Leading business groups, including the influential Michigan Chamber of Commerce and Michigan Manufacturers' Association, stopped short of endorsing the plan, but said the revamped tax has merit.

Senate Republican Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, held his fire after a brief review of the proposal late Wednesday and said through an aide: "We'll give this plan consideration."

Look at that, they're being magnanimous and waiting to review the plan and avoiding catchy headlines and snap judgments!  If only the folks on the other side of the aisle would learn from their example.

And all of this isn't to say that the plan doesn't have flaws.  It looks like it'll call for a reduction in taxes for most Michigan companies (well, unless you sell insurance, then you're just screwed) but will increase the tax burden on companies headquartered out of state doing business here.  There's an obvious upside and downside here.  Nice to give Michigan companies a tax cut.  For sure.  But when you raise taxes on out-of-staters and they come to a point where they need to make reductions, consolidations or improve efficiencies we all know what's going to happen.  

Even if Michigan dodges one or two of the bullets, this sort of plan puts a big giant bullseye right in the middle of the state.

But thank goodness that now there's a position from which to negotiate.  And it only took them 105 days.  Fire up!

Unfortunately, while they were delaying and avoiding and ducking and dodging it looks like someone in the Senate minority caucus fell asleep and missed some recent news.  According to the Lansing State Journal:

A potential midyear cut to Michigan's K-12 public schools that could reach $125 per student will force Republicans to vote for a tax increase, a top Democratic lawmaker predicted Wednesday.
Sen. Michael Switalski, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, also told reporters that legislators are starting to approve higher spending in the next budget year, which increases the need for higher taxes.

Wait, what?  As we reported (HERE) Tuesday, the Senate unanimously approved over $300 million worth of changes to this year's school aid budget brining any potential per-pupil cut down into the $30 range, give or take depending on May's revenue estimating conference.  Nevermind the fact that the Senate already approved spending cuts that balance the budget without raising taxes and avoid such a massive school-aid cut.

So what's Switalski on about with this $125 per pupil doomsday scenario?  Either he's off on his own hoping he can repeat bogus numbers without being called on them (and the LSJ did NOT call him on them, surprise surprise) or he didn't get the latest set of talking points from the Granholm administration.  My money's on a mixture of the two.

I suppose a third possibility is that Switalski didn't use numbers at all, spoke in generalities and the Journal inserted their own.  One never knows these days.

Either way, things are still plenty serious here in Lansing.  As the national economy continues to chug along like an unstoppable locomotive Michigan companies continue to languish.  Makes it tough to enjoy news like, oh, the Dow Jones topping 13,000 with analysts predicting 14,000 could be right around the corner when you read the story next to headlines about underperformance and layoffs.

Only in Michigan.

The Associated Press is reporting that Pulte Homes is facing a huge drop in sales and development as the housing market remains bone dry.

Bloomfield Hills-based Pulte's homebuilding revenues of $1.8 billion decreased 38 percent from $2.9 billion recorded last year. The drop reflected a 37 percent decline in home closings and a 2 percent decrease in average selling price to $330,000.

And the Grand Rapids Press reports that Ionia based Independent Bank Corp will be letting 75 people go.

Employees whose jobs are being eliminated will be informed between Monday and May 11. The layoffs among Independent's 1,400 employees will be complete by September and are slated to save up to $5 million a year. Severance and other costs are expected to total $1.5 million.

Ouch.  13,000 on the DJIA doesn't help much here in Michigan, does it?