The Bain Report: Articles that Affect You & Your Family for October, 4, 2010

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October 16 “SAVE OUR STATE RALLY”
4pm to 6pm Schoolcraft College Gym 18600 Haggerty Rd, Livonia
Jim Keena a tea party favorite & Thayrone X from WAAM radio

 

Unity Studios moves out of Allen Park
Well, here’s another Michigan film subsidy gone bad for the taxpayers of this state. Allen Park bought the property specifically for the studio with the promise of jobs to the tune of 27 million dollars. The studio will move to Detroit in a designated enterprise tax exempt zone. This is yet another failure to Michigan taxpayers with this endeavor that should have been eliminated in the recently completed state budget but was extended with an increase in funding to the tune of 21 million dollars more than the previous year! I guess we as taxpayers should be happy that they cut the funding for Pure Michigan advertising by 6.4 million
 
Find ways to repair dysfunctional Legislature
We need a fresh start, a structural realignment, a fundamental shift in the way things are done. This is true in Michigan’s State government, which has become so broken that nothing short of a major revision will position Michigan for a thriving future. Case in point: The Michigan Legislature was not envisioned as a full-time body in the 1963 Constitution, according to an analysis by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. Yet, over time, it has gradually crept into full-time session, with more tinkering — and wheel-spinning — than Michigan may need these days.
 
Michigan Senate votes to increase Gas Tax
2010 Senate Bill 1267 Passed in the Senate on September 16, 2010, to continue to (Impose 7/8th cent gas tax for non-road spending ) (Senate Roll Call 417.) This gas and refined petroleum tax was scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2010. The tax was originally levied for the cleanup of underground fuel tanks, but was diverted to other government spending following a 2004 “fund raid” enacted to avoid state spending cuts and reforms, and continues to be used for that purpose. The bill would extend the tax through 2012. Our legislators continue growing bigger government instead of making the necessary cuts to reduce the size and scope of it!
 
Michigan “Budget path “Not Sustainable” 
A recent report by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan examines the danger of balancing the state’s budget using federal stimulus money.  It argues that using $1.3 billion in federal funds and accelerating future revenue is a recipe for disaster.  When the stimulus money is not available, the state will be forced to make drastic budget cuts or enact large tax increases. 
The full report can be view here.
 
Court’s inaction allows illegal stealth unionization to continue
In a court order received yesterday afternoon, the Michigan Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Human Services on behalf of home-based day care owners and “again failed to address key questions”.
 
Legislature’s “Early-Out Deal” no deal for taxpayers
Legislators celebrated a “victory” last week by passing a state employee early retirement scheme that generates upfront savings of just under $140 million (but at the expense of higher costs down the road). This will be used to fill in a gap between their desired 2011 government spending vs. expected revenue (aka “the deficit”). The measure lets politicians get back to the campaign trail, but in the long-term may cost taxpayers more overall, despite some “rosy scenario” projections that claim otherwise.
 
Michigan Economic Growth Authority preferential tax deal disputed
An ongoing investigation by the Mackinac Center into a preferential tax deal that was granted to a maker of solar panels in Saginaw has revealed that the company may have “misrepresented” information that was “critical” to the company receiving special help from state government as part of the company’s decision to move to Michigan rather than Texas.
http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/13636
 
Cash-Hungry State Turns to Tattoo Parlor Fees AKA “TAX INCREASE” for More Money
First it was the tanning salons, now the tattoo parlors, who’s next? I see some tanning salons going out of business will the tattoo parlors follow? While not a big fan of either this is about picking winners and losers in the business community!
 
Michigan: Family Income Falling the Fastest in the United States
Recent data reveals Michigan now ranks 37th in median family income. That is a 21.3% decline in just the last 9 years. In fact, per-family income has dropped over 6% in the last year alone. In 2000 Michigan ranked 16th, in the mid-1960’s Michigan was in the top five states for per-capita income.
 
Michigan Republican Senator Squawks at Stimulus Spending
Passed in the Republican lead Senate on September 29, 2010, to authorize spending $316 million granted to Michigan’s school budget by the “Edujobs” portion of the federal “Stimulus 2” bill passed by Congress in August, 2010. See also House Bill 6086, which depends on this one-time “stimulus” revenue to shift $208.4 million from school to the 2010-2011 community college budget. “The state GOP hits House candidates on federal stimulus spending.” Can you imagine that the state Grand Old Party is attacking House Democrats in our own State House for excessive spending of bailout money? Talking about calling the kettle black!
 
Solution to Mosque at Ground Zero
Whether or not you’re ok with a mosque near Ground Zero, this is a way of
showing tolerance! I think it should be the goal of every American to be tolerant. The mosque should be allowed, in an effort to promote tolerance. That is why I also propose, that two nightclubs be opened next door to the mosque thereby promoting tolerance within the mosque. We could call one of the clubs (which would be gay) “The Turban Cowboy” and the other being a topless bar “You Mecca Me Hot”.
 
Missionaries Acquitted of Inciting Crowd at Arab Festival in Dearborn
A jury acquitted four Christian missionaries accused of inciting a crowd while videotaping themselves proselytizing Muslims at the Dearborn Arab International Festival in June. Robert Muise, an attorney for the Thomas More Law Center who sucessfully defended the missionaries, also argued that his clients’ First Amendment rights were violated.
 
Dearborn Doctor sentenced for health care fraud, immigration & tax offenses
Ali S. Makki, a 51-year-old medical doctor from Dearborn, was sentenced today to serve 24 months in custody followed by three-years supervised release on three felony counts involving his fraud against the Medicare program, and making false statements in immigration and for filing a false tax return.
 
Obama administration to Make Internet Wiretaps Easier
Broad new regulations being drafted by the Obama administration would make it easier for law enforcement and national security officials to eavesdrop on Internet and e-mail communications like social networking Web sites and BlackBerries, The New York Times reported Monday.
 
Fox news bows to the pressure from Obama Administration
Fox is already cowering down to the President. In response to President Obama’s complaint that FOX News doesn’t show enough Black and Hispanic people on their network, FOX has announced  that they will now air “America’s Most Wanted” TWICE a week.
 
Exorbitant card fees chip away at benefits for the unemployed
For millions of out-of-work Americans, the only thing keeping them fed, clothed and housed is the unemployment benefits they receive from the state. Yet in far too many cases, those badly-needed funds are being depleted by the very banks that issue the debit cards on which they receive their benefits.
 
Consumer confidence drops to lowest since February
Americans’ view of the economy turned grimmer in September amid escalating job worries, falling to the lowest point since February. The downbeat report, released Tuesday, raises more fears about the tenuous U.S. economic recovery. It also further underscores the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street; consumers’ confidence fell further even as stocks rebounded in September.
 
U.S. Postal Service rate hike rejected
The Postal Service’s bid to raise the cost of mailing a letter by 2 cents was rejected Thursday, denying the agency immediate relief from a worsening financial crisis. The Postal Service lost $3.8 billion last year and is headed toward an approximately $7 billion loss this year as people do more business on the Internet and the recession erodes the volume of marketing mail.
 
Senate Expands IRS Form 1099 Reporting Requirement to Include All Rental Property Owners, More than 10 million Americans are in for a rude awakening in January
Millions of Americans who own rental property are in for a bit of a rude awakening, beginning in January. Congress has presented a bill to President Obama that would expand the IRS Form 1099 reporting requirements set out in the health-care reform law to include private citizens who own rental property.
 
Government is a disease masquerading as its own cure
Robert LeFevre

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Posted in: Bain Report, Politics

The Bain Report: Articles that Affect You and Your Family for Monday, September, 27, 2010

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S.O.S TEA Party Rally October 16, 2010
Speakers include Jim Keena – a TEA party favorite – and Thayrone X from WAAM radio.
http://rattlewithus.ning.com/events/the-sos-save-our-state-tea
 
Stealth Unionization Case of Home Day Care workers in Michigan
In August, Mackinac Center reporter Kathy Hoekstra uncovered a video where Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) boasted of her role in the unionization of home day care workers. How could some so called Michigan Republicans sponsor or co-sponsor such legislation? I’ll tell you, they are nothing more than Republicans in name only carrying the water for the Democrats, Unions, and their agenda’s in order to advance their political career’s! This is what’s called by some as working across the isle. So when you hear a Republican politician say I’m willing to reach across the isle to get things done you should know it means getting it done for them and not the one’s they are supposed to represent!
 
Michigan’s state budget faces long-term problems
Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the state’s legislative leaders will leave office at the end of the year having steered the state budget along a rocky road through one of the toughest economic eras in Michigan history. But they’re leaving a lot of difficult, long-range work unfinished for the folks taking over in 2011.
http://www.lenconnect.com/topstories/x1238340195/Michigans-state-budget-faces-long-term-problems
 
Tourism Industry Declined to Support Pure Michigan
Although the state doesn’t have the money to continue the Pure Michigan advertising campaign, the tourism industry didn’t believe advertising was something it wanted to pay for. The Pure Michigan campaign should be paid for by the people it directly benefits — the tourism industry. Without exception, representatives from a variety of tourism industry segments indicated their members and/or Boards would strongly oppose such an approach. But it’s OK that we the taxpayers can fund it for their benefit! Which politicians are getting their campaign coffers stuffed that voted in favor of it to begin with?
 
Billion-Dollar State Budget Hole, ‘Guaranteed Catastrophe’
Last fall at a Sarah Palin book signing in the Grand Rapids area, State Rep. Dave Agema sought out a reporter with a gloom-and-doom prediction: The state of Michigan was going to be in deep trouble once the stimulus money ran out. Now, a recent study by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan shows that the state budget will be without $1.6 billion in 2012 that was from one-time sources of revenue that will help balance the budget in 2011.
 
Broken Windows on Display in Michigan Senate Finance Committee
Mark Adler, a lobbyist for the Michigan Production Alliance, and Carrie Jones, the director of the Michigan Film Office, defended the state’s film subsidy program in a Senate Finance Committee meeting yesterday. To do so they employed a long-recognized economic fallacy, the “Broken Window” theory, which only considers economic activity that is “seen” while ignoring unseen economic costs.
 
The 600-Student District With the $300k Superintendent
A public school superintendent in a district with just 600 students made $300,000 in 2009 in total compensation, making his financial deal one of the most lucrative in the state.
 
City Officials Corruption
Don’t think for one minute this is only going on in the big cities like Detroit and Los Angeles! Look at the recent events right here in Monroe with the extension of the county chief financial officer and his $45,000.00 per year raise for the next two years with his job evaluation waved. This is just one example I’m sure there are many more that need and should be exposed!
 
The Only Reason Democrats Win Elections Is Because They Lie
No matter the situation, no matter how high the stakes, all Democrat politicians are willing to lie with every breath they take in order to get elected. This can also be said of most politicians of either party affiliation.
 
Obama’s finance team is recommending a transaction tax
The plan is to sneak it in after the November election to keep it under the radar. This is a 1% tax on all transactions at any financial institution, Banks, Credit Unions, etc. ANY deposit you make, or move around within your account, I. e. transfer to, will have a 1% tax charged. If your pay check or your social Security or whatever is direct deposit, 1% tax charged. If you hand carry a check in to deposit, 1% tax charged, If you take cash in to deposit, 1% tax charged. This is from the man who promised that if you make under $250,000 per year, you will not see one penny of new tax. Keep your eyes and ears open, you will be amazed at what you learn. Some will say aw it’s just 1%…remember once the tax is there they can raise it at will.
http://www.ohiofreepress.com/general/2010/h.r.4646-1-tax-transactions-financial-institution/
 
Burglary in Florida, You just can’t make this stuff up!
When southern Florida resident Nathan Radlich’s house was burglarized recently, thieves ignored his wide screen plasma TV, his VCR, and even left his Rolex watch.
 
This is exactly what’s wrong in Washington!
Here’s audio of D.C. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton leaving a voicemail for a lobbyist.
I have to admire the guys’ guts for making this public.  He’s in for it now.
 
Here’s her response, where she claims this voice mail is a
“standard request made by candidates to potential donors who do not know the candidates or their work”
 
Judge for yourself, but IMO this has shakedown written all over it.
 
As Dennis Miller so aptly said on his radio show,
“This is the ‘quo’ part of ‘quid pro quo’.”
This is Don Corleone calling .. Sonny’s mom wants an open casket.”
 
Even if you consider this a “standard request” isn’t this indicative of exactly what’s wrong in Washington?
 
VOICEMAIL TRANSCRIPT:

“This is, uh, Eleanor Norton, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. Uh, I noticed that you have given to uh, other colleagues on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. I am a, um, Senior Member, a twenty year veteran and am Chair of the Sub-committee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. I’m handling the largest economic development project in the United States now, the Homeland Security Compound of three buildings being built on the uh, old St. Elizabeth’s hospital site in the District of Columbia along with uh, fifteen other, uh, sites here for, that are part of the stimulus .
 
I was, frankly, uh, uh, surprised to see that we don’t have a record, so far as I can tell, of your having given to me despite my uh, long and deep uh, work. In fact, it’s been my major work, uh, on the committee and sub-committee it’s been essentially in your sector.
 
I am, I’m simply candidly calling to ask for a contribution. As the senior member of the um, committee and a sub-committee chair, we have (chuckles) obligations to raise, uh funds. And, I think it must have been me who hasn’t, frankly, uh, done my homework to ask for a contribution earlier. So I’m trying to make up for it by asking for one now, when we particularly, uh, need, uh contributions, particularly those of us who have the seniority and chairmanships and are in a position to raise the funds.
 
I’m asking you to give to Citizens for Eleanor Holmes Norton, PO Box 70626, DC, 20024. I’ll send you a follow-up note with appreciation for having heard me out. Thanks again.”
 
Quote of the Week: “A retired teacher paid $62,000 towards her pension and nothing, yes nothing, for full family medical, dental and vision coverage over her entire career. What will we pay her? $1.4 million in pension benefits and another $215,000 in health-care benefit premiums over her lifetime. Is it ‘fair’ for all of us and our children to have to pay for this excess?” -New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
9-1-1 phone tax “fund raid” Bill
 
Didn’t I just read recently they wanted to increase this tax on us?
They voted to take $7 million in each of the next two fiscal years from telephone tax money levied to pay for 9-1-1 emergency phone service infrastructure, and use it instead to avoid spending cuts and reforms. The infrastructure was completed several years ago, but in 2008 the tax was extended through 2014 anyway. This phone tax revenue was previously “raided” in 2004, and again in 2006. This is representation you can take to the poor house!
 
Recession Declared Over, but FedEx Plans 1,700 Layoffs
While the government declared the recession officially over FedEx announces 1,700 Layoffs. Something just doesn’t pass the smell test here! Foreclosures are still running high, jobs are scarce, the Banksters still aren’t loaning money all seems like propaganda and fuzzy math to me.
 
Is Recession Over? Household Balance Sheets Tell a Different Story
So the question becomes: have U.S. households repaired their balance sheets? If they haven’t — if they’re still burdened by excessive debt, low cash reserves and stagnant income growth — then the “end of the recession” loses much of its promise of solid recovery.
 
Blockbuster Bankruptcy 800 More Stores to Close
Hollywood Video, FedEx laying off 1,700 and the list goes on but we’re in a recovery and the recession was over in June of 2009! Right!
 
Kagan case: ‘Real Truth About Obama’
Just as the U.S. Senate was voting to install President Obama’s one-time solicitor general, Elena Kagan, on the U.S. Supreme Court bench, a case was discovered in which she represented the government against an organization called “The Real Truth About Obama.”
 
How the Obama Tax Hikes Affect Your Bottom Line
In 1819 Chief Justice John Marshall stated, “An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy; because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation.” With the Obama tax hikes, we are fast approaching that limit.
 
ALIPAC Congratulates Americans for Defeating Dream Amnesty Bill
While Democratic Senators Reid and Durbin complain on the Senate floor about the latest defeat of the Dream Act Amnesty by a cloture vote that fell four votes short of the 60 needed to make it into law, ALIPAC is thanking supporters and all American activists and groups that rose up to defeat the bill.
 
The Fed Is Going All In: And So Should You
Ben Bernanke and his merry gang of banksters said that they will print as much money as needed in order to backstop the economic “recovery.” The Fed is willing to go “all in” with regard to the debasement of the U.S. Dollar. That is clear.
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2010/09/22/the-fed-is-going-all-in-so-should-you-fxy-fxf-gld/
 
Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.
Thomas Jefferson
 
 
Posted in: Bain Report, Politics

The Bain Report: Articles that Affect You and Your Family for Monday, September, 20, 2010

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Monroe’s Maniko gets two-year extension and pay raise!
“Royce is not anywhere close to being a financial expert,” Commissioner Jerry Oley said. “Over the past year, we have not even had marginal performance from (Mr. Maniko), and I believe this board truly recognizes this problem.” Mr. Sisk “telling the board that we don’t have to evaluate (Mr. Maniko) is a disservice to him and the board. We have evaluated the CFO (chief financial officer) my entire tenure on the board,” Mr. Oley said. “Mr. Sisk said it wasn’t important.” He also gets a pay raise of $45,000.00 per year from $105,000.00 to $150,000.00 at the expense to the taxpayers of Monroe County! Where is this citizen board he talked about in a recent letter to the editor comment where he states that the board of county commissioners can’t give raises?
 
Town Won’t Allow Tea Party to Celebrate U.S. Constitution in Town Square
Local officials in Ohio’s Andover Township have denied the use of their public square for a celebration of Constitution Day because of the “political affiliation” of its organizers.
 
“Gift to Unions” not Charter Schools
Many charter schools in Michigan will not be able to use about $15.5 million of federal dollars earmarked to prevent teacher layoffs because they use “contracted” staff, said a spokesman for charter schools.
 
State Battery-Plant Subsidy Is a “Risky Venture”
The governor and others are suggesting that a $383 million government-subsidized battery plant for Livonia will jump start the state’s struggling economy and create jobs. This is likely a highly exaggerated claim, according to two University of Michigan experts familiar with the battery industry.
 
Michigan Governor Touts Jobs Costing Taxpayers $113,000 Each
In her blog on the Huffington Post last Thursday, Gov. Jennifer Granholm laid out the details about Michigan landing North America’s largest advanced battery plant. But Gov. Granholm didn’t mention one fact: It was the $374 million price tag in federal and state subsidies it took to get A123 Systems to put its plant in Livonia.
 
G.O.P. Leaders Say Delaware Upset Hurts Senate Hopes
Oh really? Just because one of their status quo boy’s got knocked off! The Tea Party movement scored another victory on Tuesday, helping to propel a dissident Republican, Christine O’Donnell, to an upset win over Representative Michael N. Castle in the race for the United States Senate nomination in Delaware.
 
Democrats fret over John Dingell race
On Tuesday, the state party launched a Web site attacking his little-known GOP opponent, Rob Steele.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42191.html
 
Path opened for road funds
Michigan might yet dodge a road-funding bullet. A budget agreement being finalized in the Capitol is designed to produce the $84 million that Michigan needs to avoid leaving $475 million in federal highway funds on the table in Washington.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20100912/FREE/309129993
 
Indymac Boys Get Sweetheart Deal
Check out the sweetheart deal the Indymac boys were given by the FDIC. The billion dollar question is…“Does the government really wanna clean up this mess? ” And just when you thought things were getting better. Talk about robbing Peter to pay Paul. Huh?
 
Harry Reid Wants to Attach DREAM Act to Defense Bill
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday he wants to attach an amendment to an upcoming defense policy bill that would help young people in the country illegally become legal U.S. residents.
 
Milton Friedman – The Social Security Myth
Using Social Security as his prime example, Professor Friedman explodes the myth that the major expansions in government resulted from popular demand. In a speech delivered more than 30 years ago, he directly relates this dynamic to today’s health care debate.
 
A picture is worth a trillion($) words
Should we buy them larger screen computers – or – a ticket home, permanently? This is one of their THREE DAY WORK WEEKS that we all pay for. I am ready to start from the beginning by voting out all elected officials and not letting any them stay in office for more than two terms. No more lifelong healthcare, retirement, voting in their own pay raises, taking perks on our taxes, etc.
 
Obama Administration Speeding its Implementation of Collapsing America
Maintaining his corrupt policy of “say one thing to the American people and then do the opposite,” Dictator-in-Chief Obama remains true to his primary mission—collapse and destroy the USA and her people.  Applying the directives of Saul Alinsky, the Cloward-Piven Strategy and—of course—Karl Marx, Obama and his merry band of demolishers are working feverishly to destroy the USA before a potentially new and more conservative-run House of Representatives takes the majority.
 
120 Days to Go Until the Largest Tax Hikes in History
In just 120 days, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect.  They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011.
 
Feds Spent $800,000 of Economic Stimulus on African Genital-Washing Program
The study’s lead investigator Dr. Thomas J. Coates was the fourth highest-funded researcher in the country in 2002 and is currently conducting HIV research on three continents.CNSNews.com asked both Coates and NIMH the following question: “The Census Bureau says the median household income in the United States is $52,000. How would you explain to the average American mom and dad — who make $52,000 per year — that taxing them to pay for this grant was justified?”
 
Subsidize journalism with public funds? The bad idea that won’t go away
Ever since the Internet has thrown the private journalistic business model into disarray, the idea that perhaps public funding should be used to “save” private journalism has found purchase among some. I, as you might guess, wouldn’t be one of the “some.”
 
Debate on Net Neutrality Regulation & Pricing Freedom
Should the government or the free market set the price of getting on the Internet?
 
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them
Thomas Jefferson
 
 
Posted in: Bain Report, Politics

The Bain Report: Articles that Affect You & Your Family for September, 6, 2010

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Note: This weeks Bain Report is an abbreviated edition.
 
Opinion: 2010 Republican State Party Convention: By R. Al Bain
The 2010 Republican State Party Convention held last week at the MSU Breslin Center, East Lansing was a disorganized joke. This precinct delegate for one thinks that the power brokers of the state party purposely orchestrated this event the way they did because they knew that the Conservatives and Tea Party delegation had them outnumbered as to steer the Republican Party back to it’s original intent of it’s founding principles, traditions, and values.
 
I for one made a call to the Republican State Party two weeks prior to the convention seeking information and was told they were still working on the details. With a record number of republican precinct delegates filing for office in 2010 they had to know what to expect. I think they did that’s why it was so disorganized! They wanted to create confusion among the delegates as to retain the power and control of the status quo! They even tried to use the “union shenanigans” of taking away the right to a secret ballot on certain voting issues claiming they didn’t anticipate they needed to print ballots so they wanted to have a standing or hand count even when a majority of the delegates didn’t get their credentials.
 
The venue was terrible to say the least with one elderly lady falling trying to access the convention floor by traversing the steps at the Breslin Center that even a young person would find hard to navigate. She was put on a stretcher with a neck brace. The liberal media also used incorrect hype in their reporting with headlines reading “Tea Partiers” storm and crash convention gates. That was far from the truth. The truth is it was the State Republican Party leadership that caused all the disorganization not the delegates or Tea Partiers.
 
The Republican Party is broke and in desperate need of fresh new conservative leadership not the left leaning liberal moderates we have now! It’s long overdue for this change and we as true conservative republicans can only hope this happens sooner rather than later.      
 
Political charades are nothing new in Michigan
The state’s major political parties can establish their own sham party aimed at disrupting elections and confusing voters. This happens at the local level as well.
 
Brian Calley and other GOP Convention Shenanigans
Michigan Republican Party Chair Ron Weiser proved he’s incapable of getting a balloon drop right. Hard to understand why he and the party are so eager to meddle in state policy when they can’t put on even the most basic of events such as a state party convention.
 
School District slices $1.7 Million more from budget; kids to feel the cuts
Our children suffer as the political powers continue to use them as pawns in a political chess game that’s all about convincing the public we need to raise taxes instead of cutting government.
 
DTE customers lose power in region unconfirmed Tornado spotted
Sources say they saw what appeared to be a Tornado Thursday, September, 2, 2010 rip through an area around I -75 and Fort Street about 3:30 p.m. An estimated 7,000 DTE Energy customers in the Carleton, Flat Rock, Gibraltar and Riverview areas lost service from this severe thunderstorm accompanied by high winds and lightning.
 
More than 3 Million Seniors may have to switch drug plans
A plan by Medicare to try to make it simpler for consumers to pick drug coverage could force 3 million seniors to switch plans next year whether they like it or not, says an independent analysis. That risks undercutting President Barack Obama’s promise that people can keep their health plans if they like them.
 
Feds sue Arizona sheriff in civil rights probe
At a news conference Thursday morning in downtown Phoenix, Sheriff Arpaio called the Justice Department‘s actions harrassment.
 
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson 
 

 
Posted in: Bain Report, Politics

The Bain Report: Articles that Affect You & Your Family for August, 30, 2010

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Michigan Economic Development Corp creates new program
The Michigan Economic Development Corp. has created a new initiative to pursue business development opportunities with the 12 Native American tribes across Michigan. How does this help the taxpayers of Michigan? The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is a quasi-public agency of the state. For budgeting purposes, the MEDC is not officially recognized as a state agency. The article “Reservation Shopping” exposes why. http://www.newswithviews.com/Williams/carole9.htm Some of the tribes also gift politicians with “vote for me” money, and, yes, despite their proclaimed and recognized sovereignty, Native Americans can vote in the White Man’s elections. The MEDC is arguably the least necessary entity in state government. Its existence is based on several flawed premises and political considerations, such as:
 
Welfare Recipients Gambling at Casinos With Their Payments
In California and Michigan, welfare recipients have been using their Electronic Benefit Transfer cards to withdraw state-funded payments from ATM machines in casinos.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/welfare-casinos-gambling-government-money/19608735/
 
Jobs don’t star in Michigan’s film industry tax credits 
Sticking taxpayers with up to 42% of the expenses incurred by film productions here, the program also underscores Michigan government’s schizophrenic tax policy that keeps overall taxes too high to attract job providers, but cuts taxes or writes subsidy checks for a handful of politically favored firms or industries.
 
Local governments face declining fiscal health
Local governments are in declining fiscal health that many top administrators believe will get worse in the coming year, according to a University of Michigan report. The report states that “declining state aid, federal aid, and revenue from fees and licenses are also problems across the state.”
 
10 Big Retailers Closing Stores 
With the prospects for economic recovery iffy at best and consumer spending still moving at a snail’s pace, it’s little wonder that retailers are sussing out their weakest stores and closing them in order to protect profits. Retailers say they are positioning themselves to play where they can be strongest and avoid burning resources in places that won’t produce the results they want. Here are some of the biggest store closings of late.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/company-news/10-big-retailers-closing-stores/19597754/
 
“Those Voices Don’t Speak for the Rest of Us”
Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) and the Republican Study Committee present to you a new video featuring President Ronald Reagan reminding us that the out-touch voices of the government or either Party don’t speak for all Americans.
 
OPSOMMER WARNS AGAINST STATE-CREATED MONOPOLIES
State Rep. Paul Opsommer, R-DeWitt, today questioned a new plan to increase state coffers by reducing the number of legally authorized liquor distributors in the state down to one, a move that would in effect create a state-sanctioned monopoly.
 
Smoking ban dries up business
Some eateries see sales drop, but the effects reach farther. On some weekend nights, there used to be seven waitresses working the crowd at Perfect Pitcher Sports Pub in Taylor. But since Michigan’s smoking ban went into effect May 1, Natalie Samu, the soon-to-be ex-owner of the bar, has just one or two waitresses serving the dwindling crowd. “Our business is down over 50%,” said Samu.
http://www.freep.com/article/20100819/NEWS06/8190447/

 
Michigan’s jobless rate declines only because of workforce leaving the state
Last month, the Detroit Free Press buried the fact that the unemployment rate decreased because people left the workforce, not because they got jobs. It’s not the fact that the unemployment rate declined, but why it declined that is most important here. See chart.
 
TARP Billions Shipped Overseas
Economists and conservatives reacted sharply Thursday to reports that tens of billions in TARP bailout money flowed out of the United States and into the coffers of big banks in France, Germany, and other nations during the government rescue of the U.S. financial system. That news came as the U.S. economic picture continued to worsen, with rising unemployment claims and a surge in U.S. homes lost to foreclosure.
 
US Economy Near Point of No Return
The Federal Reserves decision to expand its quantitative easing by purchasing more Treasuries is a dangerous one, says Keith McCullough, CEO of research firm Hedgeye. “That could lead the country to the brink of collapse,” he wrote in a Fortune magazine column. McCullough agrees with economists Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff, who recently wrote that government debt in excess of 90 percent of GDP pulls down economic growth.
 
Boehner Dubs New Stimulus Bill ‘Cash for Flunkers’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi summoned lawmakers back from summer break and they voted 61 to 39 on Tuesday to approve the emergency $26 billion stimulus-type bill. President Obama immediately signed it into law. House Minority Leader John Boehner referred to it as the “union-boss bailout” bill and is an election-year gift to teachers and public workers unions.
 
Dumping Bush Tax Cuts May Bring Depression
Many economists are worried about the possibility of a double-dip recession, but former Bank of England official David Blanchflower thinks it could be much worse than that if the Bush tax cuts aren’t extended. “If we don’t act fast, a plunge into Depression is a growing risk in the U.S.,” he writes in a column on Bloomberg.
 
35 States file lawsuit against the Federal Government
Governors of 35 states have already filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon them. It only takes 38 (of the 50) States to convene a Constitutional Convention.
 
Federal teachers union bailout a huge waste of time and money
We suppose we should grudgingly congratulate the Michigan Education Association, and its parent organization, the National Education Association, for pulling off the heist of the year in Washington, D.C. It’s like congratulating Bonnie and Clyde for another successful bank robbery.
 
Defense priorities dangerously off-track
With an exploding budget crisis, President Obama is proposing spending cuts, but not where you’d think. Has he decided to stop campaigning on behalf of Democratic Congressional members up for reelection at the taxpayers’ expense to the tune of two million dollars? No. Has he decided not to spend $100,000 per teaching job to bail out teachers’ unions? No. Instead, he has decided to cut defense funding and reclassify what constitutes defense spending. The National Security Strategy now declaring a focus on climate change, green energy, and women’s rights.
 
10 Signs The U.S. is Becoming a Third World Country
The United States by every measure is hanging on by a thread to its First World status. Saddled by debt, engaged in wars on multiple fronts with a rising police state at home, declining economic productivity, and wild currency fluctuations all threaten America’s future.
 
Patronage, Principles, and Political Parties
When they teach American government and the history of the early American republic, political scientists and historians have a puzzle to explain. There is, within the American constitution, no mention of political parties. And yet it is impossible to make sense of American politics in and after the early republic without reference to parties. Moreover, the parties that did emerge in the United States bear only a faint resemblance to the parties that existed in England and on the European continent prior to the American civil war and even less to the parties that exist on the other side of the Atlantic today.
 
Obama’s tax on oil, gas will hurt the economy 
Raising taxes on energy companies, the vast majority of which are small businesses, will make it more expensive to produce everything in this country. If the government charges energy companies a higher cost-of-doing-business, those companies will have to recoup the loss by raising the price of their natural resources. The refineries and distributors will in turn raise their prices to the end consumers. President Obama’s budget includes a proposal to repeal Section 199, but only for oil and gas companies. In other words, the federal government will specifically target our domestic energy companies for what amounts to a tax increase — even in the middle of a recession at a time when we are trying to decrease our reliance on foreign energy.
 
Obama’s agenda: Overwhelm the system
Obama is no fool. He is not incompetent. To the contrary, he is brilliant. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He is purposely overwhelming the U.S. economy to create systemic failure, economic crisis and social chaos — thereby destroying capitalism and our country from within.
  
“When the government fears the people there is liberty; when the people fear the government there is tyranny.”  Thomas Jefferson
 
 
Posted in: Bain Report, Politics

The Bain Report: Articles that Affect You and Your Family for August, 23, 2010

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Washtenaw GOP Delegate Dispute
One of the leaders of the tea party takeover of the Washtenaw County delegate convention says he regrets that he called GOP State Chair Ron Weiser arrogant. Personally I wouldn’t regret it after his statement in an interview with Tim Skubick that the “Tea Partiers” State GOP Chair Ron Weiser was rather sanguine about the Tea Party stuff, suggesting it was not an “organized movement” that only e-mails each other back and forth.”! Mr. Weiser concluded that the movement here “is not going to affect our elections in Michigan.”  http://domemagazine.com/skubick/sku021910 So much for that. Dennis Moore, chairman of Willow Run Tea Party Caucus, put out a press release after Weiser failed to get support as a delegate in the 15th district and was relegated to alternate. To bad the same thing didn’t happen to the moderate liberals at the Monroe County Republican convention!
 
Richardville endorsed by Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP)
This is a perfect example of way endorsements by PAC’s political action committee’s is a farce and a joke! The Great Lakes Education Project mission statement reads as follows: http://www.glep.org/Mission.asp To improve the climate for meaningful education reform, in Michigan, by electing candidates committed to action. We assist candidates truly concerned about the plight of children denied an equal opportunity to a quality education; who will work to bring educational freedom and choices to all parents. Ricardville introduced or voted in favor of the following, reducing per pupil funding http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2010/03/25/news/doc4babcaef3d661099888562.txt, protect bad teachers from being fired http://michiganvotes.org/2009-SB-638, limit the number of charter schools http://www.michiganvotes.org/2009-SB-926 , reduce graduation standards http://www.michiganvotes.org/2009-SB-757,  change the drop out age from 18 to 16 http://www.michiganvotes.org/2010-SB-1076, and allow kids to carry guns http://www.michiganvotes.org/2009-SB-747!  Is this what is in the best interest of our children? I for one think not!
 
Michigan Lawmakers who voted FOR STIMULUS SPENDING
Michigan state government will spend another $47.9 million in federal stimulus money under a bill recently signed by the governor.  As with previous state expenditures of this type, Michigan Senate Bill 1166 draws this money from the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. More familiarly known as the “Federal Stimulus Bill,” this measure was supported by the President and most Democrats in Congress, and was opposed by every single Republican in the U.S. House and all but three Republican U.S. Senators. And yes, Senator Randy Richardville voted in favor of putting our children and grandchildren deeper in debt!
 
Michigan Stimulus Recipients Failing to Report
The July 30 reporting deadline is quickly approaching for those who received money from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) program to tell government how they used their stimulus money in the second quarter of 2010. Those who don’t properly do so end up on a “non-reporter” list. That’s what happened to more than two dozen Michigan companies, colleges and agencies which failed to tell the government how they used nearly $59 million over the past two reporting periods. (fourth quarter 2009 and first quarter 2010.)
 
Nofs, Richardville Parting Ways?
Current and future GOP senators came together to sing kumbaya at a fundraiser today, but the race for leadership has already begun in earnest with the results of the Aug. 3 primary providing a clear picture of what the 2011 caucus will look like.

Things appear to have shifted a bit in recent weeks with Sen. Randy RICHARDVILLE (R-Monroe) and Sen. Mike NOFS (R-Battle Creek) emerging as the top prospects for caucus leader with Sen. Mark JANSEN (R-Cutlerville) also meeting presumed future caucus members after appearing out of it several weeks ago.

MIRS has learned that before the primary, Richardville and Nofs had been talking about teaming up, but that’s changed, with Richardville wanting to go his own way.

Sources tell MIRS that Richardville has promised Sen. Roger KAHN (R-Saginaw) the Appropriations Committee chair post if he’s elected leader, while Jansen has told Sen. John PAPPAGEORGE (R-Troy) that the position is his if he’s leader.

Other sources indicate that Jansen may be looking to team up with Richardville, even though such a meeting hasn’t taken place. Jansen has to recover after putting money behind losing candidates in races against winning candidates Rep. David HILDENBRAND (R-Lowell) for the 29th District Senate seat and Rep. Phil PAVLOV (R-St. Clair) for the 25th District Senate seat.

Jansen did pick a winner, though, in Rep. Tonya SCHUITMAKER in the 20th District. He gave her $10,000 from his Jansen Legacy Fund. He also gave winner Mike GREEN $2,500 in the 31st, Dave ROBERTSON $2,500 in the 26th, Rep. Arlan MEEKHOF $1,500 in the 30th and Joe HUNE $1,000 in the 22nd. Other leadership candidates put money behind those horses, too.

There’s also the history of Jansen’s failed leadership bid in the House. Some have compared him to Sen. Jason ALLEN (R-Alanson), who realized too late in 2006 that he didn’t have the votes to beat now-Senate Majority Leader Mike BISHOP (R-Rochester) for Majority Leader. Allen teamed up with Sen. Wayne KUIPERS (R-Holland) near the end, but it was too late. The theory is that Jansen wants to build a team earlier.

That said, Jansen appears to be approaching the race as the measured option with no future political ambitions, the person willing to make hard decisions and take the arrows that will come with those decisions without worry about the next rung on the political ladder.

However, Nofs, Kahn and Richardville were all markedly active during the primary, which, sources tell MIRS didn’t go unnoticed. Richardville picked a winner in giving Rep. Brian CALLEY $2,500 through his Richardville Leadership Fund, but picked the loser in the 7th by giving $1,000 to Deb WHYMAN. In the past, Richardville also has given to Nofs and Rep. John PROOS.

Kahn’s Leadership Fund gave $5,500 to primary loser Rep. Kim MELTZER in the 11th, but did give Rep. Rick JONES $10,000, Schuitmaker $7,000, Green $3,000 and Meekhof $2,000 and $1,000 to Howard WALKER in the 37th. He also gave to Roberston.

Nofs’ “Fund For A New Majority” gave to winners Hune $10,000, Schuitmaker $5,000, Robertson $5,500, Calley $2,500, Jones $2,500, Walker $3,000, Hildenbrand $2,500, Pavlov $2,500 and Meekhof $2,000. He played both sides of the fence by giving $2,500 to both Copper RIZZO and Rep. Jim MARLEAU in the 12th.

Proos was on the list of prospective caucus leaders before the election (See “Leadership Races In The Shadows,” 8/11/10). But Proos had to devote more time than he planned on his primary race for the 21st Senate District. There’s been some speculation that he could team up with Nofs and be his Appropriations Committee chair.

The rumor today was that Richardville was trying to nail down support from House members and was even telling them not to count on any money from him if he didn’t. But no incoming senator confirmed that, although several said that it’s “way too early” to worry about leadership when Republicans haven’t secured the majority yet.

One likely new senator tells MIRS that Richardville is “way too smooth” to try such heavy-handed tactics. Besides, there would be nothing to stop candidates from taking campaign contributions and voting for someone else for leadership anyway. Richardville couldn’t be reached for the story.
http://www.mirsnews.com/capsule.php?gid=3387  “subscripton required”

 
U.S. giving Michigan $16.8 million for charter schools
One of the problems with this is that the Michigan Republican lead Senate has voted to limit charter schools  2009 Senate Bill 926 (Authorize limited charter school expansion ) – Michigan Votes and their past behaviour says they will rob these funds for other government spending because of this limit they passed! Click the link above to see how your Senator voted!
 
Solar panel maker to cut jobs, but still received Taxpayer Subsidy
House Bill 5275 http://www.michiganvotes.org/2009-HB-5275 (Give $100 million subsidy to an “energy conversion device” maker) Introduced by Rep. Lisa Brown (D) on August 19, 2009. Passed in the House (90 to 17) on September 2, 2009, to give a four-year, $100 million subsidy to a joint venture of the “Xtreme Power” and “Clairvoyant Energy”
corporations, which would employ 300 at the former Ford Wixom assembly plant
making “large scale power systems designed to convert variable renewable
power into firm dispatchable power.” Senate Bill 213 http://www.michiganvotes.org/2007-SB-213 may increase the cost of keeping the lights on if government mandates are permitted to replace market decisions. The subsidy is structured as a “refundable” tax credit, meaning the state will send a check for the amount that the credit exceeds the company’s tax liability. A $100 million credit for the creation of just 300 jobs is clearly unreasonable. Those same resources could be better directed toward broad based tax relief for companies already here, operating in Michigan. Do the math. That comes to over $333 thousand per job!”
 
Do state tax incentives create real jobs, or just ribbon-cutting ceremonies?
Richard Short was just the start of it. In March, the Flint businessman appeared with a beaming Gov. Jennifer Granholm at a Lansing news conference, where she announced Short had been awarded $9.1 million in business tax credits to create more than 700 jobs in economically hard-hit Flint. Hours later, Short was arrested on a parole violation. When it was discovered Short was a convicted embezzler, the state quickly revoked his tax-credit award. “These programs create ribbon cuttings and photo ops, but not real jobs,” said Michael LaFaive, from the Midland-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a persistent critic of tax incentives.
 
Hillsdale College Honor Code
In keeping with the original and abiding mission of Hillsdale College, each entering freshman signs the following document, committing himself or herself to participate fully and honorably in that mission.
 
Six Months to Go Until The Largest Tax Hikes in History
The government is so irresponsible that the accumulated national debt is now beyond the point of no return. It can never be paid off, even if tax rates are 100% (and production continued apace). The governments problem is not a revenue problem. It is a spending problem. Most of what the government does is not authorized by the constitution, and should be ended immediately. (fat chance). Conclusion: the federal government has ceased to be a legitimate government. This is not limited to Washington, DC at the federal level it’s a Lansing problem here in our state of Michigan as well! Coupled with the passage of the largest tax hike in Michigan’s History in 2007 by The House and Senate in Lansing and we taxpayers are burdened with an over taxation problem! Click below for examples of tax hikes.
 
ObamaCare Law challenged by The Thomas More Law Center
The Thomas More Law Center is seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the government to force them to purchase health care. The Thomas More Law Center will be in federal  court today in Detroit to argue that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the health care law, should not be enforced because it is unconstitutional.
 
Detroit council aides get pay hikes
While panel seeks budget cuts, staffers given raises of up to $8.39 an hour! But the Michigan taxpayers get to foot the bill for a Cobo Re-Do on top of this raise. The Republican lead Senate passed legislation recently with our own Senator Richardville voting in favor of it!
 
Beware the VAT: Why the consumption tax is possible
It’s important to understand that a VAT looms so large because it’s the only tax that can remotely raise enough revenue to close the immense gap between federal spending and receipts — in the absence of epic and unpopular reductions in expenditures.
 
Time for Stimulus 2.0? The Debate Gains New Urgency
With the Federal Reserve adopting a more a pessimistic view of the economic outlook, the revival has been swift in calls for the federal government to do more to help spur growth. But what can it do, and would it be counterproductive?
 
Homeownership rate drops
Millions of houses on the verge of foreclosure threaten to send homeownership to its lowest level in 50 years, according to new industry estimates. Fresh projections say the rate could plummet to about 62 percent as early as 2012 and almost certainly by the end of the decade. Homeownership rates haven’t been this low since they hit 61.9 percent in 1960.
 
Arizona Sheriff Vows to Enforce Immigration Law Whether ‘Feds’ Like It or Not
Calling himself “the poster boy” for those who support the enforcement of federal immigration laws, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he will continue to arrest individuals who are in the country illegally, even if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not renew the 287(g) agreement that the Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff’s Office has operated under for the past two years.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/55199
 
What Congress Bought Itself With Your $1 Billion
Congress requires a lot of stuff to keep itself running. Like coffee. And plane tickets. And student loan payments. Files by the Sunlight Foundation provide an unprecedented window on what legislators buy themselves with your money.
 
Quotas Hidden in Bank Reform Bill Will Cost Taxpayers Millions
Buried deep in the bowels of the massive financial-regulation bill the Senate passed Thursday are massive race- and gender-employment provisions that will cost countless millions to enforce and appear to duplicate other civil-rights initiatives already in place.
 
Bush Tax Cut Expiration Will Cost Taxpayers $1 Trillion
Low-tax crusader and Republican strategist Grover Norquist tells Newsmax that letting the Bush tax cuts expire in January 2011 would amount to a $1 trillion tax increase — the largest boost in American history.
 
How the Expiring Bush Tax Cuts Affect You
My Tax Consultant warned me about this! The so-called Bush tax cuts are scheduled to expire at the end of the year. Although some of the cuts retain bipartisan support in Congress and may yet be extended, as of now, Washington has some severe changes in store for you and your family. Grab a scotch and sit down. Higher tax rates for all,

Higher capital gains and dividends taxes for all, Return of the marriage penalty, Return of phase-out rule for itemized deductions, Return of phase-out rule for personal exemptions, does anybody but me remember when we could deduct our new car loans and credit card interest? Home mortgage interest has been talked about as a possible elimination when filing our tax returns also!
 
“A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.”
Thomas Jefferson
 
 
Posted in: Bain Report, Politics

The Bain Report: Articles that Affect You & Your Family for August, 16, 2010

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Did Democrats Nominate Rick Snyder? Did they cross over for Randy Richardville?
Could this scenario apply to the State Senate race in the 17th District? The numbers say it very well happened! Past Primary election numbers do not match for incumbent State Senator Randy Richardville as in past elections. Comparing the numbers as far back as 1999 suggests that the Democrats did cross over to vote for this incumbent! Consider the fact that Democrat Kathy Angerer did not run. Also consider the fact that she most likely would have won this nomination in a predominant area such as Monroe County. When you have a moderate left leaning Republican this makes sense!
 
MIRS: Primary Election Statement from R. Al Bain             
I would like to thank all the supporters in my bid for State Senate here in the 17th District. Its not about winning or losing I feel I’ve already won because I ran my campaign on the Principles, Traditions, and Values that the Republican Party was founded upon! For full statement click link below.
 
Richardville, Spencer to face off for 17th Senate
Sen. Richardville said that he is ready for the next round and will continue with the political rhetoric of promoting low taxes, less government and fewer regulations, sound familiar? (see http://seriousleadership.com/). Not according to his voting record if anyone would bother checking!  He said during this most recent campaign he was upset that his opponents attacked his conservatism. If putting “HIS” voting record out for the public to see who might otherwise never see it is what he considers an attack, he is delusional in what the definition is of attack! There is a huge difference between attack and the facts!
 
Hangar42 Movie Studio Investor Charged With Fraud
The main investor in a project to turn a former western Michigan auto parts plant into a film production studio has been charged in what authorities say is an attempt to fraudulently obtain a $10 million state tax credit. Joseph Peters of Ada was charged with attempted felony false pretenses over $20,000.
 
Analysis of Michigan Film Subsidies: Two Years, $117m – and No Film Job Growth
It has been two years since Michigan’s film subsidy program became law, which is sufficient for it to have gotten off the ground and had some measureable impact on the state’s economy. According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of September 2009 (the most recent month available*), there were fewer people employed by the film industry in Michigan than before the subsidy program began.
 
Thirty-One Michigan Economic Development Corporation Salaries Top $100K
At a time when the Michigan Economic Development Corporation is saying it is being unfairly criticized, its staffers are among the best paid in the state. According to information from a Freedom of Information Act request, the MEDC has 31 employees making $100,000 or more. The MEDC has 351 positions.
 
Joblessness to linger in Michigan for years to come, says labor economist
Some areas of the country, including Michigan, will have lingering high unemployment for years to come, according to Economic Policy Institute labor economist Heidi Shierholz.
 
It’s Official: Social Security System Now in the Red
It was only a matter of time, but it’s finally happened: The nation’s Social Security system will pay out more than it takes in this year and next, as aging baby boomers begin entering retirement. The milestone marks the first time in nearly 30 years that the system is in the red, according to a report issued Thursday by federal officials overseeing the program.
 
Alarming Teacher Contract Summary
About 67 percent of the district’s $22 million operating budget goes towards paying employees covered by this contract, which covers teachers and a few other employee groups. Is this in the best interest of our children’s education?
 
Slowing economy raises fears of double-dip recession
With the recovery from the country’s worst economic collapse since the Great Depression losing steam, some economists fear the United States is headed into a double-dip recession.
 
Seven Reasons Not to Send Your Kids to College
Imagine a retirement where you could have an extra $1million to $3 million in the bank with basically no effort. Now imagine telling your kids that you aren’t going to send them to college. And, you go on, you want them to immediately start a business or get to work as soon as they finish high school. Here Are Seven Reasons to Say “No College” to Your Kids: Click below
 
Refundable Michigan Business Tax credits wrong approach
The approach has drawn criticism from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which sees such tax credits as poor economic development policy — and sees converting the credits into cash as even worse. “Subsidies, in the scheme of economic development programs, are probably the worst of the lot,” said Michael LaFaive, fiscal policy director at the Midland-based think tank. He said that with a “straight tax credit, you have to concern yourself simply with revenue forgone. But with subsidies … you’re just taking resources away from other job providers and people and giving them to a few.”
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20100808/SUB01/308089951/1068
 
Does anyone in the legislature know what “return on investment” means?
2009 Senate Bill 777 (Authorize $100 million renewable power conversion manufacturer subsidy) http://www.michiganvotes.org/2009-SB-777  If I read this correctly we are spending 100 million dollars to create a maximum of 440 jobs. That amounts to over $227,000 per job.  If each employee pays $2000 of taxes per year, it will take over 100 years to recoup the funds.  Does anyone in the legislature know what “return on investment” means?  Does anyone create a cost benefit analysis report?  Reduce the cost of doing business in Michigan by another $100 million and help all businesses. Throwing money at anyone who uses the word “jobs” is as effective as Obama economics. See how your representative voted in favor of this click the link below.
 
Michigan Legislature on wrong track
2009 Senate Bill 986 (Give new home purchase government subsidies) Introduced by Sen. Randy Richardville (R) on November 12, 2009. We have families in our church with a father living in 1 state and the wife and children living in Michigan because that can’t sell their home and dad can’t find work here.  Lower the Michigan Business Tax by 100 million. It may help keep families together.  The above bill does not help the business climate in Michigan.  I am sure you are well aware that Michigan will lose 1 maybe 2 congressional seats because of population lose.
 
Monroe’s Landmark Stores Dropping like Fly’s
All one has to do is take a look around the city of Monroe at all the empty buildings that once was the home of prosperous businesses to see we are not in a recovery! A few years ago Farmer Jack with it’s new modern building closed it’s doors, Hollywood Video is going under, Blockbuster Video has been hanging on though I don’t know how, Burger King on LaPlaisance Road shut it’s doors after 22 years in operation now the Save-A-Lot store at in Monroe Township is set to close before the end of the month and the list goes on. Several business owners I’ve talked with said they have been loosing money for years and don’t know how much longer they will be able to keep their doors open. The Townships, City’s, and the County of Monroe are broke and refuse to make the necessary cuts in government.
 
The Best States For Business and it’s not Michigan
The patch work effort by Michigan legislators to create jobs, save jobs, etc. is ineffective.  The business climate in Michigan ranks 45th. The Michigan Business Tax and the Michigan Business Surcharge Tax must be eliminated! Legislators are cherry picking businesses instead of creating a favorable business climate that attracts businesses as a whole.  We should not have to bribe businesses to come here.  Study tax policies of successful states and implement overall changes.  Meet with business owners and implement changes that help all businesses, not just 1 or 2.
 
We’re the ones who allowed anti-Americans to take over America
By Ted Nugent
Barack Hussein Obama did not sneak into power. An army of clueless, disconnected, ignorant Americans invited him to bring his Marxist, glaringly anti-American jihad into our lives.
 
Lawmakers Return to Washington to Spend More Money
They’re back. Today, Representatives scurried back to Washington from their summer recesses to do what they do best: spend. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) ordered the rare one-day emergency session to vote on a $26.1 billion bill to bail out state governments.
 
Dept. of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod, Obama Fraud exposed
It appears that Ms. Sherrod had just unwittingly exposed herself as the perpetrator of one of the biggest fraud claims in the United States – a fraud enabled solely because she screamed racism at the government and cowed them into submission. And it gets even more interesting. Ms. Sherrod has also exposed the person who aided and abetted her in this race fraud. As it turns out, the original judgment of “Pigford v. Glickman” in 1999 only applied to a total of 16,000 black farmers. But in 2008, a junior Senator got a law passed to reopen the case and allow more black farmers to sue for funds. The Senator was Barack Obama.
 
Sinister pigs 2: stealing BP stockholder dividends
BP ended weeks of speculation Wednesday by canceling its quarterly dividend for the rest of this year. What really happened? The sinister pigs are taking money from the middle class and giving it to the government. Before he died, George Carlin did a routine about the American dream. He said it is called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it. “He starts out slamming America’s education system and moves on to how the corporations and business interests have Americans “by the balls.” Carlin says the people that run this country want nothing more than “obedient workers” and now they want our social security money and retirement. “It’s a big club and you and I aren’t in it,” says Carlin.” As usual politicians, international bankers and the corporate elite are paying nothing. That is because they are all members of the big club that George Carlin talked about. Now that the sinister pigs have managed to steal dividends from BP stockholders, what will they go after next?
 
Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.
Thomas Jefferson
 
 
Posted in: Bain Report, Politics

The Bain Report: Articles that Affect You & Your Family for August, 9, 2010

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Do state tax incentives create real jobs, or just ribbon-cutting ceremonies?
Richard Short was just the start of it. In March, the Flint businessman appeared with a beaming Gov. Jennifer Granholm at a Lansing news conference, where she announced Short had been awarded $9.1 million in business tax credits to create more than 700 jobs in economically hard-hit Flint. Hours later, Short was arrested on a parole violation. When it was discovered Short was a convicted embezzler, the state quickly revoked his tax-credit award. “These programs create ribbon cuttings and photo ops, but not real jobs,” said Michael LaFaive, from the Midland-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a persistent critic of tax incentives.
 
More Tax breaks for two firms OK’d
Warren resident and former councilwoman Gloria Sankuer suggested that council members invite corporate officials to breakfast and ask them to bring their checkbooks. Pointing out that job growth is fine, Sankuer said: “How about asking them to share in our tax burden at this time? “The residents of Michigan don’t get this kind of (tax relief) consideration.”
 
Taxing Canoes and Kayaks
People who hit Michigan’s lakes and streams with their kayaks and canoes may have to pay a $5 fee to the state first as a host of bills looking to tax the state’s summer activities are under consideration.
 
Abolish State Income Taxes?
On average, schools, health and safety, roads, etc. are no better in states with income taxes than those without income taxes. More importantly, the evidence is very strong that people are moving from high-tax states to lower-tax-rate states.
 
States With The Highest Unemployment For The First Six Months in 2010
No surprise here that Michigan is number one on the list. Michigan’s legislators have run the state into the ground! We can only hope that the citizens of this once great state will vote out all the incumbents in the August, 3, Primary and the November, 2, General elections!
 
Michigan’s Borrow-and-Spend Politicians Eye Kids’ Piggybanks
According to MIRS News (subscription required), Michigan House Democrats are talking about using the peoples’ credit card to close a $300 million gap between desired spending and expected revenue in the state fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1. If the borrowing takes place it would be pure Washington-style deficit spending, a perfect example of what author Steve Malanga called in a recent Wall Street Journal article, “slick maneuvers to avoid constitutional borrowing limits.”
 
Michigan Taxpayers Writing Check to 2nd Electric Car Battery Maker for $100 Million
The operators of another Michigan electric car battery plant, A123 Systems, will receive a $100 million cash subsidy from the state for a 75-acre facility the company has leased in Romulus. The subsidy will be in the form of cash because the plant has been granted ”renaissance zone” status by the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
 
Recovery slows, job data show Business hiring lags
A weak June jobs report offered the latest evidence that the economic recovery is non existent. The failed policies of our elected officials here in Michigan and Washington have been a huge reason. In May, home sales plunged and construction spending dropped after a popular homebuyers’ tax credit expired April 30. Consumer confidence has fallen sharply.
 
Home value havoc not over
Revenues for local governments and schools will fall through 2013, according to the budget that will be presented to county commissioners Wednesday. That’s devastating for homeowners who have seen their equity wiped out and in many cases now owe more on their mortgage than their property is worth.
 
Bill to buy crime lab passes Senate
This is insane! Is this the type of representation the citizens expect and deserve? I think not! We cut our children’s education funding and then turn around and pass a Bill to purchase a crime lab. The funding includes $900,000 for purchase and $1.6 million for converting and renovating the crime lab building. I guess this must be essential for our children who will be short changed in education and have nowhere to turn but to crime! What a travesty by our elected legislators.
 
More Than Half of Workers Took a Job Hit During Recession
The recession that began 30 months ago has been one of the most “punishing” downturns since the Great Depression with 55 percent of the labor force saying it had experienced some kind of work-related hardship while the wealth of the average American household suffered its deepest decline in the post-World War 2 era.
 
McCotter Bill Puts Extra Burden on Bloggers
A Michigan congressman is pushing a bill that would empower the Federal Trade Commission to impose fines on Web site operators if they fail to take down personal information posted on their sites. This is the same Republican congressman who voted in favor of the Patriot Act and Homeland security! Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, Introduced in the Senate (S.773) Cybersecurity Act of 2009 Read The Bill: S. 773 – GovTrack.us which appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency. Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.
 
Do You Make As Much as a Government Worker?
Federal employees are often called civil servants because their work is considered a “sacrifice” on their part to “serve” the public. But for many of Uncle Sam’s employees, it’s not really that much of a sacrifice to work for the government. Recent findings reveal that, on average, federal employees receive much higher pay, better compensation and more job security compared to their private sector counterparts, forcing a real sacrifice on the part of taxpayers to fund these elaborate benefits.
 
The Founders’ Vision Versus Ours
The celebration of our founders’ 1776 revolt against King George III and the English Parliament is over. Let’s reflect how the founders might judge today’s Americans and how today’s Americans might judge them. In 1794, when Congress appropriated $15,000 to assist some French refugees, James Madison, the acknowledged father of our Constitution, stood on the floor of the House to object, saying, “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” He later added, “The government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specified objects. It is not like the state governments, whose powers are more general. Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.” Two hundred years later, at least two-thirds of a multi-trillion-dollar federal budget is spent on charity or “objects of benevolence.”
 
Milan to lose 200 jobs: Automotive Components Holdings plant
About 200 jobs will be eliminated at the Automo­tive Components Holdings plant in Milan as the factory phases out its fascia-manu­facturing operation through the end of this year.http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100708/NEWS01/707089973
 
Homes lost to foreclosure on track for 1M in 2010
More than 1 million American households are likely to lose their homes to foreclosure this year, as lenders work their way through a huge backlog of borrowers who have fallen behind on their loans.
 
Quotas Hidden in Bank Reform Bill Will Cost Taxpayers Millions
Buried deep in the bowels of the massive financial-regulation bill the Senate passed Thursday are massive race- and gender-employment provisions that will cost countless millions to enforce and appear to duplicate other civil-rights initiatives already in place.
 
Taxpayers to foot bill for Kilpatrick’s defense
Clad in an inmate’s uniform and leg irons, a noticeably thinner Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded poverty Tuesday when charged in federal court with 19 counts of fraud and income tax violations. Hours later, James C. Thomas, the same high-powered attorney paid by Kilpatrick to lead a legal team in fighting criminal charges stemming from the text message scandal, was appointed to represent Kilpatrick again — this time at taxpayer expense. What a sham on the taxpayers of Michigan.
http://www.detnews.com/article/20100714/METRO01/7140371/1410/METRO01/Taxpayers-to-foot-bill-for-Kilpatrick-s-defense
 
NRA Openly Floats A Harry Reid Endorsement
The NRA is now openly floating, or at least allowing to be floated, its endorsement of Harry Reid, a man who voted for the Brady Gun Bill. In a New York Times puff piece on the NRA that largely gives the NRA credit for things it tried to undermine (more on that later), there is this: A point of contention on both the left and the right is the N.R.A.’s close working relationship with Mr. Reid, the Senate leader who helped get a number of pro-gun rights measures included in broader bills. That relationship has led some gun rights supporters to lobby against the idea that the N.R.A. might endorse Mr. Reid in his tough re-election campaign this November in Nevada.
 
The Myth of the Social Security “Trust Fund”
“The time of reckoning is already upon us: Social Security is right now in deficit, sucking funds out of the general pool. Americans should brace for further tax hikes — in the name of ‘saving Social Security’ — and anyone under 40 should have no illusions about retirement benefits.”
 
My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
Thomas Jefferson
 
 
  
 
Posted in: Bain Report, Politics

The Bain Report: “Special Pre-Primary Edition” for Monday, August, 2, 2010

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Republican Senators accepted donations from SEIU, MEA, (ACORN FAMILY) Unions
Kahn, Nofs and Richardville have each received political donations from the MEA in recent years. GOP Bill Authorizing State Money for SEIU Introduced Following Union Campaign Contribution [Mackinac Center] also see The MEA Money Tree [Mackinac Center] also see 2009 Senate Bill 731 (Authorize unionization of home personal assistance providers ) Michigan Votes also see Analysis: Government Employee Political Clout Obstructs Budget Reform [Mackinac Center] Also see  School Pension Reform Stalls in Senate [Mackinac Center] Also see  GOP Bill Authorizing State Money for SEIU Introduced Following Union Campaign Contribution [Mackinac Center] On Aug. 5, 2009, Sen. Jason Allen, R-Traverse City, introduced Senate Bill 731, which would give statutory cover to a scheme transferring approximately $6.6 million in taxpayer money annually to the SEIU government employee union, one of the parents of ACORN. Richardville onboard with this as a sponsor!
Composition of the Senate: Most Conservative and Most Liberal In 2009
As of November 2009, Republicans hold a majority with 23 seats, and Democrats hold 15 seats.  Sen. Randy RICHARDVILLE (R-Monroe) had the most liberal voting record finishing 21st out of 23 Republican Senators! Only Mike Nofs and Jim Barcia finished below him. http://www.mirsnews.com/capsule.php?gid=3234#22345 “subscription required” If not subscribed to MIRS the Mackinac Center for Public Policy gives a great explanation in their article “The Lowdown”
Here We Go Again With Our Elected Officials in Lansing
This should shock no one. Lawmakers did nothing over their 14 day 4th of July recess to resolve the budget impasse. Didn’t they say some of the committees might meet? They did. Didn’t they say progress would be made? Right again. Did that happen? Nope. Our elected officials were to busy campaigning for re-election as to retain power, control, and to continue feeding at the public trough!
Richardville votes in favor of drivers license renewal for unpaid tickets
Senator Randy Richardville votes in favor of banning drivers license renewal over unpaid parking tickets. 2009 House Bill 4726 (Ban drivers license renewal if three unpaid parking tickets ) (Senate Roll Call 338). The majority of Republicans in the Senate voted against this Bill but not Richardville who voted in favor of it! http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/13237Citizens with unpaid parking tickets would have to pay before the Secretary of State will renew a driver license. In addition to the tickets a person would have to pay a $45 “clearance fee.” This representative is all about fees, surcharges, mandates, and tax increases, SAY NO TO RICHARDVILLE IN 2010!
Leadership, Race in Senate in The Shadows – Opinion By R. Al Bain
While everyone realizes that no one wants to talk about leadership races in the House and Senate in the midst of an election year. Contenders will all tell you it’s the farthest thing from their thoughts. Oh really?
Sen. Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) is putting money into key races; which is always a pretty good sign that someone is serious about running for leadership. It’s not unusual for caucus members and would-be caucus members to tell more than one side that they’re “onboard.” Let’s take a look at some recent revelations in Senator Richardville’s desire for more power and money at the expense to the taxpayers!
Michigan Legislators Salaries are the second highest paid in the country! Alarming is the fact that Senator Richardville as a State Senator receives $79,650 per year plus a $12,000 expense account. He also receives supplemental salary for each committee he sits on such as Speaker Pro Tempore $5,513 per year, $184,500.00 for staff salaries not counting his “District Director’s” salary. Now he’s aligning himself with leadership behind the scenes as Senate Majority Leader which is an additional salary of $26,000 per year on top of all the current salary as well! This would amount to, assuming he gets the Senate Majority leader position to $295,675.00 per year at the cost to Michigan taxpayers! WOW! Is he or any other representative worth that? You make the call?
Consider the condition of our State of Michigan and the “Dire Straits” we are in, plus the fact that the same ones have been in office who have guided and helped to create the mess we are in, I think a change in leadership is warranted! I am of the mind that this current Senator is more in tune with his own political future and the advancement of it than with what’s in the best interest of his constituents and state! Can you say self serving?
Michigan Senator scorecard out Richardville 4th from bottom with 29%
Common Sense in Government is a non-partisan organization that works to hold politicians accountable by educating their constituents about what they are up to in Lansing. Click the link below to see just what your getting from your Senator.
Outrageous promises, pandering, and distortions in Michigan’s election
With a little more than a week before the primary, it’s kind of like a sad version of the runup to Valentine’s Day. Instead of offering chocolates, roses or adorable teddy bears, candidates try to woo voters with empty-calories promises or crack-like distractions. Michigan is in the toilet and has been for the last 10 years. Our current politicians have been a huge part of the problem with only self serving solutions and not what is in the best interest of their constituents or the State of Michigan! If it weren’t for the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and its tax incentives for Jennifer Granholm’s love affair with green jobs at the expense of real small business, we’d still be in the boom from the ’90s. Senator Randy Richardville in on board with Jennie on this one!
You Do It in Michigan? They Have a Tax For It
Septic tanks. Toll lanes. Vacant houses. High school athletic contests. Marriage. Beverage bottles. Nurses. What do they have in common? All were pitched by state legislators as a way to raise money for state government. Since 2009, Americans for Prosperity has tracked 39 different bills that would levy a fee or tax on variable aspects of life. “Lansing has a spending problem. Politicians have spending problem,” said Scott Hagerstrom, director of the Michigan chapter of Americans for Prosperity. “The only way they can spend money is to find it from somewhere else. What they’ll do is try to find a little money here and there. What they don’t understand, anytime you take money out of the economy, that’s less money for citizens to spend.  Politicians feel they have first rights to those dollars.” “That’s just not acceptable anymore.” If we keep electing the same ones over again and again this will continue!
Michigan: Auditor General Sees Dead People… Getting Paid
This is what we as taxpayers get for re-electing the same incumbents over and over again and expecting a different result! They are so concerned about campaign contributions from the lobbyist and special interest, their career’s, and moving up the political ladder, they aren’t watching out for their constituents and taxpayers best interest!
2009 Senate Bill 500 (Authorize Industrial Plant “Rehabilitation” tax break for existing facility ) (Senate Roll Call 579)
Authorize Industrial Plant “Rehabilitation” tax break for existing facility
This Bill is to authorize the granting of an Industrial Plant Rehabilitation personal property tax break for a particular “existing facility.” Under current law such tax breaks may be granted to new and speculative buildings, and to replacement facilities.
Mlive.com Article: Richardville faces R. Al Bain in Primary, Disgusting
In an interview with Jackson Citizen Patriot reporter Chris Gautz published Monday, July 19, 2010, “Senator Randy Richardville faces Monroe resident R. Al Bain in 17th District State Senate GOP primary.” Senator Randy Richardville try’s to discredit with snide comments about his “United States Air Force” Veteran opponent R. Al Bain which should show the voting public that his focus is more on slanderous comments about his opponent than moving Michigan forward in a positive direction or on what accomplishments he has had in his 10 years in politics. This just shows why we need better representation out of our elected officials! Vote out this incumbent!
2007 Senate Bill 622 (Allow privatization of prison mental health services ) (Senate Roll Call 396)
Passed in the Senate (22 to 16) on September 30, 2007, to concur with the House-passed version of the bill, which “tie bars” it to a state income tax hike (House Bill 5194) and a new 6 percent tax on many personal and business services (House Bill 5198), part of a deal to avoid spending cuts in the Fiscal Year 2007-2008 budget.
Find Out Who Works for YOU in the Michigan Legislature
Richardville’s staff members salary’s reveled, at the taxpayer’s expense! The Freedom of Information Act does not apply to our Michigan legislators. However, In late June, Michigan Capitol Confidential requested this information from the Michigan House, Senate and Office of the Governor. The House and Senate voluntarily and promptly provided the information during the first week of July. Notably missing from this report was District Director John Manor of Senator Richardville’s staff! Does anyone thinks he works for free? Wonder why this was omitted? This is on and above what the good Senator receives in the $79,000.00 per year salary, the $12,000.00 per year expense allotment, and the various extra additional salary that comes with each committee he sits on and he sits on several! Oh, lets not forget a medical and retirement package that we citizens can only dream about!
Conservative Candidate Smacks Allen On SEIU
We’ve been hearing for weeks that Sen. Jason ALLEN (R-Traverse City) could be vulnerable on the so-called Service Employee International Union (SEIU) forced unionization issue. The brain trust for Allen’s top opponent in the 1st Congressional District race, physician Dan BENISHEK, apparently thinks the issue is worth exploiting. Senator Randy Richardville (R) Monroe is on board with Allen’s legislation! The Benishek campaign sent out a mailing that refers to Allen as “the SEIU/ACORN’s favorite Republican.” The mailing is a slick, glossy red-and-white foldout covered with acorns and photos of Allen. In 2009 Mr. Allen accepted a $2,000 campaign contribution from that infamous architect of ACORN, the Service Employees International Union. This gift arrived suspiciously close to the time frame in which the SEIU asked Allen to introduce a bill (SB 731) that would have unionized some 42,000 bewildered Michigan home health care workers.
Lawmaker Says Special Tax Favors Are ‘Cronyism’
State Rep. Justin Amash, R-Kentwood, recently called out his colleagues for submitting bills that created tax advantages for single businesses. “Essentially, it’s just cronyism,” Amash said. “It’s an abuse of legislative power. We are not supposed to be passing bills that help one person or one company at the expense of everyone else.” But it’s not an uncommon occurrence, according to Michiganvotes.org. “Both parties have abandoned any pretense that the growing state corporate welfare empire doesn’t include funneling favors to the owners of particular firms,” said Jack McHugh, senior legislative analyst at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Senator Randy Richardville of Monroe voted if favor of this legislation.
Excellent Article: America’s Ruling Class — And the Perils of Revolution
This is a must read for all! This sums up what we citizens are truly faced with an out of control government! This article explains why your current elected officials would spend million’s of dollars to get elected!
Michele Bachmann Forms ‘Tea Party Caucus’ in Congress
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has officially formed a congressional caucus for the Tea Party movement, giving the small-government movement a formal presence on Capitol Hill. Bachmann has been a leading advocate for Tea Party activists in the halls of Congress.
Pete Hoekstra joins Michele Bachmann in House Tea Party Caucus
What a joke! A black eye for the Tea Party movement! Pete Hoekstra who was just recently endorsed by a “republican in name only” here in Michigan (Senator Randy Richardville) Hoekstra said of Richardville that he was pleased to stand with a principled and conservative leader. Everyone in Lansing knows Richardville is a liberal left leaning RINO but is liked in certain circles, yea, Union and Special Interest circles! These center left politicians keep trying to associate themselves with the conservative Tea Party movement in order to retain power and control and do not in no way represent the ideologies of this group! This is no different from what the RINO’S did during the 90’s with the “Contract for America.” We all know how that worked out, they used us then ran up the debt and abandoned our concerns.
Primary “Phone Propaganda”
With reference to this misappropriation of the Tobacco money:
What did Randy Richardville know and when did he know it?
Legislators Move to Water Down Your Rights
House Bill 5319 would take this valuable property right from the landowner and transfer it to the state. http://www.mackinac.org/12574 “This bill would place groundwater in the public trust and would be the single biggest taking of private property in Michigan’s history. The result: government ownership of groundwater, overturning a century of Michigan water law.” Senator Richardville on board with this!
Note: Michigan has already taken a first step toward this change, with the passage of Public Act 33, Senate Bill 850 of 2005.
Richardville Votes to Transfer Road Tax Money to other purposes
It’s no wonder we have terrible roads! When the money we pay in taxes specifically for roads is diverted for other state spending! In a Monroe Evening News article in 2009 Senator Richardville stated the problem was with how the funds were allocated in the formula of Public Act 51. What he didn’t tell you was that he voted in favor of robbing these funds! Passed in the Senate on October 20, 2009, to reduce the amount of infrastructure project spending from the transportation economic development fund by $12 million in the Fiscal Year that ends Sept. 30, 2009, and another $12 million in the next fiscal year. House Bill 5073 diverts this money to other state spending without specifying where it’s going.
Hotel claims Visiting Film Crew Walked Out on $37,000.00 Bill
Here’s another feather in the cap for our Michigan legislators who voted to approve the Michigan Film Producers Subsidies. By the way, Senator Randy Richardville (R) Monroe voted if favor of this subsidy! This is just many of the examples we have heard of lately of the failures of such government entity’s such as the MEDC scandal not long ago. Not only is this a waste of taxpayer dollars under the guise of job creation but to the businesses who loose out such as in this example! Not only are the few jobs gone once the movie is shot, the local business community suffers right along with the taxpayers of Michigan. Actually they get hit twice!
To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
Thomas Jefferson
Posted in: Bain Report

The Bain Report: “Special Pre-Primary Edition” for July, 26, 2010

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Mlive.com Article: Richardville faces R. Al Bain in Primary, Disgusting
In an interview with Jackson Citizen Patriot reporter Chris Gautz published Monday, July 19, 2010, “Senator Randy Richardville faces Monroe resident R. Al Bain in 17th District State Senate GOP primary.” Senator Randy Richardville try’s to discredit with snide comments about his “United States Air Force” Veteran opponent R. Al Bain which should show the voting public that his focus is more on slanderous comments about his opponent than moving Michigan forward in a positive direction or on what accomplishments he has had in his 10 years in politics. This just shows why we need better representation out of our elected officials! Vote out this incumbent!
 
Michigan Republican Party Shenanigans? You make the call! By R. Al Bain
Michigan Republican State Party Policy a Disservice to Voters! A supporter of State Senate Candidate R. Al Bain 17th District informed him that he was NOT listed on the Michigan GOP website under the candidate link page. Chairman Ron Weiser was notified by phone and apologized and said he would look into it. A follow up phone call was made to the State Party and informed that it was their policy to support only the incumbent Republican and NOT a Republican challenger so R. Al Bain would NOT be listed. R. Al Bain is currently an Executive Committee Member, Precinct Delegate, Candidate, Member, and Voting Republican for over 35 years of the “Republican Party”!
 
As we are in a time now where voters are distrustful of government and turning away from the seemingly broken political process, to give an unfair advantage to a big-government, union supporter such as the current incumbent Republican Senator, only further demonstrates this to be true. How can voters make an informed decision on candidates and what they stand for, when the Republican Party is tipping the scales in favor of only certain candidates? This is a disgraceful use of power and influence, dangerously teetering on the edge of corruption. This “accidental” exclusion only devalues the political and voting process.
 
This also looks as though the State Party is favoring the incumbent as to keep the status quo in place. If this is how the Republican Party really works for its members then Republicans and many other members within the Republican Party may want to rethink their commitment to the Party as a whole. This is a serious problem that should and must be addressed if the Republican Party is to remain true to the principles, traditions, and values that it was founded on.
 
Brighton area eyes millage renewal for fire protection
This is coming to a municipality near you soon thanks to legislation introduced by Senator Randy Richardville (R) Monroe with Senate Bill 1072 which is an amendment to PA 312 which places the burden to pay for these service on local municipality’s and taxpayers in favor of Union Institutional Interest!
 
Senator Richardville favors “Alice in Subsidy Land”
This tumble down the proverbial rabbit hole is the umpteenth “jobs” adventure Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Michigan Legislature including Senator Randy Richardville (R) Monroe have forced taxpayers to accompany them on. Not only have Lansing politicians’ stories of promised job creation grown predictable and tiresome, so has the naked reality of a tourism industry trying to boost its bottom line by feeding at the public trough.
 
Private Industry pleads for Pure Michigan campaign subsidies from taxpayers
Gov. Jennifer Granholm, in her State of the State speech Wednesday, implored lawmakers to find money to continue the acclaimed Pure Michigan television ad campaign promoting tourism. The campaign cost the state $30 million last year but has just $5.4 million for the current year. But that’s not all. The next trip to this loan window happened just last year, when 37 senators including Senator Randy Richardville (R) Monroe and 86 House members voted to borrow another $60 million for a subsidy to tourism businesses in the form of state advertising, called “Pure Michigan” and related campaigns.
 
Richardville Votes to Transfer Road Tax Money to other purposes
It’s no wonder we have terrible roads! When the money we pay in taxes specifically for roads is diverted for other state spending! In a Monroe Evening News article in 2009 Senator Richardville stated the problem was with how the funds were allocated in the formula of Public Act 51. What he didn’t tell you was that he voted in favor of robbing these funds!
Passed in the Senate on October 20, 2009, to reduce the amount of infrastructure project spending from the transportation economic development fund by $12 million in the Fiscal Year that ends Sept. 30, 2009, and another $12 million in the next fiscal year. House Bill 5073 diverts this money to other state spending without specifying where it’s going. 
 
Michigan Taxpayers Have Already Made Compromises
The Michigan Legislature recently passed reforms that slightly lower the cost of employing state and public school workers by requiring modest employee contributions for future retiree benefits. The reforms may be cited by legislators who want to enact a service tax, describing it as a “grand bargain” wherein both taxpayers and spending interests give a little and get a little. Unfortunately, the “grand bargain” is a lopsided compromise that will further burden taxpayers.
 
“Fed-up Taxpayers,” unhappy with both parties
There isn’t a dimes worth of difference of difference between the Democrats and Republicans,” said Clawson, an investigative reporter and private investigator. In Lansing and Washington the thing is the same — it’s a struggle for power.
 
Utility to raise electric rates for Michigan customers by 20 percent
Customers will be seeing electric bills that are about 20 percent higher starting next month. A utility based electricity provider said it intends to implement an “interim” rate increase of $44.3 million starting July 26. For an average customer paying between $72 and $74 a month for electricity, the increase would be about $17 a month, or a 23 percent increase, the utility said. Senator Richardville was one of only 9 Republicans who voted in favor of higher electric bills while 12 Republicans opposed this legislation. This is not the type of representation we as citizens and constituents expect and deserve from our Republican Senator! http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=306065 We need to send a message on August, 3, 2010 in the Primary and vote this representative out of office!
 
Bedford Township proposes a property tax increase for Roads
Recently Bedford Township proposed a property tax increase on their citizens to help pay for road repairs all the while our Legislators including our good Senator Richardville is robbing funds from the money we pay in gas tax at the pump. Also a recent story in the Monroe Evening News July, 8, 2010 that the Road commission crews are filling cracks in about 48 miles of roads in 11 townships over the next few weeks using federal stimulus funds.
 
Union Lawyer Admits in Court that Stealth Unionization Is a ‘Slippery Slope’
A fear that the “stealth unionization” of home-based day care workers could just be the start of a bigger effort was acknowledged in court on Tuesday by a union lawyer. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jonker asked union lawyer John West if the state could unionize doctors in a similar way to the day care workers if the doctors accepted Medicaid. West told the judge that unionization of any group that accepted state subsidies would be within the state’s authority if it had “added value” to the state or the public’s interest. Senator Randy Richardville is on board with this legislation sponsored by his colleague Senator Jason Allen!
 
Michigan Taxpayers to Write $100 Million Check to Korean Battery Maker
Last week the Michigan Economic Development Corp. upped the ante on a $100 million “refundable” business tax credit approved by the state House and Senate for a subsidiary of the South Korean battery maker LG Chem. The MEDC in effect converted the credit into an outright cash subsidy from Michigan taxpayers by granting the firm’s 120-acre plant site in Holland “renaissance zone” status for 15 years. The Michigan Senate on April 30, 2009 
http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=395402 voted in favor of this subsidy including Senator Randy Richardville of Monroe!
 
$740M of Michigan roadwork axed
State forced to cancel 137 projects after it can’t come up with its share of money. Let me see the Senate including Senator Richardville vote to rob $12 million in 2009 and another $12 million in 2010 Richardville Votes to Transfer Road Tax Money to other purposes. It’s no wonder we have terrible roads! When the money we pay in taxes specifically for roads is diverted for other state spending! In a Monroe Evening News article in 2009 Senator Richardville stated the problem was with how the funds were allocated in the formula of Public Act 51. What he didn’t tell you was that he voted in favor of robbing these funds
Passed in the Senate on October 20, 2009, to reduce the amount of infrastructure project spending from the transportation economic development fund by $12 million in the Fiscal Year that ends Sept. 30, 2009, and another $12 million in the next fiscal year. House Bill 5073 diverts this money to other state spending. 
 
Richardville flip flops on term limits, lie’s about road money!
Responding to complaints about highway maintenance, Richardville said “we’ve been getting screwed for 50 years” because Michigan receives less federal money for highway maintenance than it pays to the federal government in gasoline taxes. But he doesn’t say how he voted to steal the road funding money for other government spending purposes! Bill Passed in the Senate on October 20, 2009 http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=423167 House Bill 5073 diverts road money to other state spending without specifying where it’s going by $12 million in the Fiscal Year that ends Sept. 30, 2009, and another $12 million in the next fiscal year. In a Monroe Evening News article in 2009 Senator Richardville stated the problem was with how the funds were allocated in the formula of Public Act 51. In Richardville’s view, over-regulation is as big of a problem as Michigan’s tax structure. But he consistently votes for bigger government and more regulation! As for Term limits a few years back he supported them now he doesn’t!
 
Hoekstra calls Richardville a principled, conservative leader
This candidate lost whatever chance he had for my vote with that statement! Richardville is a known liberal left leaning Republican at best!
 
Is the Real Unemployment Rate 16.5%, 22%, or higher?
The June poll turned up 27.8% of households with at least one member who’s unemployed and looking for a job, while the latest poll conducted in the second week of July showed 28.6% in that situation. That translates to an unemployment rate of over 22%, says Mayur, who has started questioning the accuracy of the Labor Department’s jobless numbers. When accounting for the long-term unemployed, the jobless rate runs up to as much as 22% currently. Williams’s newsletter, which analyzes flaws in government economic data, points out that such a rate isn’t that far from the 25% it hit during the Great Depression.  
 
Granholm lobbying DC, the only things left to cut are critical services
We as an electorate must “VOTE OUT ALL” these incumbents in the August, 3, Primary and November, 2, Elections!!! Michigan has numerous failed programs and departments that should and could be eliminated! The one’s up there in Lansing refuse to cut non-essentials because of the fact they these politicians are beholding to the Lobbyist and Special Interest that lobbied for them and contributed to their political campaigns! Granholm said Wednesday from Washington, the only things left to cut in Michigan are the critical services. Oh really, you mean to tell me that subsidies with taxpayer dollars for Hollywood Film Producers are critical services? What about the MEDC? The 21st Century Job Fund? There are a host of failed entity’s that should and can be cut! But then again how can the legislators cut the lobbyist hand that feeds them? I wouldn’t let those lawmakers in Lansing manage my child’s piggy bank!
 
Below is a short list of key Senate votes for 2009-2010 by Senator Richardville
Click below to see how this representative voted.
  • Super Speedway, Lawmakers voting on whether TO EXTEND A SPECIAL TAX PERK for a super speedway.
  • Driver Responsibility Fees, Lawmakers voting on whether TO IMPOSE ‘driver responsibility fees.’
  • Crony Capitalism, Lawmakers voting on whether TO RESTRICT THE RIGHT of shareholders to sell their own stock.
  • Golf Carts, Lawmakers voting on whether TO SUBSIDIZE the production of electric vehicle batteries.
  • Mandate Beer Keg Buyer’s Tags, Lawmakers voting on whether TO MANDATE beer keg buyer’s tags.
  • Remonumentation of State Border, Lawmakers voting on whether to appropriate funds up to $500,000 for remonumentation of the Michigan-Indiana border.
  • Fire Safe Cigarettes, Lawmakers voting on whether TO BAN the sale of cigarettes that are not “fire safe.”
  • Commission on Spanish-Speaking Affairs, Lawmakers voting on whether TO EXPAND DUTIES of and rename government’s Commission on Spanish-Speaking Affairs.
  • Balancing Act, Lawmakers voting on a budget to CUT REVENUE SHARING PAYMENTS to local governments as a way to balance the state budget without raising taxes.
  • A Good Tax Gone Bad?, Lawmakers voting on the Michigan Business Tax.
  • It’s From the Children, Lawmakers voting on whether to RAID $90 MILLION from the Michigan Higher Education Student Loan Authority.
  • Left Behind, Lawmakers voting on whether TO FINANCE “No Worker Left Behind” with a 59.9 percent increase in general fund spending in the 2009 DELEG budget.
  • Politically Correct Capitalism, Lawmakers voting on whether to INCREASE SUBSIDIES for plug-in traction battery packs used in electric cars.
  • Politically Correct Capitalism 2, Lawmakers voting on whether to GIVE SUBSIDIES for Michigan film production.
  • Politically Correct Capitalism 3, Lawmakers voting on whether to INCREASE ELECTRIC CAR SUBSIDIES for a subsidiary of a Korean battery company.
  • Grapes of Wrath, Lawmakers voting on whether TO BAN home shipment of beer and wine to Michigan consumers.
  • Subsidize Manufacture of Electric Cars, Lawmakers voting on whether to authorize a refundable Michigan Business Tax credit for makers of plug-in traction battery packs used in electric cars.
  • Authorize Special Tax Breaks for Ethanol Gas Stations, Lawmakers voting on whether to authorize a non-refundable Michigan Business Tax credit equal to 30 percent of the costs incurred by a gas station to convert existing pumps and tanks, or acquire new ones that deliver E85 ethanol or biodiesel fuel.
  • Presidential Privileges, Lawmakers voting on whether to require state workers to either work on President’s Day or take the day off as an unpaid holiday.

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    The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
    Thomas Jefferson

    Posted in: Bain Report, Politics