Tag: Michigan (page 2)

Kevyn Orr, The emergency financial manager, was given an unworkable task. In a city that has been reassured repeatedly that it is too big to fail, the lights are going out. All manner of economic development incentive paid for by Michigan taxpayers as yet proves to be insufficient to generate the activity necessary for basic government services, and a sustained infrastructure. Four decades of progressive politics and fear of calling out bad decision making as it happened; fearing the sting of racial politics, and lack of compassion.

Its far too late now.

Banks that have loaned Detroit operating cash should count those loans as losses.  Retirees that did their jobs, and counted on their employer to manage finances and their retirement moneys appropriately might wish to reevaluate their portfolios. Orr's current status report?

"Excluding proceeds from debt issuances, the City's expenditures have exceeded revenues from fiscal year 2008 to fiscal year 2012 by an average of $100 million annually. These financial shortfalls have been addressed with long term debt issuances (e.g., $75 million in fiscal year 2008, $250 million in fiscal year 2010 and $137 million in fiscal year 2013) and by deferring payments of certain City obligations, such as contributions to the City's  two pension funds."

The accumulated unrestricted deficit was $326.6 million at the end of fiscal year 2012. Fiscal year 2013 (year ending June 30, 2013) is currently projected to add approximately $60 million to the accumulated unrestricted deficit balance (excluding the impact of the $137 million debt issuance).

There are some other interesting items that have a familiar smell

That is the conclusion in a trial that had a logical outcome; that killing babies outside the womb is obvious murder.  Never let the fact that the snipped spinal cords of those children who never took a breath ended a number of miracles violently, yet were never prosecuted. How much of a leap is it to go from the 'fetal' slaughter to something that separates it by only the potential of minutes? (post term 'abortion')

Not a big leap at all.

Murder; the abnormality of the thought process that regards the calculated killing of the most defenseless among us as normal or "progressive". Gosnell simply followed to the logical end of such policy until it was seen for what it is. And now he faces the consequence:

"A Philadelphia doctor was found guilty Monday of murdering three babies born alive in an abortion clinic, Fox News confirms. He was acquitted in the fourth baby's death, and found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the overdose death of an adult patient."

The horror that is Gosnell and his evil actions is unfortunately not unique. Abortion mills still operate freely in this country and our state, performing late term abortions, snuffing out lives with beating hearts, and savaging what little is left of our nation's humanity. Detroit alone boasts a 38% baby murder rate.  To think that that Gosnell's acts blur the lines of acceptability says much about our failure to recognize the same thing happening in utero in numbers that have totaled tens of millions in the last 4 decades alone.

Gosnell's evil is simply the face of a corrupted culture.  Nothing to see here.

Jase Bolger attempting to keep ALL the options on the table for the road funding component of Michigan's budget speaks of reaching out across the aisle. From SFGATE on Saturday:

"They're saying, 'We want everything we want and then we'll give you no assurance that we'll help you with solving the road problems,'" said House Speaker Jase Bolger. "We're saying, 'Please, give us a list of what you want but participate in providing the solution at the same time.' ... We've continued to reach our hand out and that hand has not been returned."

Stop feeding the beast that would bite them off.  If they refuse to deal with such common sense solutions as removing the prevailing wage provisions (saving hundreds of millions annually) then they offer no value to the conversation.

Moving forward, ignore the buffoon in the other chamber:

"Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, a Monroe Republican, said the prevailing wage legislation won't go anywhere "unless I were to die."  "

Workers at a fast food restaurant on Detroit's east side have walked off the job as part of an effort to push for higher wages.

Detroit pastor Charles Williams II says workers want $15 and hour, better working conditions and the right to unionize. The one-day protest starting Friday morning at a McDonald's on the 10000 block of Gratiot is one of about 50 that organizers say they've planned around Detroit.

The D15 campaign says many workers make $7.40 an hour or just above it.

Fire every damn one of them for walking off.  They're at an inflated wage as it is for saying, "want fries with that?"

Or at least it could be if Michigan State Representative Tom McMillin has his way.  McMillin has proposed legislation that ties any money taken from taxpayers for economic development or grants to a requirement of drug testing for principle recipients. Adding and amending this language:

Sec. 15. Beginning October 1, 2013, the fund shall establish requirements to ensure that any recipient of funds, including a loan, a grant, or funding or other assistance for a project,submits to and tests negative for substance abuse under a substance abuse testing program prescribed by the fund. As used in this section, any recipient who is not an individual includes all of the following:

• (a) For a corporation, the president and the chief executive officer, and each managerial employee who directly reports to the president or chief executive officer.
  
• (b) For a partnership, all partners and each managerial employee who directly reports to a partner.
  
• (c) For a limited partnership, the general and limited partners and each managerial employee who directly reports to a general or limited partner.
  
• (d) For a limited liability company, all members and each managerial employee who directly reports to a member.

Certainly no hotel room baked concoctions for these connoisseurs of the finest taxpayer largess.  We aren't talking of a few misplaced bags of medicinal scratch, or toilet bowl punch either. But the good stuff that can only be bought with the type of green that is doled out by the news conference.

In the bizzarro world state that we live in, it might soon be even more true.  Surprising as it might be, Andy Dillon might actually shed the comfort of a fat bureaucratic job for the gold fringe executive seat. And it might work. Not because Dillon is better, but because he is undermining the governor's better efforts with punitive management of the treasury.

The treasury department is the enforcement arm of Michigan's revenue collections. And true to the progressive mindset that you not only do-not-own what you think, he manages that way.  Its bad enough to be PERSONALLY LIABLE for actions of an entire department you manage, but to carry that liability  for decisions made prior to your own involvement?  Charles Owens reports:

"In the majority of states, personal liability statutes have required that the responsible person be employed in a tax-supervisory position with the company during the time that the person's company failed to pay the government. However, Michigan's Treasury is departing from this body of law. Treasury now extends its assessments to persons not employed by the tax liable entity or were not employed during the time period in which the tax was not paid. That is, the state Treasury is now assessing persons for tax debts that arose before the person was employed by the company. It is assessing persons that were members of other holding companies that invested in the tax liable company - and had no hand in day-to-day operations. Treasury is assessing persons for debts which arose after they left the company. No other government jurisdiction practices such an expansive assessment."

And before someone says "Hey, Andy can be tied to this. Its HIS department after all", I would suggest we find some precedent setting moment in time.  You know, some point in history where 'the buck actually stopped there.' This is SNYDER'S problem, and will be, no matter who makes the primary calls.

Right?

The Republican-led House on Wednesday approved a measure that would give private sector workers the option of trading overtime pay for extra time off weeks or months later.

The bill, approved on a 223-204 vote, would allow employees who work more than 40 hours a week to save up to 160 hours of earned time off for future use. GOP lawmakers say they want to give busy working parents at private firms the same flexibility that public sector workers have to take time off to spend with their children or care for aging parents.

Busy parents?  Feh.  Whatever.  An extra 20 days of vacay banked away sounds good in most anyone's book.  But, of course, like pending doom, the Progressives have to opine.

Democrats say it's not fair to compare the legislation to similar flexibility that is offered to public sector employees because many government workers are unionized and have civil service protections against potential abuse by employers.

See that?  You're just too stupid to carve out your own swath in life.  Only the DNC Progressives, bureaucrats in the hive mentality of Mother Government, and Goonions can save you peons from yourself.  And we pay their wages, and retirements?  Insanity.

Amash, Benishek, Bentivolio, Camp, Huizenga, Miller, Rogers, Upton, and Walberg, thank you for voting YES on this legislation.

How about a nice big bowl of Yooper Super Scooper Fudge ice cream?

Or Traverse City Cherry Bomb or maybe a sugar cone of Very Vernors?

Those flavors haven't been created yet but they could be in the Pure Michigan ice cream contest, which kicks off Wednesday.

Pure Michigan is teaming up with Hudsonville Ice Cream in an effort to help promote the bounty of food and agricultural products available in the state.

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