State legislators are discussing which strings to attach to a $194 million partial Detroit bailout.
One of those strings — a requirement that the city close its pension systems to new members — is being met with opposition over alleged "transition costs" from the move. But these costs are completely optional and easily avoidable, as other governments that have reformed their pension systems show.
A bipartisan 10-bill package has been introduced in the Michigan House related to a proposed Detroit bailout. A link to the concise, objective, plain-English MichiganVotes.org descriptions of all 10 bills is here.
It’s worth noting that the grant (or bailout) bills do not require passage of the reform bills to become law. Also, nothing would prohibit a future Legislature from repealing the reform measures, although in practical terms this could get complicated given that a potential federal court bankruptcy settlement may be all wrapped together with the grant and reforms — if they are approved.
Labor Policy Director F. Vincent Vernuccio writes in The Detroit News today how an increased minimum wage would negatively impact waters, bartenders and other tipped workers.
Research Associate Jarrett Skorup was a guest on “Let It Rip” on FOX2 Detroit with host Charlie Langton Sunday, discussing why corporate welfare for Hollywood is bad for Michigan taxpayers and how that $50 million a year could be better spent.
A new Minnesota law on civil asset forfeiture prevents the government from keeping money and property seized without a criminal conviction.
As noted by Nick Sibilla from the Institute for Justice:
Now the government can only take property if it obtains a criminal conviction or its equivalent, like if a property owner pleads guilty to a crime or becomes an informant. The bill also shifts the burden of proof onto the government, where it rightfully belongs. Previously, if owners wanted to get their property back, they had to prove their property was not the instrument or proceeds of the charged drug crime. In other words, owners had to prove a negative in civil court. Being acquitted of the drug charge in criminal court did not matter to the forfeiture case in civil court.
As described in a recent post, one of the challenges surrounding a partial bailout of Detroit using $350 million in state money spread over 20 years is that the current Legislature cannot guarantee that a future Legislature will follow through on the commitment.
Corporate welfare paid to Hollywood stars who visit Michigan to make movies “is costing taxpayers a fortune,” Michael LaFaive, director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative, told WNEM-TV5.
LaFaive said not only is taking money from Michigan taxpayers and giving it to Hollywood troublesome, but so is the lack of transparency surrounding the film subsidies.
Surplus tax revenue collected statewide and put into the state’s “rainy day fund” that is meant to pay for unforeseen statewide needs that would benefit all taxpayers is being targeted as part of Gov. Snyder’s plan to bail out Detroit, according to The Detroit News.
MIRS news service in Lansing reported recently on a difference of interpretation in school spending between the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and an Oakland County school district official.
In the article, Mackinac Center Education Policy Director Audrey Spalding was quoted as saying, "The West Bloomfield superintendent is repeating the same misinformation that we have seen from the MEA and other school officials. By only considering the foundation allowance, he is ignoring nearly $1,200 per student in funding from state taxpayers."
Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr visited Lansing last week trying to persuade hesitant state lawmakers to ante up $350 million toward a partial bailout for the city.
It’s a tough sell for reasons Orr himself expressed with regard to a group that is getting no love from current policymakers — those who lent money to the city and would like to get repaid. Here is how he characterized the actions of some of these lenders:
As legislators consider a plan to partially bail out Detroit, they should consider some of the favors the state has already made to Detroit’s finances. These include casino taxes, utility taxes and borrowing. Perhaps the biggest favor is state generosity in revenue sharing. The state transfers more revenue to Detroit each year than any other government and its transfers go beyond levels justified by population.
A Michigan Capitol Confidential story about the 80 percent decline in membership in the SEIU Healthcare Michigan union is receiving national media attention. Some 44,000 home-based caregivers who had previously been shanghaied into the union under a scheme approved by the Granholm administration have chosen not to join the SEIU now that the stealth unionization has been overturned by law.
Since 2008, Mackinac Center for Public Policy analysts have periodically published estimates of cigarette smuggling in 47 of the 48 contiguous states. The numbers are quite shocking.
In 2012, more than 27 percent of all Michigan in-state consumption was smuggled. In New York, almost 57 percent of all cigarettes consumed in the state were also illicit. This has profound effects on the revenue generated by state (and sometimes local) government.
It’s a truism that a current legislature cannot bind future legislatures to follow through on its own policy and spending preferences. For example, this year’s House and Senate may vote to raise taxes and provide a chicken in every pot, but nothing prevents politicians elected in future years from cutting taxes and decreeing, “No more chicken soup for you!”
In previous weeks I’ve stressed the importance of Detroit rescuing itself from a bankruptcy of its own making. Among the possible solutions are asset sales, competitive contracting, ending unnecessary services and more, including some big, bold, outside-the-box ideas (see “Could Detroit Support Two Airports” and “Belle Isle Proposal To Be Featured On Fox Business”).
Michigan Capitol Confidential reports today that since the stealth unionization scheme to force tens of thousands of Michiganders into the SEIU has ended, its membership is down 80 percent. More than 44,000 home-based care givers who were shanghaied into the union under a plan concocted during the Granholm administration have chosen not remain in the SEIU now that they have the freedom to decide.
Recent news reports on the Detroit bankruptcy have spilled a lot of ink over paint. Specifically, in coverage of a partial state bailout of the city intended in part to insulate paintings in its art museum from being sold off. I’ve spilled some of that ink myself in a blog post on the issue.
Senior Legislative Analyst Jack McHugh wrote in The Macomb Daily how Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan to bait out Detroit could pass a Republican-controlled Legislature whose constituents overwhelmingly object to the plan.
Today’s CapCon story highlights a student from Cesar Chavez Academy — a charter public school in Detroit — who will be attending one of the top universities in the world next fall.
Daniel Felix lives right near the former Southwestern High School in Detroit. Former, because the school was shut down two years ago for being repeatedly assessed as one of the worst high schools in Michigan.
The Wall Street Journal has a good "Weekend Interview" piece with Bob Woodson, head of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise. The group works in low-income areas to foster entrepreneurship, value creation and faith-based enterprises.
The whole interview is interesting, but one part in particular relating to government mandates for occupational licensing stuck out:
Economic revitalization is the chief rationale provided by backers of a $260 million taxpayer subsidy for the new Detroit Red Wings arena. The economic impact of Michigan’s favorite hockey team, however, is vastly exaggerated.
In fact, if this economic logic justifies subsidies, the state would be better off sending tax dollars to McDonald’s rather than to the Red Wings.
The Mackinac Center recently filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, urging justices to review a free speech case out of California.
At issue is Section 399b of the Public Broadcasting Act, which restricts core free speech by prohibiting public television stations from broadcasting paid advertisements, including issues of “public importance or interest.”
Gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer has released his plan for Michigan education. Rather than propose innovative solutions to Michigan's changing school environment, Schauer's plan appears to be largely directed toward protecting the status quo and making education more expensive.
Over the past decade, Mackinac Center for Public Policy analysts have pointed out that the Great Lake State ranked at the bottom of a number of economic measures and indicators.
In the last couple of years though, there has been far more good news to report than there used to be.
The Michigan Legislature is currently debating whether or not to send extra state money to Detroit. There have been three polls taken on this issue with fairly different results.
Lambert, Edwards & Associates/Denno found very high support, depending on how the money will be spent. I cannot find the exact language of how the question was asked, but this was in the press release:
