Michigan’s legislature is essentially a microcosm of what is happening in Washington, D.C. A small coalition of hard-right tea party types are holding the Republican party hostage, forcing them to cut deals with the Democrats in order to actually, you know, govern. Cast in the role of U.S. House Speaker John Boehner is Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger. This gridlock […]

The Tea Party of West Michigan (motto: “Influence policy, effect [sic] elections, protect the Constitution”) is a constant source of entertainment and amazement to me. They amaze me because of their impressive ability to turn out their supporters to contact their legislators to get things done according to their distorted worldview in Lansing. They are VERY good at doing this, […]

During the 2014 campaign in Michigan, we were told repeatedly that Republicans hadn’t cut education funding. Despite the fact that they had actually taken BILLIONS OF DOLLARS from our schools each year, the told us with a straight face that, despite all of the evidence to the contrary, they had increased funding for our classrooms. Now, just a few weeks […]

Last week, Anne introduced a new feature on Eclectablog – Big Picture – a new way to look at the issues using an engaging visual approach. The first one took a look at Governor Rick Snyder’s harmful impacts on public education in Michigan. You can view that one HERE Today is Anne’s second installment. This one looks at the dangerous […]

I had a conversation with Ann Arbor-area state Representative Jeff Irwin recently and he brought up a point few people are discussing related to higher education. There’s been a lot of focus on how much money is in Gov. Snyder’s budget for education and Gov. Snyder wants everyone to believe that he has put MORE money into his education budget […]

In what was a surprise to pretty much nobody, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed Republican Rick Snyder this past week. He’s also spending $2 million on pro-Snyder ads. I say it’s unsurprising because (a) Bloomberg held a mega-fundraiser for Snyder back in June in the midst of the road funding battle in the Michigan legislature that ended […]

Back in February, “Crazy Kerry” Bentivolio published an op-ed in the Detroit Free Press expressing his strong support for something called the “Transportation Empowerment Act” (TEA), legislation sponsored by ardent Tea Party Caucus members Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Representative Tom Graves (R-GA). The TEA would do the following: Grant “all authority regarding federal highway and transit programs to the […]

A new ad out by the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) calls out Michigan Governor Rick Snyder for raising taxes on Michigan senior citizens. It is the sixth ad run by the DGA in Michigan. Here’s DGA Communications Director Danny Kanner: Governor Snyder raised taxes on Michigan’s seniors to give tax cuts to the wealthy and buisnesses even if they shipped […]

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts plans to file a lawsuit to overturn Proposal 1, approved by voters in Tuesday’s primary. The ballot initiative eliminates the Personal Property Tax which taxes businesses for equipment that they own, giving Michigan businesses a half billion dollar tax break on top of the $1 billion cut in corporate taxes passed in 2011. Fouts said the […]

By a decisive 69-31% margin, Michigan voters passed Proposition 1, giving businesses a $500 million tax break on top of the $1 billion tax break they were given by Rick Snyder and Republican legislators just after the 2010 election. Proposal 1 eliminates the Personal Property Tax, a tax businesses pay on equipment that they own. According to analysis by the […]

I’ve already detailed my reasons for voting NO on Michigan’s Proposal 1 which would eliminate the Personal Property Tax HERE. But there is another reason, in my opinion: Republican threats to screw over municipalities if voters turn it down: The GOP-led Legislature could eliminate the personal property tax with no revenue-replacement plan for local governments, [Truscott Rossman’s Kelly Rossman-McKinney] said. […]