be screwed.

 

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All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Republicans

McMillin Farewell Remarks

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A great big THANK YOU to a rock solid friend of the constitution and conservatism!

Tom McMillin would have been an outstanding congressman.

Though we have some incredible voices joining the Michigan legislature this upcoming session, we will be losing one that is unique and irreplaceable. Tom McMillin has been a stalwart conservative voice in Lansing, has put his himself out in front to keep taxes low, fight the crony capitalism that seems to be the force majuere of our executive branch, and lead in the DOMA battle.   Much of it knowing the battle was lost before it began.

We will miss him as the true representative of appropriate governance, and a fine example of the best this state has to offer.

Thank you Tom.

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Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Rent Seeking, Republicans

So You Want To Buy Something?

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So far, second thoughts might keep the additional burdens of doing business in Michigan at bay.

I have lost some big sales in other states because of ‘Amazon Laws’ in the past few years.

Its an amazing thing that happens when your cost of doing business in a state goes up by 10%. (Michigan will be 6%) You lose customers, they pay more, or you eat the costs.  The first option is of course the worst of the three, but when profit margins range between 15-20%, 10 points represents at least HALF the profits, and can be discouraging to even attempting to sell.

California has some of the most used shipping ports, so its natural that many warehouses are located there. It also has quite a large population.  Our business has historically sold more to California customers, than those in Michigan. But a few years ago, I was notified by one of my suppliers who drop ships for me in that state, that unless they had an exemption form on file for the customers, they would have to charge an additional 10% for the product to cover THEIR tax liability; CA Sales tax being 8% and an additional 25% tax for assumed mark-up.

I had a choice.  I could in some cases ship product all the way here, then ship all the way back, and salvage a few pennies, OR I could simply find a supplier for similar product in other state warehouses willing to ship to California.  The unnatural commerce that had to evolve (and quickly), wound up raising the cost of doing business.  It raised the cost and in some cases slowed service for the customers in California who were STILL expected to report their ‘USE tax.’

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Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy, Republicans

Credit Where Due

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We applaud our Attorney General for opposing Obama's illegal acts.

Ilegal_AliensMichigan is a border state.

We have also been blessed with planned migration of illegal children, and causing what I believe to be an outbreak of disease we have not seen in decades.  Then taking the immigration action the fraud-in-chief has perpetrated into account, its about damned time we do something as a state to fight back. Its not like we haven’t been encouraging it, right?

Yup, Its bad enough our congressional delegation hasn’t done JACK.  But I guess a limit was finally reached in Lansing.  From an Attorney General’s Office release:

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today joined a lawsuit brought by attorneys general and governors from 20 other states to challenge the President’s recent unilateral executive order on immigration.

“America deserves a hopeful immigration policy. Throughout our history, America has provided a beacon of hope across the world. But the President’s unilateral executive order on immigration, bypassing Congress, is constitutionally flawed,” said Schuette.

The States’ complaint was filed by Texas in Federal District Court and was immediately followed by a request for a preliminary injunction. The multistate coalition includes Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Good start.

Read the States’ motion for a preliminary injunction filed on December 04, 2014, HERE.

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All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Cronyism, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy, Proposal 15-1, Republicans

Hey, who wants to pay a higher gas tax?

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“It’s a first step. It’s a big step – don’t get me wrong. In a bipartisan way, the Michigan Senate was ready to say, `We want to fix roads and we’ll take tough votes to do it,”‘ said Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, a Monroe Republican.

“What I would say is the House action doesn’t get us there fast enough or far enough. It also creates major consequences to schools and local partners — that I don’t want to see negative things happen to them,” said Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

And these guys are “republicans”?

So, who’s thirsty?

{Not to fear, more below the fold}

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All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Cronyism, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Rent Seeking, Republicans

Kowall & VerHeulen Pushing MORE Regulation On Michigan

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Big Box retailers have found foot soldiers willing to do bidding in HUGE rent seek.

Kowall-Verheulen-TaxersHeads up!

Word on the street is that HB 4202 and HB 4203 are on the schedule for second reading today in the Michigan House of Representatives. That means it would be up for FINAL PASSAGE tomorrow. You can read below all the details about the bills. Bottom line, if they are enacted, you will be paying MORE taxes.

Please take a moment and contact your representative today. Let your opinion be known! These phone calls and emails do matter. They do affect how a representative votes.

Find your representative’s contact information here.

We will keep you posted of the progress (or lack therof) of these bills tomorrow.

House Bills 4202 (Kowall-R), and 4203 (VerHeulen-R), will impose new taxes on consumers in Michigan and will further burden online sellers, especially the mom and pop shops that operate out of a small store front office or the business owners home. They will be subjected by government to an abundance of new compliance requirements. It will stifle competition as many smaller competitors to the big guys (like Amazon) will likely be forced to downsize or worse yet, go out of business.

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All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Opinion, Republicans

While The Commerce Committee Is Deliberating

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Perhaps we take a moment and reflect on a little history of Michigan and how things happen?

JuleaWardLets talk about Julea Ward.

Who is she?  And why should she be the topic of the day?  Without reading any further, how many of Right Michigan’s regular readers recall her name?   Take your time, but don’t forget to act when you are through here, OK?

In April of 2009, the Blog Prof posted something that was out of the ballpark nuts on the pages of RightMichigan.com.  Not “nuts” because HE was wrong, but rather from being the telltale sign of things to come.  One of our publicly funded Universities threatened to END Miss Ward’s career, unless she submit to a regimen of homophilia.  As the prof’s prop of choice asked then, “What the hell is going on out here!”

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Cronyism, Detroit, Michigan, Rent Seeking, Republicans

Seems About Right

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The Michigan Senate Majority Leader gives 'honest cops' a good name.

And we haven’t even started the ‘Cotton’ picking.

When we start wondering about the passage of hospital related legislation in the state senate, perhaps we simply consider the source of the new legislation to be only as old as government itself. Something as simple as power brokering through backroom deals and a few well placed donations can alter public policy.  We have seen how the $100,000 given to Jase Bolger has brought about the threat of the unthinkable changes to the Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act.  Even now we should be looking at the reasons for our gas taxes being raised as well.

Though I disagree with bed counts and certificates of need, pushing legislation for ‘good friends’ specific projects violates the spirit of equal opportunity under the law.  Specific legislation that benefits donors as a result of donations offered, ought to be considered criminal if not already.

So when we see 2014 Senate Bill 1073 (Granting medical facility rationing exception to McLaren Health Systems Introduced by Sen. Randy Richardville (R) on September 11, 2014)  to authorize a special exception to the health care facility rationing imposed by the state’s “Certificate of Need” law?  We should be concerned.

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Conservative News, Elections, Michigan Politics, Proposal 15-1, Republicans

Citizens Threaten To Recall Rep. Kurt Heise

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Kurt Heise Will Pay For Breaking Campaign Promise

Republican activists threaten a recall of Rep. Heise if he votes to double gasoline taxes.

Republican activists threaten a recall of Rep. Heise if he votes to double gasoline taxes.

Rhetoric has been getting heated recently as the Michigan House of Representatives prepares to vote on a bill which would raise gasoline taxes by $1 billion annually.The focus of much of that heated rhetoric is Kurt Heise, the Republican representing Canton, Plymouth, and Northville in the State House.”Some activists are talking about recalling Kurt Heise if he votes to double the gas tax” said Ignacio Marques, a Republican Precinct Delegate in Canton. “Heise already broke his campaign promise to lower taxes when he voted for similar bills hiking gasoline and vehicle registration taxes in the past – we can’t let him get away with it again.”

This would not be the first time citizens attempt to recall a State Representative from the 20th House District. In 2008, State Rep. Marc Corriveau (D-Northville) faced a recall over his vote for higher taxes.

More recently in 2014, recall petitions were filed against several Plymouth Township Board Trustees.

Whether or not recall petitions will be filed against Rep. Heise remains to be seen, however.

“We will only go through with this if he votes for the tax hike,” Marques said. “But we are fully prepared to get the necessary amount of signatures to force a recall election if Heise breaks his campaign promise against higher taxes one more time.”

The bill, which passed the State Senate, will replace the flat gasoline tax of 19 cents per gallon with a higher wholesale tax. Under the new wholesale tax, state gasoline taxes could rise to 41 cents per gallon by 2018.
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All the Other Stuff, Conservative News, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy, Republicans

The Most Amazing Wedgie

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Hide your lunch money. The DC Schoolyard bully Strikes again.

boehner-wedgie435 US House of Representative members including 234 Republicans were simultaneously given a fanny flossing by the POTUS last night.

The president, in one of the boldest moves yet, did an in-your-face to our sitting elected representatives, the likes of which have never been seen in our nation before.  Picture a petulant child walking up to mom with a Mr. Microphone, calmly telling her to go shtump herself then drop the mic on the floor in a classic you-have-been-served moment.  Though our Congress is not exactly saying “oh what a precious child,” they are enabling the president’s current action, and making future actions likely worse by not putting him over the knee and giving him the red bottom spanking he so desperately needs.

But it should somehow not surprise us that nothing will be done. Especially when our own state elected politicians hardly understand the scope of what this president has done to the constitution.  The president has been recycling the parchment as toilet paper multiple times, yet even our AG’s response is weak as he responds:

“America must have a hopeful immigration policy, a policy of inclusion not exclusion.  America’s door of opportunity must be open to new citizens.  The door to America’s unique experiment of freedom and enterprise must be open and welcoming to new Americans.

However, President Obama seems to be more interested in gamesmanship and litigation than working on bipartisan solutions to immigration reform.  By ignoring Congress and stretching Executive Orders beyond Constitutional limits, President Obama is clearly playing politics instead of providing lawful solutions to immigration challenges.  The result is gridlock and lawsuits, just what the American people voted against in 2014″

This ain’t “politics” bubba.

This is an outright gauntlet thrown down.  This is the gloves pulled off, slapped face, pee-in-your-cheerios, challenge to a duel.

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