If we can pry ourselves away from Very Serious Person Andy Dillon's suggestion that we solve the state's budget problems by makng things worse for thousands of people, I'd like to direct you to an editorial in this morning's Lansing State Journal.
The people of mid-Michigan may have a better understanding of the shift in health care than their counterparts in other states. Economic tsunamis tend to clear away all but the most vital concerns.
And what Greater Lansing and the rest of Michigan have learned in the last decade is the existing employer-based system of health insurance for working Americans is ill. It's sick because the global economy has changed faster than Michigan-based firms have.
I don't have any special problem reopening negotiations with various unions and squeezing concessions out of them, I suppose. Things are really very crappy in this state right now, and at some point everyone has to ante up and kick in. On the other hand, Dillon's proposal to screw state workers really just frankly ignores that the entire health care system is broken. It's not just the state of Michigan's approach.
Anyone who thinks we can continue without some kind of universal health care is deeply deluded. It's just not going to happen. In fact, things are going to get worse as our biggest generation -- the Baby Boomers -- continue to age. The American health care system, as it exists today, is going to have to go away and be replaced by something universal.
You can attempt to split the issues. We have to balance our budget in Michigan, and we also need to fix the national health care system. Frankly, I think that means creating an excuse to not pressure Washington to do what's been needed to be done for the last two decades. The only thing that will push Washington into doing something, and not doing the stupidest thing possible, will be concerted pressure from all the various players -- medical professionals, employers, state governments.
I'm also frankly skeptical of letting the state Legislature do this before the end of this fiscal year. This strikes me as the kind of thing that would be contentious enough without worrying about hitting a deadline in two months. I also have zero confidence that a deal will get done in good faith that isn't at the last minute and makes a further hash of things. This state Legislature has demonstrated extreme aptitude in bolloxing everything it touches, and I can point to the past failures of the 2008-09 budget, the replacement of the SBT, the presidential primary, and a whole host of other things.
Of the officesDetroiterscan vote for in August the Charter Commission is arguably the most important. But there doesn't seemto be much info about the candidates, or their policy positions anywhere.
The biggest issue is Council by Districts. That would be an improvement, which isn't saying much. There's some talk about ethics, and also some about "updating charter language." However I do not know what that means. An independant ethics board? An ethics czar? Some nice-sounding, but toothless, BS? What charter language needs to be updated? Why?
So I'd like this diary and it's comments section to be a first step in fixing that problem.
House Speaker Andy Dillon dropped a policy bomb Wednesday on Lansing to cut the cost of public employee health care and help the state address a whopping $1.7-billion deficit.
'Bomb' about sums it up. Dillon's plan may sound good, but once you get past the sparkle and glamor of the term 'statewide health plan' it's apparent that this just another case of robbing Peter to pay Paul, or is it robbing Peter to help Andy get elected? *cough, cough*
Regardless, Dillon announced his plan yesterday with a full court press, pulling out the stops in the usual fanfare that we've all come to expect. The fact that some of the state's largest unions were barred from the press conference and had to wait to find out from the media themselves after the conference, is if nothing else, disconcerting.
Under Dillon's plan, public service employees, everyone from teachers to firefighters to police officers, to legislators and even the Governor, and their retirees, all told more than 400,000, would be swept into one massive health plan. He claims that it would save the state $900 million.
Well that sounds all fine and dandy, except when you consider that a move like this would essentially neuter any of these groups, particularly the unions, from being able to effectively engage in collective bargaining, a backbone that has ensured fair pay and labor practices, all things that these deserving folks might normally be blocked from.
Also worth mentioning are the very strange bedfellows of the plan. Starting with the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) who's clashed with the teachers unions more than once, and ending with the very guy who tried to recall Dillon not that long ago - Leon Drolet.
I'm sure you've heard about the tanker fire at I-75 and 9 Mile in Hazel Park. Talk about headaches for those commuting between the City and Oakland County! Scroll down on this Free Press article to find some options for detours.
Progressive Michigan activist, blogger, and Iraq veteran Don Bortz has some choice words for the Army major who refused to be sent to Afghanistan because he thought Barack Obama was not born in the US.
Families USA expects more than 160,000 Michigan residents currently insured to lose their health coverage within the next year and a half. That coms out to about one person every ten minutes. Presumably none are named Dave Camp, Vern Ehlers, or Thad McCotter.
Imagine a dock along the Detroit River, hosting cruise ships and helping to make Detroit a world-class travel destination. Thanks to stimulus money, this will soon become a reality! Michigan is also getting stimulus money for projects related to wind energy. and water infrastructure.
UPDATE: It's raining in Lansing, so the rally has been moved to Rm. 115 of the International Center on the MSU campus.
The Michigan Promise is simple: pass the Michigan Merit Exam and the state will give you $4,000 for college (Okay, the requirements of the scholarship are slightly more complicated, but the bottom line is still "Pass the test. Get four thousand bucks to use for school.") I'll happily confess that I'm not the brightest bulb in the drawer, but doesn't it follow that if we give kids a) incentive to pay attention in high school and pass the MME, and b) give them four thousand bucks to use for school, they'll be better-educated and better-prepared to take on the kinds of high technology jobs that are so critical to Michigan's recovery and survival?
Apparently the Republicans in the Michigan Senate don't think so. They killed the Michigan Promise last week. That is, they broke a promise to 96,000 Michigan students counting on that money to be able to finance their education. That high-pitched squeal you heard last week wasn't Leon Drolet's pig--it was 96,000 parents and their kids screaming "OMG what are we going to do now?" and college lenders from all over the state shouting "Cha-CHING!"
Today the MSU College Dems are fighting back. They're going to gather at the Rock on the MSU campus to collectively beat Mike Bishop and the Republican caucus over the head with a clue. You're invited to join them at 10:00AM, rain or shine (and from my seat here in Westcoastville, it's lookin' like rain).
By the way, later this morning the state is expected to release the latest unemployment figures. If these kids were smart (and they are...they earned four thousand bucks by passing a test, for pete's sake), they'd print out copies and hand them out..assuming they can scrounge enough paper and ink to print out all those zeroes.
Keep the promise, Republicans. The kids kept theirs.
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Michigan! (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you so much. First of all, give Joe a big round of applause for the wonderful introduction. (Applause.) We've got some special guests here -- now, if everybody has chairs, go ahead and use them. (Laughter.) Feel free. We've got some special guests here today that I just want to acknowledge. All of you are special, but these folks I want to make sure that you have a chance to see them.
First of all, one of the best governors in the country, please give Jennifer Granholm a big round of applause. (Applause.) Lieutenant Governor John Cherry -- give John a big round of applause. (Applause.) One of my favorite people, a former colleague of mine, still just a fighter on behalf of working families each and every day -- Senator Debbie Stabenow. (Applause.) We've got Speaker of the House, Andy Dillon, in the house. (Applause.) We've got a lot of other local elected officials, and I just want to thank them.
A couple of people who are missing: Carl Levin, who is doing great work. (Applause.) He's in the Senate right now fighting on behalf of a bill to make sure that we're not loading up a bunch of necessary defense spending with unnecessary defense spending. So he's the point person on it. The only reason he's not here is because he is working alongside the administration to get this bill done. Please give him a big round of applause. (Applause.) Congressman Sandy Levin, also working hard on your behalf each and every day, but is not here today. (Applause.) I want to go ahead and acknowledge the new mayor, since he's the new mayor -- Mayor Dave Bing, great ball player. (Applause.) My game is a little like Dave Bing's -- (laughter) -- except I don't have the jump shot or the speed or the ball handling skills -- (laughter) -- or the endurance. Also don't have the afro. Don't think I forgot that, Dave. I remember. (Laughter.) I remember that.
(Good news. It's still a good idea to call her office at (202) 224-4822 and Levin's office at (202) 224-6221 to let them know you also support a strong public option! - promoted by ScottyUrb)
Well, hopefully, Senator Stabenow can be counted on to stand tall for a good public option. She was on State of the Union on Sunday with John King and had this to say.
STABENOW: Well, my first choice and very strong choice is a public option. And I have to say, Wolf, that what my friends are saying, Senator Gregg and Senator Alexander really are scare tactics that have been put forward by folks that don't want to change the system because they make a lot of money off the current system right now.
The reality for families today is if there's an insurance company bureaucrat between you and your doctor telling your doctor what they're allowed to do because of what they'll pay for, telling you what they'll pay for, putting you through all kinds of bureaucracy to try to figure out if you can get care, assuming you're not dropped if you get sick or can't get insurance if you have a pre-existing condition. So what we're talking about is putting somebody on your side, being able to make sure that the insurance company, the for profit insurance company won't provide you with a low cost insurance policy for your family that you have another choice.
It's not been a good week for Dennis Lennox. First, he becomes the target of a defamation lawsuit over cowardly Wikipedia comments. Second, it is made public that the office he holds, and made media waves by going to the county commission and asking that it be eliminated as unnecessary, is running out of money.
Cheboygan County Drain Commissioner Dennis Lennox has almost used up his entire budget allotment for 2009, with six months left in the year.
Lennox, who gained state and national attention earlier this year by asking the commissioners to approve a resolution asking the Michigan Legislature to legally eliminate his office, is serving his first term as Cheboygan County Drain Commissioner. The Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners briefly discussed the Lennox budget issue at its June 23 meeting.
If you look down in comments, you'll find that, according to himself and his friends, there are no money problems, the money problems are all the fault of his predecessor, his predecessor did something even worse, and finally -- and predictably -- they's a-out to git him. Perhaps if he'd spent more time as a student -- you know -- studying rather than chasing people around with a video camera he could have avoided this embarrassing situation.
The naturally raises questions of whether those same media outlets that were so quick to give what was a campaign stunt publicity well beyond what was warranted will point out that when it actually came time for him to do the job he said was no longer necessary that he bolloxed it.
(Updated--details of the plan are in the Extended Entry section. - promoted by PerfectStormer)
The Scrappy Hopemonger makes a pit stop at Macomb Community College in Warren this afternoon. Early word from the Freep says he's unveiling a $12 billion shot in the arm for the country's community colleges.
WASHINGTON - In Warren this afternoon, President Barack Obama will unveil a $12-billion program to improve America's community colleges over the next decade, dedicating funds to expansion and modernization and rewarding successful programs that link employers with locally offered courses. The goal is to graduate 5 million more community college students by 2020.
...
The speech is set for around 3 p.m. and marks Obama's first visit to Michigan as president. He was last in the state in October 2008, campaigning in East Lansing and Grand Rapids as the Democratic nominee.
If you have any self-respect and value your sanity you'll stay out of the comments section at the Freep article (suffice it to say that perhaps the President's next educational initiative should be teaching basic grammar and mechanics). One commenter claims we have a $10 trillion budget deficet [sic].
So when it was announced last week th at [sic] the new president was coming to Macomb County for a town hall meeting, it was assumed it would be 'first come, first served."
Wrong.
If you have an invite, you can come in. If you don't you can watch it on the tube.
So much for change.
S'okay, Tim...I didn't get invited either. I get to sit here in front of my computer and observe the complete lack of regard for mechanics and spelling at your blog (not to mention the insistence on bolding everything).
The President hasn't forgotten about the 30 or so community colleges he visited during the 2008 campaign. These institutions are our nation's trade schools, training 59% of our new nurses as well as cranking out wind-farm technicians and video-game designers - jobs that, despite ballooning unemployment overall, abound for adequately skilled workers. Community-college graduates earn up to 30% more than high school grads, a boon that helps state and local governments reap a 16% return on every dollar they invest in community colleges.
...
ut as record numbers of students clamor to enroll, community colleges are struggling with shrinking resources or, at best, trying to maintain the status quo. Even the school where [Jill]
Biden teaches, Northern Virginia Community College, has lost more than 10% of its funding in the past two years and has let go of dozens of full-time professors as it braces for more possible cutbacks. Elsewhere, state budget cuts have led to enrollment caps at some community colleges. And if there aren't enough seats in classrooms, students can't get certificates or degrees, and skilled jobs remain unfilled. In short, as the Center for American Progress concluded in a February report, "America's future economic success may well depend on how we invest in two-year institutions."
Anyway...
3:00 @ Macomb CC in Warren. The Freep is carrying the speech live on their website if you're so inclined.
Walberg to challenge Mark Schauer for bid to return to Congress. When the people of the 7th voted for change last year, what they really wanted was apparently for things to basically stay the same.
Walberg, of Tipton, was Michigan's 7th District House representative for one term before losing in November to Democrat Mark Schauer.
"The last election was about change," Walberg said Tuesday. "And I think the American public and the 7th District voted for change, but the changes they're seeing right now are not the changes they voted for."
How can you keep the rural Bible thumpers on the farm once they've tasted the brass ring of the Beltway?
The field has been narrowed to five in Progress Michigan's "Caption this" contest featuring a photo of Mike Cox. Go here to cast your vote ... voting to end tomorrow night at midnight. Here are the finalists.
*--Think, Mike, think--What Would Rush Do?
*--Memo to Self: Delete Mark Sanford Emails.
*--Maybe I can pitch this as my economic plan.
*--Hopefully my wife stands behind me at the podium at my press conference.
*--Really, Honey, It is just an article about guided trips on the Appalachian Trail......
Again, you can vote here. A winner will be announced at noon Thursday.
Seriously. Everyone knows what she said is true ... we spent millions and tied up two years in D.C. investigating a fucking blowjob, and the worst thing that can happen is that someone points this out? When will potential crimes commited by the previous administration finally appear to be serious enough that we can frankly discuss them without first worrying about whether the language involved won't tarnish the ears of children within listening range? Why is no thought given to whether normalizing things like torture and war will have a greater negative impact on tender young ears than the occasional reference to oral sexual gratification?
• Strengthen consumer protections, punishing companies who unnecessarily delay or deny rightful claims with fines up to $1 million.
• Hold accountable corporate leaders who encourage wrongful denial of claims, making the misconduct a felony punishable by prison and hefty fines.
• Create a whistle-blower protection plan to shield employees who report an insurance company is engaging in wrongful denial.
• Require companies to repair a consumer's credit that has been harmed by wrongful denial.
The House Democrats have a lot more on this topic on their website. including a petition you can sign to make your voice heard.
With Mike Bishop & Co. in contyrol of the Senate, I'm not holding my breath waiting for this to get to the governor's desk. Nonetheless, good for the Democrats on the House side for pushing this issue, which needs a lot more attention - and is another reminder why we need healthcare reform nationally.
I'm going to kick this off by explaining how it came to be that I have a good deal of blood on my hands, and why it's there over the objections thrown up by my own conscience. Despite the fact that my conscience told me I'd be enabling something that I understood would result in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people, I still enabled the thing to happen.
For a lot of years earlier this decade, I worked as the desk editor for the local newspaper. I edited stories, laid out news pages, wrote headlines. Some of them were pretty good. Most of the time we stuck to local content on the front. As use of the Internet increased, in fact, I came to regard wire content as filler material around the advertising. You could get it anyplace and no one was about to pay 50 cents for the privilege of learning something they could get for free online.
We made exceptions, however, and the biggest one of all was the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The reasons for this are probably obvious, and if you really want one that is concrete it is that some stories are so big they can't help but be local. The front page was filled until the fall of Baghdad of coverage from Iraq. Stories about local things went where there was space for non-Iraq coverage.
Most of us remember the media coverage from that time as just plain terrible. The media failed to fully vet the reasons for war, and the coverage of the invasion wasn't really any better. The AP's coverage of the invasion was hopelessly slanted. You might remember the "spontaneous" street protest of "regular" Iraqis in which a statue of Saddam was pulled down and beaten with shoes. At the time, I half-jokingly suggested to a colleague that it was probably a P.R. rig job. It turns out that my hunch was correct, that a Marine Corps crane had knocked over the statue and that the spontaneous riot was just a handful of people rounded up for a photo op. The AP reporter, who was there and knew that it was a con job on the American people, still filed the story. I laid it out, despite my suspicions (based on the lack of available evidence, unfounded though they were). The paper's readers woke up the next morning to a front page that was part of a concerted campaign to manufacture public opinion.
Probably no one will be surprised to learn that I opposed the war from the get-go. During my time in the military, which had ended just four years before, I was privy to intelligence reports that laid out that Saddam was a paper tiger with no ties to terrorists and who'd only use his dwindling, aging stocks of unconventional weapons if forced to preserve his regime. I marched against it, I objected to it on the editorial page, and then I enabled it on the front page. This is where the blood on my hands comes from, and it will be there for the rest of my life.
Right now, you're probably wondering why I'd do such a thing. The answer is that I was being paid to. It was my job. Actually, that tells part of the story, the obvious part. It was my job, but also part of what I considered to be my obligation to the public.
Most everyone who works for a newspaper understands that there is a time for your personal beliefs and there is a time to set those aside and do the god damn job you are being paid to do. It's not due to a lack of convictions; it's because the job carries with it certain responsibilities to the community the newspaper serves. That is, an individual's personal convictions are not more important than providing people a source of information they can trust is not shaped by them. When you cannot make the two jibe, it is time to find a new line of work. Most people I have ever known in the journalism business understand this; most people who whine endlessly about bias do not.
The Freep's editorial page continues to offer what in my opinion is the state's best journalism today, with a good look at Waxman-Markey (or ACES, depending on how you roll), incorporating evidence that its writers actually read reports and other important stuff produced at public expense.
For a price that reaches about $14.50 per month per household by 2020, it certainly seems worthwhile to insure against being damned by future generations.
Even in the unlikely event that the scientific consensus about global warming emissions were to prove wildly wrong, there still would be honor in having taken action to protect as yet unknown offspring. And even if the first U.S. plan to ratchet back on global warming gases looks sadly weak, it nonetheless marks a commitment that Americans have dodged until now.
At the end of the day, this legislation shouldn't be about jobs. I realize jobs are important. I realize people like to work (or, more importantly, they like to have money). But, there is no point whatsoever in creating jobs if to do it we need to perpetuate a way of life to drastically changes the world in which our children and grandchildren live. It's a short-sighted, incredibly selfish way to live, and frankly indicative of a people who take a lot more seriously the benefits of saying they care about their offspring than the actual commitment itself.
Waxman-Markey is pretty weak. James Hansen, the world's most prominent climate scientist (because he's the guy most out front with it), thinks cap-and-trade is a scam (counterpoint here). Politically speaking, it's the best anyone is going to get right now, in part because people remain a great deal more deeply confused about the science than the scientists themselves. (I personally am not at all optimistic that the American public will sign on to what is necessary in time to prevent serious climate-related catastrophes, most of which will hurt people and living things in other parts of the world).
Beyond the position of Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow (someone told me last week that Harry Reid says he has 60 votes for cap-and-trade), the question remains ... what do Michigan's political leaders plan to do with this information? Will they take it into account when looking at things like reforming state government and/or additional energy bills (the costs for cap-and-trade will get passed from Consumers and DTE right down to you, sunshine), or will this disappear into the great, unformed void that is the Lansing political scene?
