Free Republic

Michigan Democrats and a new ballot initiative campaign are promoting tax hikes to pay for road repairs. The union-funded Citizens for Fair Taxes is collecting signatures to place on the ballot an increase in the state’s corporate income tax from 6 percent to 11 percent. That would reportedly generate an extra $900 million a year, which the measure earmarks to roads. If the campaign gets the required number signatures, the measure would be placed before state legislators, and if they did not pass it (a virtual certainty) it would then go on the 2016 statewide ballot. Democrats are also pitching...

Complete Headline: Mitch McConnell Gives Fiscal Conservatives The BIG MIDDLE FINGER – Announces Plans To “Work With” Obama On Budget…. In the unlikely event you can’t hear the sound of the Rhinoceros marching on bubble wrap directly behind you, it might be worth while getting a firmer grip on both your ankles [Snip] […] The Kentucky Republican said he would work with the White House to come up with budget levels to keep the government open past Sept. 30, conceding that President Barack Obama won’t sign a measure with a rider defunding Planned Parenthood.

We recently spoke with Dr. Claudette Lajam, NYU Hospitals for Joint Diseases, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, as well as Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center. She does pediatric, assisted in the lauded robot knee-replacement procedure, affiliates with Cornell Medical and the Alpha Award Club, and hosts Sirius Radio, Monday evenings. These will do for a start. Lajam was speaking on “The Myth of Choice” to the NY County Republican Women’s Club. We stayed afterwards to schmooze and exchange views on reproductive topics and related hot-button topics. “Choice” means more than pregnancy termination....

In the four Michigan budgets approved by a Republican-controlled Legislature under Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, revenues at the Dexter Community Schools have moved in line with many public school districts throughout the state: The Washtenaw County district gets more state dollars now than it did under Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s last budget in 2010-11, even though it now serves fewer students than four years ago. However, Dexter Community Schools Superintendent Chris Timmis says his district isn’t experiencing any real spending increase. Timmis calls the total of $1.8 million extra the district has collected from the state in those four years a...

It may have escaped the attention of Baltimoreans but things have gotten a little testy in the New York-New Jersey area in recent weeks over the state of century-old rail tunnels running under the Hudson River. The deteriorating condition of the tunnels is threatening Amtrak and other rail service, but how to pay for a $14 billion-plus replacement has proven a challenge. Unfortunately, that's not just a problem for New York City but for Baltimore and other stops along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, the nation's most heavily traveled railway handling more than 750,000 passengers a day. The stations in Baltimore and...

Though "schools are underfunded" is a popular belief, per-pupil funding in Michigan has increased substantially over the past 20 years. Even so, the current state budget includes a $500,000 line item for an “adequacy study" that could lead to even more school spending. The declared purpose of the study is to determine how much taxpayers must spend for public schools to educate students sufficiently well to meet state graduation requirements, presumably with no substantive changes to the status quo system. The study expenditure was authorized as part of a legislative deal last December to get Democratic legislators to support the...

Did you see what just happened? The devaluation of the yuan by China triggered the largest one day drop for that currency in the modern era. This caused other global currencies to crash relative to the U.S. dollar, the price of oil hit a six year low, and stock markets all over the world were rattled. The Dow fell 212 points on Tuesday, and Apple stock plummeted another 5 percent. As we hurtle toward the absolutely critical months of September and October, the unraveling of the global financial system is beginning to accelerate. At this point, it is not...

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton will unveil a $350 billion plan aimed at making higher education more affordable at an appearance in New Hampshire Monday. The proposal centers on a $200 billion federal incentive system aimed at encouraging states to expand their investments in higher education and cut student costs. States that guarantee so-called "no-loan" tuition at four-year public schools and free tuition at community colleges will be eligible to receive federal funds.

Medicare at 50--Still Flawed, After All These Years ST. PAUL, Minn.—This Thursday, Medicare will mark a milestone—50 years since it was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 30, 1965. Designed as part of LBJ’s “Great Society” initiative, Medicare was intended to provide low-cost hospitalization and medical insurance for the nation’s elderly. But the program has been in crisis for years and needs an escape plan, not a rescue plan, says Twila Brase, president and co-founder of Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF, www.cchfreedom.org), a national organization dedicated to preserving patient-centered health care and protecting patient and...

Some controversy is swirling around the new Vikings Stadium, as some are saying the project could be millions of dollars over budget. One member of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority is speaking out on the issue and facing opposition from other members. Duane Benson has served as the MSFA treasurer since the group's inception back in 2012, however, he is preparing to leave the group in light of recent turmoil and says the $1.1 billion project's finances are anything but in order at the moment. As the groundbreaking project continues to break the bank, Benson says there is a problem--perhaps...

Goose Creek resident Kelly Schuler said he was earning a six-figure income in corporate sales when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and after his symptoms became apparent and he lost his job, Social Security Disability Insurance payments became his financial lifeline. Now he finds himself among the 11 million Americans who could see their monthly checks slashed by 19 percent next year, unless federal lawmakers address a looming shortfall in the Social Security fund that pays disability benefits. The main Social Security fund that pays retiree and survivor benefits is not expected to run short for another two decades,...

Gilda Jacobs, president and CEO of Michigan League for Public Policy, is against eliminating the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit so that money can be used to fix the roads. The Detroit Free Press reported that Jacobs said using the EITC to free up money for roads is like "trying to fill the Grand Canyon with a bucket of sand." ForTheRecord says: The state’s version of the Earned Income Tax Credit will cost the state budget $118 million in the upcoming fiscal year. That’s 10 percent of the road funding target. A bucket of sand that is roughly 10 percent...

The state House of Representatives recently cut funding for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation with the goal of freeing up money for roads. This reprioritization of spending is prudent, but it faces opposition in the state Senate. A good deal of empirical evidence supports the case that government economic development policies — otherwise known as corporate welfare — are ineffective at achieving their goals of faster economic growth, increased employment and greater diversification. For example, a 2004 study titled, “The Failure of Economic Development Incentives” was a review and analysis of the academic literature on the subject of MEDC-type programs....

Michigan’s public sector unions collect tens of millions of dollars from government and school employees, but if members want to learn how their dues money is being spent, all they'll find is a one-page report disclosing just three aggregated spending figures. Unlike private sector unions, which are subject to federal labor law and financial disclosure requirements, state and local unions are subject to oversight by individual states. (This is related to the fact that states can also choose not to recognize or bargain with public sector unions.) Michigan's financial reporting requirements for public sector unions are "ineffective in providing important...

At 8:10 a.m. on Monday, April 27, the Metropolitan Council released the startling news that the price tag of the proposed Southwest light-rail line had increased by $341 million to $2 billion. Met Council Chair Adam Duininck said in a news release at the time that “all options are on the table,” including not building the line at all. E-mails among Duininck, Metro Transit officials and other political players — including Gov. Mark Dayton — obtained through a Minnesota Data Practices Act request reflect the behind-the-scenes positioning in the days leading to the announcement. The 231 pages of e-mails don’t...

It’s a progressive paradise.Public employees get 30 vacation days a year. Anyone who works over eight hours in a day gets paid time-and-a-half. Employees have strong rights.The minimum wage is high: 77 percent of the median wage.Environmental regulations are settled beyond the pressure of local economic interests. The forests and mountains are pristine destinations for ecotourism.Energy costs are kept high, pushing consumption down to a level deemed “socially beneficial”. Utilities have strong public backing and provide jobs to thousands.Union jobs in shipping are protected from outsourcing to cut-rate foreign competitors.The social safety net is buoyant and provides a solid working-class standard...

"When I ran the second time, I didn't say that — and you didn't ask me. So we'll have to leave that as an open question." When taxes are "an open question," we think we know the answer. So the state with the highest income and sales taxes in the nation is now looking at new tax revenues to pay for roads. That probably means a gas tax hike, in a state that already pays America's highest prices at the pump and ranks as a "tax hell" in most ratings by business and taxpayer groups. But hey, things can always...

DETROIT may be one of the only cities in the rich world where it is possible for someone on a fairly modest income to buy a street. At the edges of Boston-Edison, a historic district of gorgeous old houses built as one of the city’s first wealthy suburbs, so low has the cost of housing fallen that fairly grand houses can be acquired simply for the cost of back property taxes. ..Chief among the costs that are higher in Detroit is transport. One of the reasons people who live in Manhattan don’t mind paying so much for housing is that...

While the media has rushed to pick apart policy proposals from Republican presidential candidates, not much attention has focused on Hillary Clinton’s positions — because she hasn’t staked out any. Even though she has campaigned for months, Hillary has avoided taking any positions at all until Saturday’s relaunch in Roosevelt Park. Even that speech was a laundry list of slogans rather than any serious commitments or policy proposals, more like a State of the Union speech and delivered with less aplomb and personality.After some media criticism about the lack of substance, Team Hillary let the media know that her...

A pitch mailed by the Kalamazoo Public Schools to a local nonprofit asking for help passing a millage hike on May 5 included the following: “For many years, the state has underfunded public education, and local school districts have needed to make significant budget cuts as a result.” The letter also stated that Kalamazoo Public Schools had cut spending by about $10 million in the last five years. The special education tax hike squeaked through with just 51 percent of the votes. According to the Kalamazoo Public Schools’ audited financial reports, its costs for all “governmental activities” – (the overall...