Stop me if you’ve heard this one before . . .
A guy goes to the hospital to have a vasectomy.
But the doctors can’t agree on which technique to use and they all want to pad their bills because the new BMW’s are in.
The patient wakes up following surgery and discovers the doctors performed a sex change operation instead.
When the newly-minted woman protests, one of the doctors says, ‘Quit complaining, lady. We got the job done. You’re definitely not going to have any children ? and we threw in a few extra features.?
That’s the way I view Proposal 1. We asked our state legislators to do one simple thing ? fix the roads.
They took our request and bastardized it like everything else they do in Lansing.
The result was Proposal 1, a complex, convoluted and monstrous mix of constitutional changes and legislation that increase state taxes and spending by $2 billion annually. You need a lawyer, an accountant and a secret decoder ring to understand this thing.
But at least every single penny is going to fix our crumbling roads, right?
Wrong! Approximately 40 percent of the new revenue would not go to roads.
Proposal 1 gives a ton of additional tax money to public schools, local governments, mass transit, tax relief for low-to-moderate income wage earners, the state’s general fund and the state’s recreation improvement account.
Just about everybody has got their grubby little hands in the cookie jar.
And before our roads start getting the whole $1.2 billion per year that state officials promise Proposal 1 will deliver, the Michigan Department of Transportation gets to use $800 million in 2016 and $400 million in 2017 to pay off its existing debt.
So, we have to wait until 2018 before our pothole-ridden, crappy roads receive 100 percent of the money they’re supposed to be entitled to under Proposal 1.
State officials tell us Proposal 1 is the product of compromise. I agree. Proposal 1 is all about compromise, which in politics translates into the elected officials getting together and agreeing to screw the taxpayers out of as much money as they can to pay for everything under the sun.
According to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, if Proposal 1 passes, ‘the typical Michigan household could expect an increase in state tax burdens of between $477 and $525 in 2016.?
No thanks. I’m tired of cutting back on spending my hard-earned money for the things I want because government can’t efficiently manage the bucks I already give it.
Ultimately, Proposal 1 is a classic example of government officials holding the taxpayers hostage ? ‘You want those bad roads fixed, you gotta give us more cash for all this other stuff, too. If you don’t, enjoy your potholes, sucker.?
Supporters of Proposal 1 will tell you it’s the only answer to fix Michigan’s roads.
That’s a lie. It’s not. I find it extremely hard to believe the state’s $50 billion-plus budget has been so ‘cut to the bone? that a complicated round of tax increases is the only way to fix the road mess.
Personally, I believe there are plenty of spending cuts state officials could make if they truly cared about us and our roads.
How about getting rid of the state’s costly corporate welfare arm better known as the Michigan Economic Development Corporation?
Stop giving certain companies special favors at the taxpayers? expense. Picking winners and losers in the business world is not the job of government.
How about finally converting to a part-time state legislature?
It’s not a full-time job and it doesn’t require full-time pay. Any state legislator who tells you different is a liar.
Want proof our legislators have way, way too much time on their hands?
I give you Rep. Andrea LaFontaine (R) who, in late February, introduced H.B. 4251 ? legislation to repeal the state’s ban on selling artificially-colored baby chicks, rabbits and ducklings. This affront to liberty has been on the books since 1945.
Thank goodness somebody finally had the guts to tackle this hot-button issue that affects average Joes.
Better still how about eliminating the entire 38-member state Senate and converting to a part-time unicameral legislature?
Nebraska has been governed by a single legislative body since 1937. There’s simply no need for two chambers at the state level.
How about eliminating the state’s film subsidy program? Movie producers have received nearly $500 million in state tax revenue from it since 2008.
Yes, it’s fun to spot Superman (actor Henry Cavill) in downtown Rochester, but as a taxpayer, I really don’t want to help pay for his visit or his movie.
There are lots of significant spending cuts that could be made to help fund fixing our roads, but the political weasels in Lansing don’t want to make them because it would hurt them and all the special interests and lobbyists they truly represent.
Roads aren’t a priority in Lansing.
Campaign contributions, getting re-elected, protecting pet projects and sacred cows, securing your next job because of term limits, being wined and dined by lobbyists ? those are real priorities for our lazy, spineless, selfish legislators.