Just as I started last month on Crazy Eddie's Motie News with a good news post based on a press release that assumed Business as Usual (BAU) will return, so I ended last month with a post based on another optimistic BAU press release, this time from one of my alma maters.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.-After posting modest job losses last calendar year following an abysmal 2009, the Oakland County economy should add nearly 29,000 jobs over the next three years-the best years since 2000, say University of Michigan economists.
That looks really good, doesn't it?
In their annual forecast of the Oakland County economy, George Fulton and Don Grimes of the U-M Institute for Research on Labor, Employment, and the Economy say that Oakland will add nearly 11,000 jobs this year, another 8,000 next year and more than 9,700 in 2013.
This year looks like the best of the three and next year the worst of the three. If you're a politician up for re-election in 2012, that may not be the best news, but at least the projection isn't for job losses that year, either.
Last calendar year, Oakland County lost less than 1,200 jobs after losing nearly 60,000 jobs in 2009, and is currently adding jobs-the majority in sectors most tied to the New Economy.
Now does adding 29,000 jobs in three years look that good? Not when you realize that more than twice as many were lost in one year.
Even so, the good news continues.
"The resurgence in the Oakland County economy appears to be no fluke, not related to any unusual events, but rather is backed by improvements in the U.S. economy, a reborn auto industry and the county's still-strong economic fundamentals and forward-looking policy initiatives," Fulton said. "Although the recovery is slower than what we've seen in the most recent expansions-a trend we also anticipate for the nation as a whole-we do see the county economy as being on an upward and sustained growth trajectory.
Until the start of the Great Recession, Oakland County was consistently among the ten richest counties in the country. It isn't any more, although it's still the wealthiest county in the state. Looks like things are reverting to the mean, which means climbing back up the rankings.
Despite the economic difficulties of the past decade, Oakland County still remains among the premier local economies in the country, with its coveted AAA bond rating and high ranking among 33 comparable counties in the United States on a series of measures that indicate future economic prosperity.
"Oakland ranks 8th overall-an impressive standing, especially considering that a number of these counties house some of the most thriving local economies in the nation," Grimes said. "This is even more impressive in light of Oakland's location within the state that has become notorious for its recent position near the bottom of the economic barrel.
"It is clear that whether we assess Oakland County with respect to how it is positioned in key economic fundamentals across all regions of the United States, or more restrictively here among its peers, there are few local economies with a more favorable composite profile for succeeding in the New Economy."
See, I told you, climbing back up the rankings.
Speaking of good news, is there any more?
"The net gain in jobs forecast over the next three years (including 2011), however, indicates only that the broad decline in employment has ended. It does not mean that the economy is back to normal. For many residents, the economic struggles will continue."
And who are the ones most likely to struggle, in addition to the long-term unemployed?
While the private sector in Oakland County will post job gains over the next three years,
Nearly 31,000 in fact.
jobs in the government sector, which includes public schools and local government administration, will continue to shrink, with more than 2,000 jobs lost through 2013. Nearly 70 percent of these losses will occur this year.
Remember I said that slow growth might harm the chances of any politician up for election next year? There are some politicians who public sector employees don't care for already who might be up for re-election, after a fashion, this year. Watch the following clip from WOOD-TV.
A longshot effort to recall Republican Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder can begin collecting signatures aimed at getting the measure on the ballot.
Also the following clips from WXYZ-TV:
Hundreds protest as Governor Snyder delivers address
News is suddenly moving so fast that it's becoming hard for me to keep up; that's why we're not finishing the story today that we just began Tuesday. You know, the one about Titan Cement suing two North Carolina residents who appear to be doing nothing more than speaking the truth.
Unfortunately, other important news has forced itself to the front of the line, and it's going to demand that we break schedule, whether we like it or not.
That's why today we're going to be talking about Wisconsin, and how workers there are fighting back against the State's Republican legislators and Governor, who seem to have gone out of their way this past three weeks to govern without the consent of the governed.
It's kind of chilly today in Wisconsin...but I can assure you, things are heating up fast-and it ain't because of spring.
There's not too many times you here these words strung together in a sentence, but the grassroots campaign really came out in support of Rep. Rashida Tlaib who was targeted for recall for getting in the way of a multi-million bridge over the Detroit River.
The Wayne County Election Commission rejected recall petition language filed against State Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, for her position on a second span across the Detroit River and her vote to turn Cobo Hall over to a regional authority.
The petitions were started by Detroit political consultant Adolph Mongo, who works for Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Maroun, who is trying to build a twin span to the Ambassador over the river.
I had nothing to do with the campaign but I know Rashida personally and am convinced of her ethical stance and her sincerity in representing the constituents in her district. I applaud the people who worked so hard to keep corporate interests from stifling one of Michigan's newest, rising political stars.
(Long-standing consequences to Leon's campaign to salvage his own reputation - promoted by Eric B.)
While most politicos were busy following the national conventions and the presidential race, a federal judge has just remade Michigan politics.
Yesterday, Judge Robert Holmes Bell (US District Court, WDMI) struck down the longstanding requirement that circulators of a recall petition be residents and registered voters of the constituency represented by the targeted official.
Until now, successful recalls came from the grass roots, and required a critical mass of outraged constituents.
But take that rule away, bring in paid circulators from outside the district, and it becomes possible to recall almost any official, simply by applying enough money. Expect to see this in every marginal state house and senate seat.
From now on, for a smallish amount of money, like $100,000, any interest group can buy total legislative paralysis.
This is good news for Democracy and for the rule of law. The far right wing fringe in Michigan failed to get enough signatures for their frivolous recall petition for House Speaker Andy Dillon. Their attempt to disrupt the state legislature would have been harmful to Michigan, especially at a time when we need constructve progress, not chaos from some angry extremists who don't understand how taxes or economies operate.
Drolet and ilk, such as far-right radical Grover "drown government in a bathtub" Norquist, are a group of anti-tax zealots who offer only criticism and negativity and present no solutions of their own to the many problems faced by the citizens of Michigan.
All they have to offer is exactly the kind of minimalist, ineffective government we saw respond to Katrina.
They have a very narrow, ideological view of taxation that is not based in reality or pragmatism. They obviously do not have the best interest of the citizens of the state at heart because they offer no constructive solutions to any of the real problems we face, such as record layoffs and foreclosures.
On the other hand, Andy Dillon has been instrumental in the bill earlier this year which created 29,000 new jobs by investing in Michigan and brought the movie industry to Michigan by offering the best incentives in the nation.
What people like Drolet and Norquist do not understand is that taxes are merely the mechanism by which government generates revenue and that governments are non-profit, so if they really wanted to lower taxes they would offer meaningful ways to lower costs so we can cut spending and thereby legitimately and responsibly lower taxes.
The sad, inescapable truth is that Leon Drolet is more interested in pushing a failed ideology than in helping the citizens of Michigan.
(A little something in the stocking of all you last-minute shoppers ... like me! - promoted by Eric B.)
Looks like Meijer is the latest to be caught in the political scandal machine. Apparently the firm spent tens of thousands of dollars to illegally (or at least unethically) fund a recall campaign in Northern Michigan.
Retail giant Meijer Inc. has acknowledged funding a failed recall effort targeting elected officials in this northern Michigan community that followed years of zoning disputes about a planned store.
Meijer paid a public relations business at least $30,000 in an effort to remove the board for Grand Traverse County's Acme Township, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported Sunday, citing its review of records in the case.
"Prior to this month, senior company officials believed that no financial contributions had been made to a local taxpayers group," Meijer said in statement Saturday. "New information indicates otherwise."
The public relations business crafted recall language, devised election strategy, wrote campaign literature and used local residents as figureheads, the newspaper said. The contributions weren't reported to the state.
Maybe we should start a Shop Progressive campaign and start taking our dem dollars to Kroger?
News out of Pontiac is not good. The language in a recall petition against Democratic Representative Marie Donigan of Royal Oak has been approved by an Oakland County panel, with a vote of 2-1.
The three person committee included Amway Guy's former puppet running mate, Oakland County Clerk, Republican Ruth Johnson. Johnson was joined by fellow Republican do-nothing Treasurer Patrick Dohany, while Judge Eugene Moore voted against the language.
Sources at the hearing report that Ruth Johnson was forced into seconding the motion made by Dohany, and made it only after a long pause and apparently looked like she was biting into a sour lemon. The question remains who was holding the proverbial gun to her back. Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzis? Grover Norquist's own puppet Leon Drolet? Inquiring minds want to know....
So these special-interest groups want to recall a legislator not because she left the country and went snow sheep hunting in Russia, or because she's been a major obstructionist in the budget process, or because she's assisted corporate interests in raping and pillaging the state educational and health care funds. No, this woman is being recalled because she did what her constituents asked her to do. In short, at tax-payers expense, this fine legislator is being held hostage for doing her job. If that's not shameful, I don't know what is.
What is clear that Marie Donigan is going to need our support in terms of donating funds, walking doors, and letters to the editors. Stay tuned as MichLib brings you the latest in this fight against ultra-conservative out-of-state special interests.
Special Interest Groups and Lobbyists are trying to take away your vote. They didn't like your vote, they think that they know better than you. They don't like your Democratically Elected Representative, Robert Dean.
Special Interest Groups and Lobbyists want to STEAL your Democracy because they don't like Representatives who stand up to their extreme policies. They don't like Representatives that have the courage to stand-up and do the right thing. They want to take away your vote.
Special Interest Groups and Lobbyists want Representatives who follow THEIR lead, not those with the strength to TAKE THE LEAD. They want Representatives who will take care of their narrow special interests, rather than taking care of Michigan. They don't trust your judgment.
Robert Dean ignored their THREATS of Recall and had the courage to vote his conscience - to vote on behalf of the people and the future of Michigan. Robert Dean would not allow himself to be bullied. He took a stand and made the responsible vote to keep Michigan from being shut-down.
Michigan needs strong and decisive Representatives who work for the people first; Michigan needs Robert Dean.
Don't let anyone STEAL YOUR DEMOCRACY!
FIGHT BACK, FIGHT THE RECALL
Support Representative Robert Dean.
Here is how you can help!
The Kent County Elections Commission will hear the proposed recall ballot language at a special hearing to be held at 2:00pm this Monday, November 5th at the Kent County Administration Building at 300 Monroe Ave. NW. I know that this is a difficult time for those of us with jobs; but attendance at this meeting will have a large impact on the approval, or disapproval of this recall language. The more supporters that we can get to attend, the better chance we have of stopping this recall action before it begins.
If you can attend this hearing, please contact me at jeff@democraticedge.com so that I can get a feel of how many supporters we will have.
I've been out of touch for awhile, but a search for "recall" did not turn up this info on Mich Lib although some of it has been alluded to in Gongwer:
Recently (mid-month), statements of organization were filed for recall committees against 15 legislators:
Rep. Richard Ball (R-Lainsburg)
Rep. Ed Gaffney (R-Grosse Pointe)
Rep. David Hildenbrand (R-Lowell)
Rep. Tom Pearce (R-Rockford)
Sen. Bill Hardiman (R-Kentwood)
Sen. Mark Jansen (R-Grand Rapids)
Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom (R-Norton Shores)
Rep. Steve Bieda (D-Warren)
Rep. Marc Corriveau (D-Northville)
Rep. Robert Dean (D-Grand Rapids)
Rep. Andy Dillon (D-Redford)
Rep. Gino Polidori (D-Dearborn)
Rep. Mary Valentine (D-Muskegon)
Sen. Glen [sic] Anderson (D-Westland)
Sen. Dennis Olshove (D-Warren)
Note that no committees have been filed yet with the SOS re Kuipers, Garcia or Ward who are supposed to be on the List of Ten. Also, Drolet filed a committee yesterday, 10/24, called "Michigan Recalls Organization". The latter was filed as an "independent" committee, while all the others were filed as "political" committees. The real kicker is that Drolet asked for and received a Waiver (meaning he supposedly intends not to raise more than $1,000). Many of the other committees also received a waiver (Valentine, Hardiman, Jansen, Dean, Olshove, Gaffney, and Dillon). To be cynical, this may just be a ruse to avoid having to file until later when they would be fined, but would have kept the public in the dark about their resources.
Gongwer mentioned that the law requires the person operating one of these committees to be a voter in the affected district. Rose Bogaert's name is the only one listed on the five Wayne County committees. Said she was just trying to "protect" the average-Joe type people who are actually running them. On the west side of the state, Jeffrey Steinport/Eric Larson are the treasurer/recordkeeper for five of those committees.
Finally, I see that an earlier post misstated the number of signatures needed: the correct amount is 25% of the number of votes for governor in that legislator's district last year. Since turnout for that election was very high, they'll have to collect quite a few signatures. I don't have access to votes for governor in the affected districts, but if they were trying to recall Rep. David Law (R-W. Bloomfield), they would need to collect well over 11,000 signatures.
((~ Great initial analysis of the impending recalls.) - promoted by JPowers155)
Several weeks ago, Leon Drolet and the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance took out recall petitions on 10 Michigan State Legislators, 6 Democrats, 4 Republicans. Early on October 1st, the State House and State Senate passed several measures that raised taxes and made some government reforms. The most notable reform was the MESSA transparency bill to make teacher's pension plans more competitive.
The following legislators were on the original list of people who Drolet pulled recall petitions on.
HOUSE
Ball, Richard (R), 85th District
District Type: Strong Republican
HB5194 Vote: NO
HB5198 Vote: NO
Term: 2ND
Corriveau, Marc (D), 20th District
District Type: Lean Republican
HB5194 Vote: YES
HB5198 Vote: NO
Term: 1ST
Dillon, Andy (D)
District Type: Strong Democratic
HB5194 Vote: YES
HB5198 Vote: YES
Term: 2nd
Gaffney, Ed (R)
District Type: Lean Republican
HB5194 Vote: YES
HB5198 Vote: NO
Term: 2nd
Polidori, Gino (D), 15th District
District Type: Lean Democratic
HB5194 Vote: YES
HB5198 Vote: YES
Term: 2nd
Valentine, Mary (D), 91st District
District Type: Swing
HB5194 Vote: YES
HB5198 Vote: YES
Term: 1st
SENATE
Anderson, Glenn (D), 6th District
District Type: Swing
2010 Status: INCUMBENT
HB5194 Vote: NO
HB5198 Vote: NO
Garcia, Valde (R), 22nd District
District Type: Strong Republican
2010 Status: OPEN
HB5194 Vote: NO
HS5198 Vote: YES
Olshove, Dennis (D), 9th District
District Type: Lean Democratic
2010 Status: OPEN
HB5194 Vote: NO
HB5198 Vote: YES
VanWoerkam, Gerald (R), 34th District
District Type: Swing
2010 Status: INCUMBENT
HB5194 Vote: YES
HB5198 Vote: NO
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Drolet's tactics had some effect on two of the targeted Representatives. Richard Ball voted NO on both tax increases and so did Senator Glenn Anderson. Both these will fall off Drolet's list of recalls. It is most likely that if a recall occures, Corriveau, Gaffney, Valentine, Olshove, Van Woerkam and Garcia will be attacked most heavily. With petitions being pulled in for the Speaker of the House's district, it would not be surprising if the Michigan Taxpayer's Alliance went after Senate Majority Leader Mark Schauer who voted for both bills.
Unless the Michigan Senate Republicans act,
funding for public schools will
be slashed in 7 days.
Bishop
did not say what tax plan he might
accept
as part of
the solution. Asked whether he would prefer a sales tax on
services or an income tax increase, Bishop said he
didn't find either palatable.
As
pissed as I am at Mike
Bishop and the Senate Republicans for
continuing
their maniacal blockade of new revenues, I'm not ready
to support
a
recall drive against them...yet.*
Oh, they deserve to be tossed out
on their duffs. No doubt about that. My issue is that I think it would
be a bad strategic move to be seen as having fired
the first shot in
what would quickly devolve into an
insane and destructive recall war.
Unfortunately, Ex. Macomb County Rep. Leon Drolet
from
the Michigan
Taxpayers Alliance (of which Grover "Drown Government in a
Bathtub" Norquist is a board
member) continues to make threats
to do just that.
If
he does, we'll be
forced to retaliate. Michigan Democratic Party chairman Mark Brewer
is
already
saying he'll go after up to two Republicans for every Dem
targeted. Now
Leon's buddy
from the poorly-attended
"Teabagger" protest - Republican state chairman Saulius Anuzis - says
if the
MDP gets involved, that'll
be his cue to (overtly) engage the
resources of the state Republican party towards anti-Dem recall
efforts.
From there, it's a rapid descent into political
madness. It's not
hard to imagine scenarios where significant numbers of legislators
on both sides have to contend with recall fights - in essence
creating a new special election less than a year into the new term.
Meanwhile, Michigan's budget crisis will continue to get worse. And
even if
we somehow manage to solve the budget problems for this year and
approve a complete replacement for the $1.7 billion Single Business tax
- we're still looking at a budget hole that's nearly
twice as large as the one that schools are set to feel on June 1. With
the auto industry in trouble, it's doubtful that picture is going to
get any better.
A recall war is really
not what Michigan needs right now. This isn't to say I don't think we
could win it. I think we could. But the potential collateral damage to
our state that would ensue from such a scenario make it an unacceptable
choice, in my view.
On top of that, there really isn't much strategic advantage
to being
the one who fires the first shot (e.g., being the first to submit recall language for approval). As long as we've made the proper
preparations and are ready to move at a moment's notice, we shouldn't
be at any real disadvatage for having waited. Additionally, the law
requires immediate notification of a legislator if someone has
submitted proposed recall petition language against them - so in
theory, the opportunity for surprises is limited.
That said, if Leon, Saulius , and Grover Norquist decide to
implement
their "nuclear option," there is no choice. Dems will have
to defend themselves.
To help us better prepare
for this doomsday
scenario, go below the fold for a brief treatise on how YOU can protect
yourself in the event of a recall war...
(Amen! Now it's really time to start A-C-T-I-N-G. Get on the phone, the Tubes, writing those letters to the editors, time to get serious! - promoted by LiberalLucy)
There is a point where the progressive community needs to stand up for itself. In today's MIRS right-wing extremist Leon Drolet spent money on robocalls into Republican and Democratic districts to let voters know that their representative is going to raise taxes.
No one wants to pay more in taxes but there is a point where the bleeding has to stop. From the day former Governor John Engler left office to today, Gov. Jennifer Granholm has had to spend most of her time cutting the budget instead of doing the things she was put into office to do.
We have bled this state dry, State government is lean and understaffed; services across the state have been eliminated, and now they want to cut education to where schools will have to shut down, cut Medicare so people won't get the healthcare they need and cut revenue sharing so cities will be able to provide less to their citizens.
At what point do we say enough is enough. When will a slight tax increase become worth smooth roads, a well-staffed police force and most importantly an educated public?
The progressive community must stand together and fight back these recall threats by Drolet and friends and fire back with some of our own. These bleed the state dry Republicans are not living up to their constitutionally mandated authority and are cow-towing to the wishes of a small minority of vocal anti-tax conservatives who will spend more on fighting the tax increase than they'll actually ever have to pay in taxes.
We need to unite to let people like Senators Mike Bishop, Bruce Patterson, John Pappageorge and Valde Garcia know that we have had enough. Recall petitions can be distributed for all these people on June 10th. You have 180 days to find 40,000 signatures in each district. This is something an organized progressive front can accomplish.
This is not a time for campfire songs and happy thoughts; we have to be as aggressive as the Republicans are if we want to save this state.
