The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation yesterday filed a motion to reconsider with the Michigan Court of Appeals over that court's dismissal of the foundation's lawsuit against the Department of Human Services.
According to the Livingston Daily Press & Argus, the DHS claims people who own home-based day care businesses are "government employees because they care for children whose parents qualify for government assistance with day care."
Americans are optimistic by nature, at least until recently when they have become increasingly worried about the direction the country is headed and what that means for our children's future. Nowhere is our national optimism more apparent than in quest for perpetual motion through the electrification of the automobile. Quoting from an article that appeared in the Detroit Free Press: "[C]ompanies are searching for a billion-dollar breakthrough in battery design. General Dynamics is working on a zinc-air cell battery. Ford is actively interested in a sodium-sulfur cell. Gulton Industries and General Motors are tinkering with lithium — nickel and lithium — chlorine. Westinghouse is in the act. The Edison Electric Institute is all charged up. All the activity is bound to pay off probably within the next five years — in the production of an electric car that would meet minimum design requirements."
The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation continues its quest for answers in the day care scheme being perpetrated by the Michigan Department of Human Services and a so-called home child care union by filing a motion with the Court of Appeals to reconsider its curt dismissal of Dec. 30, 2009.
Two Mackinac Center scholars have been invited to participate in a "Great Lakes Bay Region Summit" to discuss public school funding in Michigan.
Michael Van Beek, director of education policy, has done extensive research on this issue and was invited to address the State Board of Education on the matter last week.
Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is trying to make people "drive further and further, just to receive assistance," according to state Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw, who says his fellow Republican should focus her attention instead on "bringing services closer to the people." Kahn's criticisms were directed at the Dept. of State's ongoing Branch Office Modernization Program, which aims to save scarce taxpayer dollars by consolidating branches into fewer, but more technically-savvy and customer-friendly, locations. For Kahn's district, this means the loss of a branch in Frankenmuth and enhanced services at another in Saginaw — decision that Kahn calls "a mistake," but that Land's office defines as "fiscal responsibility."
Earlier today Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop released a reform agenda on behalf of his caucus. The agenda, which is directed at state spending and the overall cost of government, makes some potentially important changes to government-employee compensation. Among them: a 5 percent across-the-board wage cut, a new requirement that public employees contribute 20 percent of the cost of health care and an expedited binding-arbitration rule for police and firefighters. In addition, the package sets limits on school districts noninstructional costs and encourages privatization, a proposal with serious implications for school employees. The agenda is available at the GOP Senate Caucus Web site.
Behold the Cadillac Tax, a shining example of interest-group horse-trading. As a means of funding the Obama administration’s health-care proposal, the Senate passed a tax on the most expensive private health-care plans. The tax of 40 percent on premiums of over $8,500 (or $23,000 for family plans) is technically supposed to be paid by health insurers themselves, but union officials, in a notable exercise of economic literacy, recognized that the costs would be passed on to consumers, and that many of their members, who have pretty generous health care plans of their own, would wind up indirectly paying the tax.
Lansing policymakers are discussing plans to shift taxes around and are being supported by some faulty observations. Some of them made their way into a column by Susan Demas in The Detroit News. She noted, "Michiganders have gone from paying 9.5 percent of their incomes in taxes in 1999 to 7 percent today."
Therapists are reporting an increase in green disputes between couples and family members, according to the Jan. 17 edition of The New York Times. Linda Buzzell, a family and marriage therapist, is quoted in the article: "The danger arises when one partner undergoes an environmental 'waking up' process way before the other, leaving a new values gap between them." For many, "being green" has become their religion of choice. One of the Webster Dictionary definitions of religion is: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith. This reminds me of sage advice many of us received from our parents — to avoid conflict, do not discuss politics or religion with family, friends or strangers.
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is going to crack down on the owners of homes the city has demolished, according to The Detroit News. The paper reports:
After years of failing even to send bills for costs, the city soon plans to begin filing suits against the owners of the 40 most expensive demolitions of the past six years. ...
The forced unionization of home-based day care providers is finally drawing the attention of state legislators.
"It created another layer of bureaucracy that seems to leave the providers themselves without the benefits they deserve for the services they provided," Rep. John Proos, R- St. Joseph, told the Livingston Daily Press & Argus.
The School Aid Fund, the mechanism through which millions of taxpayer dollars flow to public schools, is perpetually in trouble according to some. The SAF makes up a large portion of Michigan's overall budget, which also is in a constant state of "deficit," according to some. Mackinac Center scholars take a deeper look at these issues.
A last bit of leftover business from last December: One of the few government agencies that is genuinely underfunded proved its value a couple of weeks ago. Investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor Management Standards led to two officials from AFSCME Local 100 in Pontiac being brought up on charges from the embezzlement of nearly $40,000 of union funds. Former Local 100 President Diedre Lucas was indicted on four charges of embezzlement, while former Treasurer Brenda Bywater faces a charge of making false entries in union records. Lucas in particular is likely to be looking at prison time if the charges hold up.
Grand Rapids Press Editor Paul Keep asked for suggestions on how to "fix" Michigan. Mackinac Center scholars responded with two, both involving law enforcement, and will weigh in with more ideas as The Press begins a 10-month series focusing on Michigan's future.
A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows the limited effectiveness of early education programs. Students in the nation's most extensive pre-kindergarten program — Head Start — were shown to have lost all cognitive gains by the end of first grade. Proponents of universal and state-run pre-K should take notice.
Dome Magazine's cover story, "Desperate for Diversification: A brief history of Michigan's economic development strategies," correctly points out that Mackinac Center scholars have disagreed with the state's central planning attempts under both Republican and Democratic governors.
As much as 50 percent of the cigarettes consumed in the state of Washington would be smuggled in if a proposed $1 increase in cigarette taxes there passes, according to an Op-Ed by Center scholars today in the Seattle-Tacoma News Tribune.
Michael LaFaive, director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Center, and Todd Nesbit, a Penn State professor and adjunct scholar with the Center, wrote the Op-Ed based on a 2008 study they co-authored with Patrick Fleenor, an economist with the Tax Foundation, titled "Cigarette Taxes and Smuggling: A Statistical Analysis and Historical Review."
The Climategate Auto Panel hosted by The Detroit News during the first week of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit was most interesting, but not for the reasons I expected. I braved frigid temperatures and icy roads as I drove from Lansing to Detroit, expecting a lively debate on global warming and government regulations affecting the American automobile industry. My expectations were exceeded by the amazing public revelation that domestic carmakers are relying on further government intervention for their survival.
In politics it’s referred to as “Astroturf”, political protests done by paid professionals, done to look like the work of volunteer grassroots activists. More than one politician has accused TEA Party opponents of nationalized health care of engaging in this deception, but now we have evidence that one union in Massachusetts is paying top dollar for its own political show.
Recent Michigan legislation hypothetically makes it easier for schools to remove ineffective teachers from classrooms. However, some districts are claiming they already have good evaluation systems in place. For a glimpse into how the current process works, here's a step-by-step look at how one school district handles ineffective teachers.
The state of Washington is considering an increase in its cigarette taxes by $1 per pack. As we've shown in our 2008 study on cigarette taxes, these tax hikes carry a large degree of unintended consequences. Increasing cigarette taxes is expected to ensure that half of all cigarettes smoked in Washington are smuggled in from other states.
According to a report from the Detroit Examiner, Las Vegas contractor Joseph Jewett pled guilty to bribery charges yesterday.
The charges stemmed from a 2006 deal in which Jewett offered Carpenters President Ralph Mabry a share of an investment. In exchange, the carpenters union hired Jewett’s company as a consultant for the rebuilding of a Mississippi casino that had been damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The casino had been built partly with carpenters' pension trust funds. At the time the kickback was arranged, Mabry was the highest-paid union official in the state.
Yesterday it was reported that the Obama Administration would be "unrelenting" in putting Americans back to work. Indeed, Congress has named this its "top priority."
However, our elected representatives (never known for their economic knowledge) don't understand that there are, in fact, countless jobs in an economy. Don't believe me? Let me break it down using my own house as an example. Just where I live, I can think of dozens of different jobs available: someone could paint the walls, mow the grass, do the laundry, trim the bushes, wash my car, etc. I would be willing to pay $1 for each of those chores. If you're interested, please contact me.
Wesley Reynolds, Mackinac Center operations intern, writes about John Hancock to celebrate the 273rd anniversary of Hancock's birth, Jan. 12, 1737, at Landmarks of Liberty.
The Michigan State Board of Education heard from invited guests today, including Michael Van Beek, Mackinac Center director of education policy, about how to restructure school financing.
According to The Detroit News, two economists heavily promoted increasing numerous types of taxes on families, businesses, consumers, seniors and estates.
