Free Republic

The state Legislature's November recess is drawing criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm wants lawmakers in session to deal with the repeal and replacement of a services tax scheduled to take effect next month. Reps. Rick Jones and Paul Opsommer, two Republicans from the Lansing area, say lawmakers should be in session to vote on several bills affecting the budget.

LANSING - Michigan policymakers edged closer to the brink of the unthinkable this week, as paralysis in the debate over how to address the state's looming $1.8-billion deficit for the 2007-08 budget year raised the specter of a partial shutdown of state government if no deal is reached by Oct. 1. Talks to resolve the budget stalemate broke down in a flurry of finger-pointing Thursday night, leaving Gov. Jennifer Granholm and lawmakers stumbling toward the deadline without a plan to pay for an array of government services. Seasoned Capitol observers said the situation is as dire as any in memory....

Working at the prison can be dangerous and stressful, but it has always offered a much-coveted perk: job security. While factories have downsized or shut down in recent years, the area's prisons have been relatively safe from layoffs. But the state's recent budget woes have upended that stability, leaving employees at Jackson County facilities in a state of uncertainty. State Department of Corrections officials announced in February plans to close Southern Michigan Correctional Facility -- one of five prisons in Jackson County -- as a step toward filling a $92 million deficit in the Department of Corrections budget. But the...

While the state Capitol remains under a "Yellow Alert," watching and waiting for ten Democrats to take a stand one way or another on Andy Dillon's $1.2 billion tax hike scheme there are reminders of the stakes all over the state. The sheer insanity of a massive tax hike sans a single penny's worth of reforms is reinforced by the updated numbers coming out of the housing market. Michigan now ranks sixth worst nationally in terms of home foreclosures. Not a nice number. But the pain and the trouble in that figure really jumps out at you when you dig...

We've all heard the expression "when it rains it pours." Deep words, right? What the unnamed and unseen sage doesn't tell you, though, is that when it pours in Michigan it's probably part of a monsoon in the heart of a deep jungle type rainy season. And it's probably going to keep raining for a long long time. So grab a tree and hold on tight or else you might get blown away. Case in point... Reports started swirling late yesterday and are all over the papers this morning that Volkswagen and Audi are almost certainly, now, going to announce...