It seems our Republican governor uses the same playbook as embattled Wisconsin governor Scott Walker.
Step 1: create (or in our case, worsen) the budget deficit by giving tax breaks to businesses.
(Freep) Gov. Rick Snyder uncorked a radical new budget plan today that he says will stimulate new jobs by slashing $1.8 billion from business taxes statewide.
Step 2: use the deficit as an excuse to cut everything else.
(Freep again) ...cutting wide swaths through state spending, including money for schools, communities, universities and prisons.
(Michigan Radio) Governor Rick Snyder has asked the Legislature to reverse an employment panel's decision to allow un-married state workers to claim their live-in partners on their benefits.
...
[The governor's chief of staff] says the new policy would cost the state millions of dollars during a budget crisis.
"It's not fiscally sound, and right now we just can't afford to do it."
And just so we're clear:
We Can Afford
We Can't Afford
$1,800 million in new tax cuts for businesses
A few million dollars for equal benefits for the rest of state employees
Current levels of K-12 and university funding
Revenue sharing to local governments for public safety (which now will be paid for through higher local taxes anyway or through poorer response times)
Over the course of the past couple of weeks we've been talking about how the War On Social Security was about to get under way and what happens when countries choose to privatize their systems.
Today we take on another bite-sized chunk of economic analysis: how can you get to a situation where Social Security is financially stable for the next 75 years?
We'll describe some proposals that are out there-but the big focus of this conversation will be to look at one change that, all by itself, could not only solve the entire funding problem, but could actually allow us to lower the Social Security tax rate, immediately, and still achieve fiscal balance.
"Well, if that's such a bright idea" you might ask, "why haven't we adopted it already?"
That's a great question-and after you hear the proposal, you may well have explanations of your own.
One of the most consistent defenses of Walmart is that it has succeeded because it simply delivered what customers wanted and that if you don't like it, just don't shop there. But Firedoglake has a great piece up this week that explains how even the non-Walmart shoppers are not only affected by Walmart, but are actually paying in many ways to subsidize it:
Are you tired of hearing John McCain and his surrogates talk about how Barack Obama is going to raise taxes? I am. Here is Barack in his own words on his tax plans.
The glow from the Governor's message of bipartisanship has faded sooner than anticipated with a new series of budget-busting bills sponsored by the Senate Republicans. In an effort to undermine what had appeared to be a somewhat smooth process, the Senate passed SB 1053, SB 1054 and SB 1058 on Thursday.
So what's wrong with a couple of bills to "help business"? Well, according to subscription-only MIRS:
... Department of Treasury Legislative Liaison Scott SCHRAGER ... said SB 1053 "essentially puts a neon sign outside the Farnum Building that says, 'Tax shelters available here.'"
Blind support for bills pushed by SBAM and the Michigan Chamber are the hallmarks of Senate Republicans, especially everyone's favorite, Nancy Cassis (R-Oz) who whined that Treasury officials...
... were determined to "just say no, no, no."
Cassis actually admitted that she was being fed amendment language instead of you know, listening to her constituents.
"All of these amendments have come to us from the business community".
The Free Press is reporting that Granholm is leading an effort to stop the recall madness - on both sides:
Gov. Jennifer Granholm called for “a cease fire” on recall campaigns launched against lawmakers in the wake of tax increased they approved last fall to balance the state budget. “I think recalls are a terrible answer to moving forward,” Granholm told reporters. “It is a distraction, it’s divisive and we need to come together.”
Meanwhile back at the ranch, Drolet calls himself reasonable???
Leon Drolet, of Michigan Recall, the organization that is spearheading the recall campaigns, said he would halt recalls if Granholm rolls back the tax hikes. "I will cease collecting signatures if she agrees to undo the tax increases and return the money,” Drolet said. “It sounds like a reasonable offer, she’s not leading the recall (against DeRoche.)
While not as sexy as drug overdoses or the withering away of Fred Thompson’s presidential aspirations, the crisis in Darfur is still going on, unabated. Despite the lack of media attention, it is imperative that we act to help turn the situation around. Earlier this year, the African Union mission was replaced with a UN-Hybrid force. However, the Sudanese government has refused to allow this force the equipment it needs to carry out its mission, in addition to banning troops from some major donor nations. Unless this changes soon, this force will be rendered as ineffective as the AU force of old. Michigan can help. $150 million of taxpayer dollars are invested in companies that support President Al-Bashir’s genocide. If Michigan passes HB 4854 and SB 555, it would join with 22 other states in pressuring these companies to change their tune. Please help. Urge your state senator to call for the introduction and passage of these groundbreaking pieces of legislation. Together, we can make a difference.
"The most important thing I learned (this year) is I'm not ever going to raise taxes again. It's too hard. It's too impossible," Granholm told The Associated Press.
"Especially in light of our economy and what we've been through, I just don't think that there's anybody who's interested in proceeding down that path again. And I'm first at the head of that line," she added.
I realize that raising taxes is a very difficult thing to do, especially given the economy, but what sense is there in taking solutions off the table without knowing how things might turn out? I have to confess to being disappointed that this isn't just something she's taken off the table, but that she's at the head of the line to do so.
No one is interested in going down that path again, just as there isn't anyone who is interested in paying higher -- any, for that matter -- taxes. But, aside from calming the nervous jitters of conservatives afraid that even a dime's worth of extra will cause bureaucrats to literally explode from the top of the Cass Building, I can't see the value in taking a solution off the table for problems that won't present themselves for maybe a year or two.
Welcome to another round of "Partisan Hacks posing as Journalists". Today we feature one of the most notorious hacks of them all, Frank Beckmann, the WJR radio talk show host who goes out of his way to pledge his allegiance to Unethical Republican Propaganda on a regular basis.
This morning Beckmann of taped an interview with Gov. Granholm that was to be played later in the day. Beckmann, thanks to his minions at the ultra-conservative blog RightMichigan (RM) was already prepped for a partisan slam on nothing but taxes.
Barely bothering to get his facts right in his questions about the recent budget negotiations, Beckmann accused the Governor of lying to the citizens of this state when it came to tax hikes.
To do this, he played the YouTube clip that RM put together of a debate that took place at TV station in Detroit during the '06 Campaign. The interesting part is, RM couldn't be bothered to put up her answer in entirety, but rather just the part that fit their devious desires.
If he had ethics, Beckmann could have just as easily gotten the clip from WXYZ, who actually hosted the debate. Problem is, it wouldn't have suited his dirty tactics. Even Saul Anuzis, Chairman of the MI Republican Party bothered to post the full clip. Wow. It's a sad day when Saul's own people make him look like the good guy.
So why didn't Beckmann play the real, entire clip? Simple, because if he did, he knew the Governor would have known it was a question about replacing revenues from the Single Business Tax (SBT), and not just a blanket "No New Taxes" pledge, and she would have talked about the SBT/Michigan Business Tax (MBT).
I don't like saying it but I believe it's true. The media narrative surrounding the budget fiasco has taken hold and the Dems do not come out smelling pretty. This is not entirely their fault, of course. Media coverage tends to be lazy at its best and mendacious at its worst. The Republicans are doing all that they can to pin the shutdown on the Dems. Those things are expected.
Jennifer Granholm is an easy target, as she is likely the best known politician in the state, even though between her, the House, and the Senate, she probably deserves the least amount of blame. The old narratives about tax and spend liberals will be flayed out at the expense of our candidates once again.
All of this would have happened anyway, but because of a series of blunders by House leadership, the narratives will be much, much worse.
(originally a myspace bulletin I did to counter an anti-granholm thanks for raising our taxes bulletin, it pretty much shows how I feel)
Don't forget it.
They are trying to tell you that the mean old Democrats (with their devious maven in control Jennifer Granholm) raised your taxes, all families please report your first born to the nearest sos office (to be brain washed into being gay and sent out to take your guns away).
Fact is the Republican's have been increasing your taxes for 20 years.
For service (income-only) providers, adding 6% sales tax is economically the same as taxing 6% of gross income, without exemptions for business costs. Devastating! Potentially more than all Federal taxes. Services will leave the state in droves.
This fiscal irresponsibility leaves me (and many others in my field) little choice. Together with the inability of the legislature to pass guaranteed "network neutrality" and "open access", and other innovation stifling acts (such as prohibiting stem cell research) that have caused major scientific employers to leave the state, the climate for independent business is rapidly deteriorating.
The possibility of a government shutdown has us all thinking about how life would be without these services. Services we take for granted.
If we get a product or service from a corporation we expect to pay for it. Yet we are unwilling to pay for vital government services. It is time to be RESPONSIBLE!
So far this year we have seen cuts and reforms. The only responsible action now is to raise taxes.
I can't afford to not have my taxes raised.
_________________
Madden
(Some of the best framing I have seen regarding the budget crisis. - promoted by ScottyUrb)
The strike and budget showdown boils down to a clash of values: what kind of society to we want to live in?
This is really a battle of what kind of state Michigan will be. Low tax, low quality of life, the Mississippi of the north? Or will it make the transition to a post-industrial information economy, becoming the Massachusetts of the Midwest? We know which model the Republicans favor.
It's also a battle over what kind of economy we want. Do we want a Wal-Mart model or a GM model? A broad middle class or a few rich and powerful and insecure, impoverished drones below. Once again, we know what the Republicans want.
Tim Walberg, (R) from Michigan, penned the following article in The Economist.
To preserve tax relief
By Tim Walberg
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published June 17, 2007
In his budget message to Congress in January 1963, President Kennedy wrote, "Lower rates of taxation will stimulate economic activity and so raise the levels of personal and corporate income as to yield within a few years an increased -- not a reduced -- flow of revenues to the federal government." Unfortunately new leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives has chosen to ignore Kennedy's exemplary fiscal insight of years ago. Democrats in Congress are discounting advancements made possible by the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts passed by Congress and are trying to slap U.S. taxpayers with a $400 billion tax increase that will slow our economy's current progress. If Democrats follow through on their budget promises, the American people will face the following: ? A $500 per child tax increase. ? A 55 percent Death Tax. ? A 13 percent tax increase for many small businesses. ? A 33 percent tax increase on capital gains. ? A 164 percent tax increase on dividends. I believe Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats in Congress must join together to ensure the American economy is not crippled by a massive tax increase. I recently introduced the Tax Increase Prevention Act, legislation that would make permanent tax relief passed in 2001 and 2003. My bill simply takes away all the sunset provisions of the 2001 and 2003 tax relief packages that passed Congress and provides American families and job-creators the certainty to plan for the future. If my bill becomes law, the American people will see none of the tax increases Democrats are proposing on things like marriage, childbirth, adoption, earning money, saving money, paying college loans and dying. A recent Heritage Foundation study revealed the Democratic plan would raise taxes by $3,019 for each person in my south-central Michigan district. Also, the Heritage study revealed this tax increase would cause 2,272 job losses in south-central Michigan and cost my district's economy $207 million. These numbers are not exclusive to my district, as 100 percent of Americans will feel the effects of this massive tax increase. The critics say making tax relief permanent will eliminate large amounts of federal revenue, but tax revenue correlates with economic growth, not tax rates. There is no reason not to make this tax relief permanent. The tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 are working, as evidenced by recent news that more than 40 states report higher tax revenue than expected this year.
We MichLibbers are well aware that lawmakers in Lansing have been debating a fix to Michigan's budget crisis for several months. While the Fiscal Year 2007 budget is balanced, that for Fiscal Year 2008 (which begins October 1) is not.
A key sticking point in budget talks has been whether to raise taxes. Tax hikes aren't an easy pill to swallow, but neither are poor schools, lousy healthcare, or more potholes.
So to make the tax-hike pill easier to swallow, below the fold are some facts about tax policy in the Great Lakes State for you to ponder.
I raised the issue of interchange fees a while back here and am still working with the Merchants Payment Coalition (MPC) to raise awareness of this problem.
A quick refresher . . . interchange is a percentage of each transaction that Visa and MasterCard banks collect from merchants every time a consumer uses a credit or debit card to pay for a purchase. These hidden interchange fees drive up the cost of goods and services for all consumers whether they pay with plastic, cash or check. Plus, at $36 billion last year, interchange is the largest fee, more than the total amount of penalty fees and ATM fees combined.
(When Rhonda phrases her argument like that, it's hard to disagree! - promoted by LiberalLucy)
I think it is time for Governor Granholm to use the bully pulpit of her office to speak directly to the people of Michigan.
I heard former State Rep. Maxine Berman say that all the Governor needs is $40 from each of us. When I talk to my friends and neighbors about it, they ask "Is that all?"
And I'm not talking to just Dems. That has been the across the board response. Some even say they would offer to pay more to cover those that couldn't afford it. Others say they would pay more if it would help their schools.
