By Jack McHugh
A contributor to the left-leaning Huffington Post argued last week that, despite its current demographic meltdown, Detroit faces a rosy future in the long run because of "the specter of thirst and hunger arising from a shortage of the world's most basic source of survival, H2O." Detroit will save the day, says the writer, because: "It's the Saudi Arabia of fresh water!"
Michael LaFaive, director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative, appeared on Detroit television station WDIV’s “FlashPoint” program Sunday morning as part of a panel discussion on Michigan’s film subsidy program. Author Mitch Albom also appeared on the program.
Michal LaFaive, director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative, was a guest March 25 on “The Brian Wilson Show” on WSPD AM-1370 in Toledo. He discussed the tax and financial reforms Gov. Rick Snyder is pursuing, as well as what needs to be done to correct the fiscal, regulatory and educational problems facing the city of Detroit. You can listen to the interview here.
Addressing health care costs and privatizing noninstructional services could help public school districts more than make up for minor per-pupil funding cuts, Education Policy Director Michael Van Beek told the Detroit Free Press.
“The fiscal reality for school districts is that the majority of their budgets are tied up in labor costs,” Van Beek said. “They need to get into those contracts and address rising costs.”
Every week, MichiganVotes.org sends a report on interesting votes and bills in the Michigan Legislature, and includes how each legislator voted. To find out who your state senator is and how to contact him or her go here; for state representatives go here.
Yesterday, we reported that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal had joined his colleagues in Florida and Georgia in rejecting the ObamaCare mandate that states create a heavily-regulated health insurance "exchange." Further Bayou State progress was reported in Politico's PULSE this morning:
Michigan State University President Lou Ann Simon has characterized proposed state aid cuts as "brutal," although she gamely acknowledges "We can make this work."
They probably can. Although news stories focus on "headline" numbers, such as "a 21 percent cut" (or smaller if the university restrains tuition hikes), the reality is less dire.
Former Gov. Jennifer Granholm has joined the Pew Charitable Trusts as a senior adviser on energy. Perhaps her job title should read: Advocate for Government Subsidies and Mandates. According to a report in The Detroit News, Granholm says: “I’m not going to talk about cap-and-trade. I’m not going to talk about global warming,” Instead she said she will focus on green jobs.
In response to reports that MEA is preparing to wage a statewide work stoppage as a protest against changes to the Emergency Financial Manager law, Representatives Paul Scott and Bill Rogers have introduced a two-bill package that increases penalties for striking teachers while streamlining the process of determining which teachers are subject to fines. In particular, striking teachers will put their teaching licenses at risk if the proposals are passed. The legislation is a positive step, but if the Legislature really wants to put an end to strike talk, there’s one more step that the state needs to take.
The Michigan Education Association is asking its members to authorize “crisis activities” that could result in a “statewide work stoppage.” Michigan Capitol Confidential broke this story last Wednesday.
Since government employees are forbidden by law to strike and can be fired for doing so, school employees participating in a strike would be risking their livelihoods.
By Jack McHugh
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has made his the third state to unambiguously reject the ObamaCare mandate to create a state insurance “exchange.” Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal have previously said they will not impose these heavily regulated and price-controlled insurance market exchanges on their citizenry.
I've just been to Rome and seen your automotive future, as decreed by our current emperor, senate and praetorian EPA:
The cops aren't going to be very happy about it either:
How much land should the Michigan Department of Natural Resources own or control?
Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, has introduced legislation that caps the amount of land the DNR can own. Senate Bill 248 stipulates: “The Department shall not acquire surfaces rights to land if the Department owns or controls, or as a result of the acquisition will own or control, the surface rights to more than 4,475,000 acres of land. The Department shall post and maintain on its website the number of acres of land owned by the department, in total, and by program.”
Bruce Walker, former managing editor of MichiganScience and currently the managing editor of the Heartland Institute’s InfoTech and Telecom News, writes in Tuesday’s Washington Times that true fans of National Public Radio would be more than happy to pay for the service in order to replace government subsidies.
From Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute:
Businesses throughout the state consistently told former Gov. Jennifer Granholm that obtaining required environmental permits from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was an expensive, time consuming and frustrating experience. The former governor refused to make any meaningful regulatory reforms and arguably made matters worse by combining the DEQ and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources into one agency in the waning days of her administration.
Michigan residents opposed to Gov. Rick Snyder’s budget reforms are looking at the situation from the wrong angle, a Mackinac Center analyst told The Wall Street Journal.
“Many of the protesters seem to think the war is between rich and poor,” said Michael LaFaive, director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative. “But the real class war today is between government and the people who pay for it. And the government’s been winning.”
A push by the UAW to regain perks it gave up to help Ford avoid bankruptcy could mean the American automotive industry is “drifting toward the habits” that pushed it toward bankruptcy in the first place, according to Fox News.
Senior Economist David Littmann told Fox, “All the bad habits are going to be on the table for restoration,” including the cost of health care benefits. Littmann also addressed this issue here.
Mackinac Center President Joseph G. Lehman in a column for Dome Magazine said that Gov. Rick Snyder thus far has had a “promising debut,” especially on matters of fiscal policy and taxes, but must be “equally strong on regulatory and union matters” for Michigan to succeed.
Paul Kersey, director of labor policy, was cited in two national publications over the weekend.
The Washington Times reported on the MEA’s call for an illegal teachers strike. “I don’t think the (Gov.) Snyder administration or school boards can dismiss this as a bluff,” Kersey said. “They (the MEA) are very well-financed and deeply entrenched in the school districts.”
Robert Bobb has faced a multitude of challenges in his two years as emergency financial manager of Detroit Public Schools, a Mackinac Center analyst told the Associated Press.
“He has a school board that has taken him to court — and won; a recalcitrant teachers union that promises to file grievances. Then he has people within Detroit neighborhoods who don’t want to see schools shuttered,” said Michael Van Beek, director of education policy. “There are so many competing interests within the Detroit Public Schools, you kind of have to throw a lot of different stuff against the wall to see what sticks.”
The latest news on the union corruption front, courtesy of our friends at the Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards…
On Feb.15, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Deidra Lucas, former president of American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 100 (located in Pontiac), was sentenced to time already served (one day) and three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to complete 50 hours of community service and pay restitution of $39,403 and a $100 special assessment. On Oct. 14, 2010, Lucas pled guilty to one count of embezzling $5,283.20 of union funds. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Detroit District Office.
Every week, MichiganVotes.org sends a report on interesting votes and bills in the Michigan Legislature, and includes how each legislator voted. To find out who your state senator is and how to contact him or her go here; for state representatives go here.
Robert Striebel, executive vice president of Hart Enterprises in Sparta, was surprised when a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality inspector arrived at the facility unannounced and informed him she was there to do an air quality inspection. Hart Enterprises, which manufactures precision medical devices, is not required to have an air quality permit. Striebel said the DEQ inspector informed him that no complaint had been filed, but “since many larger companies are now out of business they have time to investigate smaller companies.”
The laws that govern the freedom of information and the openness of government proceedings in Michigan create a political environment that “makes the process more fair,” Patrick Wright, director of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, told the Port Huron Times-Herald for a story celebrating Sunshine Week 2011.
