"Democrats are making a pre-election pitch to give Social Security recipients a one-time payment of $250, part of a larger effort to convince senior voters that their party, and not Republicans, will best look out for the 58 million people who get the government retirement and disability benefits." — Associated Press
Today's Grand Rapids Press adds important details to a story Michigan Capitol Confidential reported on Oct. 13 about Kevin O'Neill, superintendent of the Coopersville School District, whose annual compensation totals $311,034. That's the third-highest in the state and comes to $120 per student in the district of 2,600. The Press's Dave Murray reports today that when the paper asked local school districts in 2009 to report how much they paid their superintendents, Coopersville and O'Neill under-reported his 2008 pay by $40,000.
Mackinac Center President Joe Lehman explains why a constitutional convention is not the answer to Michigan's fiscal, labor and regulatory problems in this Op-Ed in the Detroit Free Press today.
He addresses the issue more in-depth here, while Senior Legislative Analyst Jack McHugh addresses it here.
Big news was made recently when McDonald's announced it may have to end its "mini-med" healthcare plans that cover nearly 30,000 employees. These low-cost, limited benefit plans are aimed at temporary workers designed for companies with high worker turnover. As a result, the overhead costs are too high as applied under ObamaCare regulations.
"Hydraulic fracturing" or "fracking" is a new natural gas extraction technnique that promises to revolutionize America's energy future. Until just a couple years ago gas reserves had been falling here and the country was on track to becoming a net importer. Almost overnight the new method has miraculously turned that around, and now reserves of this clean-burning fuel are projected to cover current consumption levels for as much as a century. This is truly fabulous news for our nation.
The greatest power of government to affect the daily lives of Americans may be wielded by federal, state and local regulatory officials who never stand for election. Environmental regulatory actions by the U.S. EPA serve as a stark reminder of the power of the administrative state. EPA utilizes rulemaking and administrative fiat to determine the kind of vehicles we drive, how much we pay for energy to heat our homes and power our factories and what types of appliances and light bulbs we can buy.
Many school boards around the state are attempting to renegotiate current contracts or negotiate new ones with their local teachers unions to contain costs. Here's a brief recap of some of the new contracts agreed to recently.
North Muskegon: Under a new two-year contract teachers will get a 2 percent across-the-board salary increase this year and either a 1.5 or 2 percent increase in 2011-2012. The second year raise is dependent on the district's fund balance level. Teachers will still contribute nothing toward to the cost of their own health coverage, which includes medical, vision, dental and life insurance; those covered under a spouse's insurance will continue to get a stipend equal to the cost of a one-person plan. However, a $5/$10 prescription drug co-pay will increase to $10/$20. In 2009, health insurance coverage cost the district $15,761 per employee. For more information, click here.
This recent Michigan Capitol Confidential story by Managing Editor Ken Braun formed the basis for this editorial in The Detroit News.
The article documents how Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Michigan Legislature raid special funds that are paid for with user fees in order to use the money in the general fund to solve overspending crises that governor and legislators themselves create.
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson was the keynote speaker Thursday night at an event sponsored by the Mackinac Center in metro Detroit.
The Oakland County Examiner interviewed him prior to his talk, which was titled "What Michigan's Next Governor Can Learn From Oakland County."
WPBN-WTOM Channels 7&4 in Traverse City is reporting that the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation has filed a motion for reconsideration with the Michigan Court of Appeals in an effort to end the illegal, forced unionization of home-based day care operators.
The average teacher salary in Charlotte Public Schools was $52,408 in 2009, and most teachers paid less than 2 percent of the cost of their health insurance premium. The district also pays between $300 and $500 per month to employees for simply not enrolling in the school health insurance plan. These are among the highlights in the current collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the district and the local arm of the Michigan Education Association union.
Detroit's current "light rail" system has been called a "Horizontal Elevator to Nowhere" and the "least cost-effective transit project in the last 20 years." So what's the response to this epic disaster of central planning from the political class? To build more, of course.
The National Taxpayer's Union has just released a 2010 election guide called "The Taxpayer's Perspective" that lists every local millage election in the states by county. Each is given a "plus" or "minus" sign rating based on whether it "could lower taxes or control government" or "raise taxes or expand government." The report is online here; scroll to "Michigan."
On Wednesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it will allow an increase from 10 percent to 15 percent in the amount of ethanol blend in gasoline. The catch: The 15 percent blend is only for light passenger vehicles manufactured in 2007 or later. This is certainly good news for mechanics, who can expect more engine repair work when confused motorists inadvertently pump E15 fuel into older cars that are not designed to handle fuel with this much ethanol. Ethanol is more corrosive than gasoline, and a higher blend of the corn-derived fuel is likely to damage older engines. It is unclear that even motorists with newer vehicles will want to use E15, since it would void their warranties unless their vehicle is E85 capable. One can only imagine how many lawsuits will be filed by angry drivers.
The average teacher salary in Forest Hills Public Schools was $64,460 in 2009, and teachers contributed nothing towards the cost of their health insurance (the state average is about 20 percent). The district also pays $41 per month to teachers who do not enroll in the school health insurance plan. These are among the highlights in the current collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the district and the local arm of the Michigan Education Association union.
By now the main themes of 'Waiting for Superman' should all be familiar to Mackinac Center’s readers: the overwhelming bureaucracy one inevitably finds in any large government operation, the perverse incentives – disincentives really – created by tenure, the pitfalls of monopolization, and above all the brooding omnipresence of teachers unions. Director Davis Guggenheim adds some new examples and a few details that are worth the time, but the really interesting thing about Superman is the implications for progressives, who appear to be approaching a time for making painful decisions.
The city of Pontiac has announced it intends to disband its own police force in favor of contracting out with the Oakland County Sheriff, an idea first recommended by the Mackinac Center in 2006.
The Detroit News today is reporting today that the transition to Oakland County policing could occur as early as December. The city is expected to save $2 million annually. This is far from the first instance of a municipality contracting with a county Sheriff for police services. Several cities in Oakland County already do, and the Macomb city of Mt. Clemens told the Mackinac Center that doing so kept the city from dire financial straits.
The total compensation for 165 teachers in the Garden City Public Schools exceeded $100,000 in 2009, and employees make zero contribution to the health insurance provided them by the district, which for a family plan runs about $18,400. These are among the highlights in the current collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the district and the local arm of the Michigan Education Association union.
Michigan and local taxpayers provided the West Bloomfield School District with more than $13,500 per student in 2008-2009, yet it still faces a $1.7 million deficit this year and $3.8 million next year. Employee compensation makes up 85 percent of the budget, so the district has asked teachers to help close the gap with revisions to their union contract. Their response was to picket, which they did Monday night.
The Washington Examiner and San Jose Mercury News both recently cited Mike LaFaive, director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative, about the need for transparency within government-run economic development programs.
LaFaive has addressed this issue before, including in a policy brief titled "MEGA, the MEDC and the Loss of Sunshine." Other Center analysts have written about the problem, including here and here.
Voters who favor Proposal 1, calling for a constitutional convention, on the November ballot as a way to solve Michigan's problems are misdirecting their anger, according to a Mackinac Center analyst.
"(Michigan's) problems aren't caused by the constitution, nor can they be fixed by it," Jack McHugh, senior legislative analyst, told MLive.com. "The desire to rearrange the institutional furniture is a cry of frustration, not a plausible means of fixing the underlying problems."
Gongwer News Service (subscription required) reports that Gov. Jennifer Granholm is unhappy that a new economic forecast estimates that Michigan will start adding jobs next year. It reports:
"The bummer for me is that date," she said, noting the job growth would begin the year after she leaves office. The state has seen only net job losses during her term.
The headline of a story in today's Detroit Free Press characterizes Gov. Jennifer Granholm's understanding of the state film production subsidies: "Goal of film tax credit is jobs, not more revenue."
There's a story from the 1960s about the late economist Milton Friedman visiting a large public works project in a third world country that was funded by U.S. foreign aid. Given the substantial investment, the famous economist was surprised to see thousands of men with shovels moving dirt one spadeful at a time. He asked his host, "Why don't they use bulldozers?"
After a successful run at the Sundance Film Festival and openings in New York and Los Angeles, the documentary “Waiting for Superman” makes its Detroit-area debut this weekend at the Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak. The film, which documents the failings of public school systems throughout the country, is apparently less than complimentary towards teacher unions. (Yours truly will have a review early next week.)
When most people talk about the government redistributing wealth, it involves money being taken from those who have more and being given to those who have less, such as with entitlement programs.
That has taken a new twist that few would have predicted with lavish government subsidies for purchasing electric vehicles. The New York Times reports that 20,000 people have reserved a Nissan Leaf, a new all-electric vehicle. Nissan expects the typical Leaf buyer to be affluent, college-educated consumers in their mid-40s. The Feds are granting a $7,500 tax credit as well as $3,000 home-charging unit provided free of cost. On top of this Tennessee, where the Leaf is built, is offering free public charging stations along its freeway system and $2,500 cash rebates. Legislation has been introduced in Michigan that would also provide perks for electric car owners.
