Regional 'payoffs' still ignore proper role of government.
Cronyism is now everywhere.
I have written at the beginning of Snyder’s terms that he was the guy who essentially brought the neu-cronyism to Michigan. He invented the current form, and served as its first overlord. Money spent in ways that used to invite constitutional challenges, now routinely passes through the sieve of Lansing into favored projects and could be expected to always get the blessing of the governor.
I doubt the new governor will do anything but enhance it’s reach as she attempts to cajole lawmakers from the ‘other side’ to embrace her sure-to-be bizarre mechanizations that raise the cost of government further. Sadly, it is a Republican legislature that continues to make this kind of thing happen:
$10M In Sports Funding Coming: Is Indoor Traverse City Sports Complex Next?
By Beth Milligan | Dec. 29, 2018
$10 million in state funding is headed to northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula to create a regional sports commission – an initiative that dovetails with an effort by Traverse City Tourism to explore opening a year-round indoor sports complex in Traverse City.
Governor Rick Snyder signed off Friday on two supplemental spending bills totaling $1.3 billion for numerous projects throughout the state, including road upgrades, contamination clean-up, and education initiatives. The bills – approved earlier this month by state lawmakers – also include funding for community projects throughout Michigan, including $10 million to establish the Northern Michigan Regional Tourism and Sports Fund and to create a Great Lakes Sports Commission.
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… Traverse City Tourism hired a consulting firm earlier this year to conduct a feasibility study on whether there is a need for such a facility in the area, how much it would cost to construct, and if it would be financially sustainable. The firm’s results are expected in January. But Traverse City Tourism President/CEO Trevor Tkach says preliminary findings “prove there is enough demand to run a cash-positive business if the facility gets built.”
Maybe “cash positive” means profit? Maybe, maybe not.
(8)Nuh Uh.
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In a move reportedly designed to head off a ballot initiative, a higher minimum wage was passed and signed by Governor Rick Snyder.
