Slotkin's Motives

Some folks .. even on the right had a concern with Mike Roger’s former National Security influence and connections. To…

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Conservative News, Cronyism, Democrats, Elections, Michigan Politics, Rent Seeking, Republicans

“Take a Vote, Not a Vacation”

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Remember the last time you heard those infamous words blasted in the Mitten? I do. We all ended up with Snydercaid Expansion. How did that work out? Well, now we have a Speaker of the House walking back on his $25 fee per insured vehicle he brazenly sneaked in to fund Snydercaid Expansion that he and SML Richardville, knew damned well was unfunded within a House proposal of allegedly lowering vehicle insurance rates, which coincidentally, the insurance industry is lobbying for just as they did with “no-fault” decades prior because… it would keep rates low.

OK, so? Where is this post going, CS?

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You Betcha! (14)Nuh Uh.(2)

Michigan Politics

Michigan’s Fictitious Budget Surplus, Our Roads, What to do with a so-called $1.3 Billion Surplus?

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Lawmakers at Work Pothole MoneyThe projected multi-year $1.3 billion dollar surplus will give lawmakers something to ponder. While the governor has proposed yet again taxing the citizenry, us common folks for the $1.2 Billion he says are needed for our roads.

The legislature, bless the hearts was so kind in allocating a paltry $215 Million out of this $1.3 Billion so-called budget surplus (Taxpayer Money) to repair the potholes that quit frankly are beyond repair. So I guess that is to tide over the problem till after the elections so they can pass a gas tax and vehicle registration fee increase without immediate election year repercussions!

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Michigan Politics

Minimum wage hikes may please crowds, but they kill jobs

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As Michigan’s economic comeback gains steam and the dismal decade of staggering job losses becomes just a bitter memory, along comes a group of people with good intentions – but terrible ideas – who would take Michigan backward. A coalition called Raise Michigan is launching a legislative initiative petition drive to raise Michigan’s minimum wage to $9.50 an hour. It’s a crowd-pleasing proposal for sure. The trouble is that it’s also a job-killing one.

Now let’s stipulate that academic research on the subject of how minimum wage increases effect employment levels are rather equivocal. It’s surprising that a subject that’s received this much attention has research findings that are so unclear. But let’s put that aside, because there’s actually little that studying minimum wage increases in the 70s, 80s and 90s can tell us. We’re simply in a different time.

Never has it been easier or more cost effective to substitute automation and self-service for employees. We see it all around us.

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Michigan Politics

The Looting Continues Unabated

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pure-somethingThere is an explanation I have always used for my sincerest dislike of the MEDC, its mission, and how it takes advantage of the taxpayer for political payoff.

“If a business owner finds it necessary to take taxpayer dollars to start, maintain, or expand their enterprise, then that business model is already in trouble.  If there is no NEED for the money to survive, then it is simply a matter of theft.”

Its hard to be any clearer than that.

Any politico who uses the term “Jobs created” when discussing the MEDC grants, is trying to justify the stealing that must happen first, and is central to the MEDC program. In the history of subsidizing business, one would think that the predictions of ‘job growth’ with accomplished results would speak for itself.  In fact,  one might think such mechanisms insofar as they are touted, would make the news at least once a month if not weekly as a raging human interest success worthy of celebration.

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You Betcha! (13)Nuh Uh.(2)

All the Other Stuff, Opinion, Philosophy

Parts By Mr Godwrench® Certified Mechanic

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nuts-boltsWhen placing a nut on a bolt, there is an axiomatic reality that must be observed; two nuts don’t go together, and likewise neither will two bolts.

Its not a function of discrimination, or the hating of the thought that no two similar pieces of hardware unite, but rather a simple fact that bolts require a nut to function properly, and conversely the nut needs a bolt.  The hardware is designed to mate and perform a function.  And because bolt on bolt action doesn’t work, doesn’t mean that those same Bolts cannot find a matching Nut.

Nut on Bolt is still perfectly legal and allowed by design.

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Elections, Michigan, Michigan Politics, Philosophy

The Way “The Game Is Played”

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What an interesting morning I had on a ‘day off’ from my normal routine of looking for something constructive to do with my day. While distributing Kris Anne Hall workshop flyers and soliciting donations for the D1 fundraiser, I stopped at a friend’s home and the coffee cup discussion immediately became local and State politics. The bane of the discussion was a phrase I have become increasingly disgusted with…”the way the ‘GAME’ is played”…Like it or not, to WIN…we have to PLAY!!!

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Michigan Politics, Opinion, Philosophy

Rhetoric and Scatology

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Those who know the basics about me are aware that I’m a native of Iosco County, specifically western Oscoda Township. Due to the nature of life in rural Northeast Michigan, I’ve also spent some time in and around various other parts of northern Iosco and southern Alcona Counties. Farms are a fact of life up there, and seeing, not to mention smelling, cows and/or horses is fairly common. I know what manure is primarily because I spent so much time stepping in it while attempting to impress the first girl I had a romantic interest in (long story, and it didn’t work out anyway).

It would appear to me that a certain education board candidate, who happens to have an agriculture background, is also quite familiar with manure. I say this because she’s been slinging it around quite a bit of late, most recently in a damage control effort that can only be described as a spin job.

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You Betcha! (12)Nuh Uh.(4)