Short Sighted Repubs seem like a bad movie.

Republicans falsely claim that the reason the incredibly wealthy Americans shouldn't have to pay their fair share of taxes is because they are "job creators." Anyone with half a brain can see through that nonsense. If that were the case, after 14 years of tax freeloading, we should be swimming in jobs. McDonald's would be forced to pay $15 an hour, not by statute but because every person willing to work 40 hours a week was fielding offers from lots of employers. But that is simply not the case.

Upon getting elected, one of the first thing Governor Rick Snyder did was to question a growing business in Michigan and then help drive it out of the state. Solar Panels? Nope. Wind energy? Nope. It was the movie business.

After the generous tax breaks the legislature passed, that were endorsed by then Governor Jennifer Grantholm, things started to happen in Michigan. Movies started to be made here. A lot of movies. Businesses started popping up. Agencies. Caterers. Limo Rentals. Hollywood sat up and took notice. And slowly but surely Hollywood started moving to Michigan. Literally.

What would this have meant in time? Lots and lots of jobs. Lots and lots of employed people paying taxes. A lot more taxes than the tax breaks were giving up.

When the Republicans pulled the rug out from under this program they were being incredibly short sighted. There's a surprise. All they could see was the revenue they were letting get away, while the movie companies were here. I sat down and furiously wrote a letter to every representative in both Houses in Michigan. Their first response? "Where do you live?" In other words, if you don't live in my district, I don't care." But I live in Michigan you idiots!

How short-sighted were they? When Hollywood moved to Michigan, that would have meant the construction of Studios. This is not me guessing. Plans were drawn up to construct a studio on the east side of the state and one on the west side of the state. Construction people would have gotten work. Not just in building the studio, but later in building sets too. Agencies would have opened offices here. Employing lots of people. Union offices would have opened here. Unions for Actors, Directors, Cinematographers, Writers etc..... again, needing lots of people. TV Studios would have followed suit. So would the digital gaming industry. Pixar would have come for example. George Lucas would have been forced to open an Industrial Light and Magic Studio here. The studios would need all kinds of lighting people, sound personnel, Foley artists, editors, grips, stage hands and on and on. There would be a call for Extras, Stunt people, make up artists, stand-in people, and the myriad of technical people that are required to make films. Not to mention Limo services, Hotel accommodations, Drivers, Caterers, Security personnel, and medical personnel required on movie sets. All getting paid very well and then paying taxes.

On March 15th in the Detroit Free Press Mitch Albom noted that on that particular week the legislature drove the final stake into the heart of the movie tax incentives that they had been down-sizing to practical nonexistence anyway. Mr. Albom notes that the legislature argued that they were spending too much water on a little tree. What they failed to note was that when you water a little tree it becomes a big tree. Maybe even a redwood.

But sadly, as Mr. Albom notes, we never got to see it materialize. After 3 years of the tax incentives, (and nearly 650 million spent in the state), Rick Snyder was elected Governor. And although he promised to keep the program, he slashed the guts out of it.

What did that result in? Other states now enjoying what we might have had. One producer who I know for a fact loved shooting all his films in Grand Rapids, once the change was made, pulled up stakes and moved the operation down to Louisiana.

Here are some snippets of what Albom had to say: [reprinted without permission]:

"The new legislature attacked these incentives as if they wore horns. A committee hurriedly recommended their erasure. The house agreed this past week, by a 58-51 vote, largely along party lines.

If only government always worked this fast.

Look. You may like the incentives or hate them, but let's tell the truth. Fifty million isn't making or breaking this state. It's one tenth of 1% of our annual budget. And if Fifty million was being given out it meant that $150 million was being spent."

or

Because the legislature isn't attacking the "fat cats" equally.

Albom notes "The fact is, Michigan has nearly $10 billion in outstanding tax credits. Ten billion! To all kinds of businesses. The film industry is a tiny player, thus an easy target."

Michigan legislators somethimes chide, "If the movies industry leaves because they don't get tax breaks, then they really didn't want to be here." So when is it wrong for industries to want to maximize profits? They sure don't think it's wrong when it comes to oil companies, or even the big three automakers. That's why they are called incentives, to give companies a incentive to work, spend, and pay taxes here. In my town, a major industry didn't get the incentives it wanted and it went to Mexico. That's the nature of business, sometimes rightly, and sometimes not.

Some critics say they didn't produce enough anyway. We didn't get to know. It was gutted and then killed in it's infancy. It didn't get a chance to lay the groundwork and let it flourish. Yes, some say it was too much water on a little tree. But little trees become big trees.

We had a chance for Redwoods, and our Republican representatives let us down. The first step to creating jobs is to stop kicking them out of the state.

Proposal 1 Goes Down

Proposal 1 was seen as the fraud that it was. 80% of the electorate said, no, we aren't buying it.

Dear Lansing, Figure out how to do your jobs. Figure out how to work together. Learn how to lead, contribute, and govern. If you have to raise taxes to fix roads, and I don't believe you do, go ahead and do it. And then we'll deal with you accordingly. One has to wonder though, that if we cut just two of the upper echelon positions of fat in the government, say two jobs that pay 300 K a year, how many roads we could fix with and extra $600,000 dollars a year for a few years?

Here's another thing. When are we going to re-evaluate why we allow trucks to carry more weight than any of the states around us? We live in the frost belt. Allowing so much weight and subsequently trucks grinding our roads to pieces in a few years? What is the point? When you cross the state line you instantly notice the difference.

Our roads seem to be always under construction anyway. You want to know what kills the tourism dollars? Road repair. I once came back to Michigan from Ohio and passed through TWO road constructions sites BEFORE I REACHED THE WELCOME CENTER! My friends in Ohio tell me they avoid this place like the plague, because they try to come here and are stuck in constant traffic stoppages at construction sites. This is ridiculous.

And then the proposal said "the money is guaranteed to go to transportation. NOT roads. Duh!
Transportation can mean more weigh stations that are never open, more Department of Transportation Muckity-Mucks making $300,000 a year. It doesn't necessarily mean Roads as the ads tried to imply.

And dare I ask? This is 2015. We can make phones that allow the entire knowledge of the whole world at our finger tips, our TVs show every pore on an actor's face, and we love to pay 4 bucks for a cup of coffee. Are you telling me we can't come up with a material that will last 20 years once we lay it on a road? How about silicon/fiberglass roads? How about acknowledging our frost-line and building roads like the Autobahn? The Autobahn is, count 'em, 4 [FOUR] feet thick. It's been there for 50 years. No problem.

There are effective ways to deal with this problem. But temporary band-aids so that some Lansing official's brother-in-law can to continue to make a fortune are a total waste of time.

Ads with "school bus drivers" and pictures of cute little kids, and the phrase "if it cost me a penny more, I'm all for it." are sickening. It ain't a penny, honey. It's a tax that would have killed sales of high ticket items like cars and homes. And we did not buy this. The Repubs wanted us to hurt ourselves, so they could campaign on the fact that they didn't raise taxes, we did it to ourselves.

Not this time. Learn how to do your jobs.

PROPOSAL 1

I have been ranting around my house for weeks about lame ass representatives that wanted a job but don't know how to do it. They can't figure out how to work together with others from the other party, how to negotiate, how to compromise, how to get things done, and how to lead and govern. Specifically they have tossed Proposal 1 on the Ballot, so we can vote on it, and then they get to run on "We don't raise taxes, you did it to yourself." Local Business Owner Mike Huckleberry recently sent a published letter to the "The Daily [Republican] News" and he said everything I was thinking. I didn't ask Mike for permission to reprint this, but next time I see him, I will. I am fairly confident he'll be okay with it, but if not I'll delete and then you can consider yourselves "the enlightened ones."

Here's what he had to say"

"House Speaker Kevin Cotter, R-Mount Pleasant, said, "the longer we wait to fix the roads the more it cost."

Advertisements correctly point out roads are dangerous, they cost us auto repair and they are hurting our economy. This being true, why did it take five years of complete Republican control of government to address this dire situation?

Their solution? "We the People" voting another tax increase on top of the 1.4 BILLION already imposed! The election will cost $10 million to cover their incompetence......the average family will pay out about $500 if passed. The total tax increase from the "ANTI-TAXERS" will be $2.3 Billion on Michigan Families.

Remember when Governor Engler raised sales tax from 4% to 6%? Remember President Reagan raised 11 taxes? How about "Read My Lips, no new taxes" from Bush I before raising them? Gov. Snyder and legislators are following the same path. Next time a Republican politician tells you "they are against taxes" or "they can run government without taxes" think of their record and broken promises.

I am voting NO on Proposal 1. After proving they know how to win an election, the Republicans seem to have trouble with the "governing thing." It's time they are held accountable."

Now ME: Yeah, that about says it all Mike. These folks wanted the job, but have no clue on how to do it. Hey folks, reach out to someone across the aisle and figure out how to get things done. But you'll never get it. Most of Michigan Repubs get elected on glitz and not credentials.

I hope you all vote NO on this ridiculous Proposal. Say NO. Make these elected idiots figure out how to actually do the job they wanted so badly they ran to get.

Sometimes the Good of the Many Outweigh the Good of the Few.

I recently commented somewhere about how ill conceived and crazy idea the Keystone Pipeline is. I subsequently received a scathing response from a union pipe liner. He accused me and the Democrats of throwing him under the bus. He maintains that just like a carpenter he goes from pipeline to pipeline. That's fine and I hope he's making a fine living. But running a ridiculous ugly monstrosity through the length and breadth of our nation so he can make a few bucks is just plain selfish.

He is the response I sent him:

Brother I am NOT throwing you under the bus. I am a Democrat, the party of Unions, remember? I totally am on your side and support you and your Union brotherhood 110%. But this stupid idea, the Keystone pipeline, is only an illustration of how easily our government can be purchased. This is a terrible idea, and if you searched your heart, you’d admit it’s true. And keep in mind the Republicans have one main mission: to dissolve Unions. Because they want you to have no power. And they want to eliminate Unemployment Insurance because they want you to have recourse. And then you are scared. And powerless. And at their mercy. And you will gladly work for $9 an hour. 

The very real problem is that when anyone is elected to Congress, the very first week in office they need to start raising $10,000 a week to get elected again. And so, they agree to take money from oil companies and agree to represent their interests. We don’t need this ugly monstrosity running through our country. You wanna know what the alternate plan is? To run it through theirs! Let ‘em!  

Hopefully you are working 5 days a week for a living wage. But brother, never agree with those that want to hurt you. You deserve better. We don’t need this ugly, awful pipeline that would run across 1,100 wetlands. And believe it or not pipelines are not infallible. You don’t need it. You don’t want to have to explain and apologize to your adult grandchildren that “it was a job.” Let Canada ruin their own country.

I’ve said enough. I don’t know if you’ll ever even see this. But if you do, let me leave you with a final thought. Canada is entirely energy independent. They import no oil. It is not about where the oil comes from, it’s about who gets control of it. Canada is totally energy independent. They pay as much at the pump as we do. See? None of this Canadian Oil was coming to the US anyway, so what the?…… I know it was a gig. But sometimes you have to put the good of the whole, over your interests. 

Have a good life, brother.

I don't know if he ever got this message or not. But it always bewilders me at how easily some people will sell out just to make a few bucks. He's probably working 40 plus hours a week at over $40 an hour. So, he should just do those jobs and not worry about the one that got away.

A Michigan Republican Sham

There is a proposal on the ballot in an upcoming election about repairing Michigan's crumbling infrastructure, specifically Michigan's roads. As Republicans in Congress continue to stall and disregard the President's Jobs bill, our country is rusting and crumbling away. But they have to ignore it. He's black after all.

Meanwhile state's are forced to take it on themselves. Even for Federal Highways like U.S. 131. Yes, the roads and bridges are in disrepair. And yes, they need to be fixed.

But the Michigan Legislature refuses to do it's job. They are so ineffectual they can't figure out how to fix our roads, since they've slashed the budget to the bone. Meanwhile giving themselves raises.

So what can they do? They've stopped poor kids from getting a decent lunch, and rich people from paying taxes, and the elderly from being able to get medicine, so hey, they're serving the people. But they fact is, they know that the roads and bridges need to be fixed. And they are so worried they might have to make some tough decisions, work together, compromise, and actually do their jobs, that they have come up with an inspired plan: Let's put it on the voters! Let them raise the taxes on themselves! So conveniently we can always campaign on "We have never raised taxes."

Then they get the Proposal on the ballot and fill the airwaves with ads about cute little kids on school buses who obviously will be put more in harm's way than our troops if we don't agree to raise taxes on ourselves. And then the ads have the audacity to have an actress say, "And if I have to pay a penny more, so be it."

Folks, it ain't gonna be "a penny." It is going to be a a substantial rate hike at the gas pump. 30 to 40 cents a gallon. That's not bad when the price of gas is $2.18 like it is in Greenville right now, but it will hurt a lot more when the price goes back to $4.00.

You want $5.00/gallon gas? Then vote yes for this ridiculous Proposal. I will say now what I have always said, as if it were a mantra: Never vote to raise taxes on yourself.

Vote no on Proposal 1. Make the legislature do it's job. Make the Republican members learn how to govern. Make them learn how to make deals, and understand that compromise means everybody gets something, but not everything they want. We as taxpayers have already put the money there. Make them learn how to use it more effectively.

Vote NO on Proposal 1. Make the elected Republican officials in our legislature do their jobs. It's time they started earning their overpaid keep.

The Angst Over Agema

Michigan can be proud of a lot of things. But one of them is not Dave Agema, the Republican from Grandville, Michigan. Agema somehow made his way to the National Republican Committee, and since being there has displayed his true colors. And they aren't pretty.

When Agema first ran for the RNC he claimed he wanted to be a voice at the table for activists who weren't being heard. He claimed that the [made up only in deluded minds] "liberal media" were out to  keep out the voice of various individuals. "This "liberal media,"is "pushing buttons trying to shut people up, talking about important issues that we need to talk about."

Apparently the important issues he thinks were not being talked enough about were racist, sexist, neo-nazi propaganda. Because these are the sort of things he's been diligently posting on his
Facebook page - outrageous offensive comments. I guess the issues he wanted "heard" were questioning whether "any Muslim has contributed any value in American society." How "homosexuals were responsible for half the murder rate in large cities", and most recently his rants about how black people are inferior.

 This offends Democrats and most thinking people. And most thinking people includes liberal and moderate Republicans. (Yes, there are such creatures, but they stay under the radar.) Your average Republican, the person that really thinks he's in it to make government smaller etc., and is not one of the right wing extremist wing-nuts, is horrified along with the rest of us. They have in fact called upon the RNC to show Agema the door. These folks include Governor Rick Snyder, legislative leaders, congressional delegations, and Michigan state party Chair Bob Schostak. Even Betsy DeVos, one of the party's most generous donors indicated she might not be inclined to donate if the GOP didn't give Agema the boot.

Now, finally the National Republican Party has had enough. They were scheduled to vote during their San Diego meeting on Friday on a resolution demanding Agema's resignation. (I've been scouring the internet, but can't find any results of what happened.) They were faced with his outrageous posts including his New Year's Day re-post from some schlock site called "American Renaissance." Agema has since scrubbed it from his page. The racism here was straight out the the 1950's.

The writer, who claims to be a "public defender", derided blacks for their limited intellectual capacity, poor work ethic, cultural de-evolution, and their just plain inability to follow the law. The thrust was that Americans [apparently this means white folks], have a right to defend their culture against such evil-doers.

Now before he can cry, "I was just pointing out how people, but not me, think" as his justification, he had posted it glowingly with "Very interesting article by a public defender. We are in a cultural battle. Very enlightening for anyone concerned about crime in America...."

This wasn't just a mis-step. This wasn't his one dalliance into unknown territory. It is consistent with the rhetoric of his social media ignorance. And folks, this is not about free speech. Don't even go there. He can think and say whatever he wants. But then the RNC and other party members are equally free to decide if they want a douche-bag like this representing them.

This is a party who understands that they desperately have to garner minority voters. The "Browning of America" will occur in our life-times. White people are not going to be a majority anymore, sooner than any us can fathom. And hey this is not about upholding Republican or Christian values like Agema is trying to contend. Hating people isn't in my Bible.

Racism, bigotry, sexism, and hateful nonsense are not the core values of either Republicans, conservatives, or Christians. Agema represents this narrow, FOX News watching, right wing extremist crazies, who have somehow attached themselves to the Republican party. Much in the way a barnacle attaches itself to a luxury liner. But sadly the folks that feel this way, and I know several personally, truly in their heart of hearts believe that most of Americans feel exactly the way they do, but that his tiny little minute speck of the population have somehow managed to elect people who do not agree with them.

But here's the rub. Party rules apparently don't allow the committee to eject a member short of a felony conviction. I doubt whether a narcissistic "I'll stand for what's right!" crazy like Agema will take the hint and bow out gracefully. There is talk that the GOP might convene an emergency session just to change their rules to rid themselves of this maggot.

As a moderate Democrat, I'm glad that Dave Agema is out there spewing ill will about the Republican Party. But I am hopeful that the party will kick this bum to the curb. Apparently, as should be, most thinking Republicans want to take a stand against this kind of racist, bigoted, sexist hate-mongering.

I really want to beat Republicans without the help of loonies. But if my Republican brethren really believe that Agema or other right wing extremists represent the party of Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, and Eisenhower, they are seriously kidding themselves.

The Verdict is In.

Although I have been telling my wife for weeks that there is no way that a white police officer is going to get indicted for shooting a black man, last night my prediction came true. The Ferguson police officer was not charged or indicted for anything.

I have not examined all of the evidence, nor did I hear all of the testimony. The prosecutor said in his statement that although many of the eyewitnesses testimony was consistent with autopsy reports and never wavering, many were not.

I have to admit, I thought of this grand jury like I think about The Warren Commission. If I were presented with a bunch of lies and tainted evidence and fed false information and fake evidence, I think I would have drawn the same conclusions they did.

But you wanna know what? The Officer came forward tonight. I listened carefully to his account of the incident. I found him to be credible and his description of the event to be credible and consistent with the description of the gunshot wounds. I believe him. I have been in situations and I have been trained for similar situations.

We were trained that the perp has to be a minimum of 21 feet away for one to adequately prepare for a sharp edge attack. Mr. Brown was apparently a lot closer than that, and still coming. If Mr. Brown overtakes the officer's weapon, we can only speculate on what that would have led to.

I believe the officer. I was against him all the way, convinced that if a seasoned veteran had been at the scene, this would never have happened. But I no longer believe that.

I have been in harm's way. Many times. Everyday for 27 years. But sometimes you have to make split second decisions based on what you perceive the situation to be. I think the cop was right in the situation as presented in sworn testimony.

What is wrong is burning some guys AutoZone store because you don't like the outcome. This senseless violence does not forward any cause. I understand frustration. Register to Vote. Become involved in local politics. But don't burn. Don't loot.

By the way, as I end here, did you know that the "loud noise" shooter, the guy in Florida who shot at a car as the youth were trying to escape him, is in prison. I bet the "conservative media" didn't report that.