Pick a position, Governor, please!
By RightMichigan.com Posted in Breaking News — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Promoted from Diaries by Thomas, because it helps to remind how truly bad for a State Democrats can be
Cross-posted on Right Michigan at www.RightMichigan.com.
Trust the 5th of July finds everyone well. Have I mentioned how rotten it is to have the 4th fall on a Wednesday? No real chance of a three day weekend worked in there, is there? Ah well, that’s life in the big city. Or the country. Or wherever you live.
And yesterday was still great. Headed out to the aunt and uncle’s house for a little family reunion on the lake. BBQ, swimming, a little tubing and some fairly intense 3 on 3 basketball. I’m absolutely horrible at the game but it’s always fun anyways. Even if I’m sore all over this morning.
I tell you all because I know you’re just that interested in my personal life. Right.
Now, me getting hammered in basketball isn’t exactly news but maybe this counts… as everyone continues to examine the new Michigan Business Tax there are all sorts of breaks and credits included that went under the radar at first glance. (Credit for a smooth transition? Anyone? No? OK.)
The Detroit Free Press reports that a handful of these are targeted at major sports and entertainment venues in the state.
New car dealers will get their own tax credit. And businesses that make large donations to the Detroit Zoo and art museums will get bigger tax credits for their generosity.
The tax code, approved last week by the Legislature, gives special tax breaks to a handful of corporate stars: Michigan International Speedway (MIS), the Palace of Auburn Hills, Comerica Park and large grocery store companies such as Meijer and Spartan stores.
But wait, didn’t the governor just go on TV night before last to tell us how great the new MBT is and what a big step it is for Michigan? You mean she approves of these tax breaks?
Read on.
Two points:
1) Why on earth if tax breaks and incentives work (enough that a lame-duck governor runs a campaign commercial in an off year) would the state’s Chief Executive continue to push for a massive tax increase affecting every family in the state?
2) More specifically, if major entertainment venues need tax breaks to keep up with the competition then why on earth would you target proposed tax increases at the same venues in the form of a ticket tax?
Inconsistent much? And we wonder why businesses don’t want to come locate in Michigan. Assuming anyone’s paying attention in Europe as Granholm prepares for another magical mystery tour at taxpayer expense they’re probably asking the same thing. She’s offering tax breaks in one hand while the other is hiding a giant tax-hike hammer behind her back.
I wish she’d make up her mind. Because while she goes back and forth there are businesses making up their minds every day here in the state.
A week or so ago we learned here in Grand Rapids that Heartwell Mortgage was closing up shop in the state, killing a lot of jobs and threatening to drag other local lenders with it. They can’t cut it in Michigan anymore… their operations in other states are cruising along just fine.
And now, in the coming days the last of the Farmer Jack stores in Detroit will be shuttering their doors and windows, closing for the last time without a buyer. The Detroit News reports:
Analysts say no other major city in America is such a supermarket desert. And it's not likely to change anytime soon.
If no grocery stores buy the Farmer Jack locations from the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Detroit will be left without a single national chain supermarket, much less a Wal-Mart or Meijer superstore or a Costco-style warehouse store.
Talk about two Americas. Even John Edwards and his $1,250.00 haircuts can see that there’s Michigan and everyone else.
And it just plain shouldn’t be that way. Sharon Emery at Booth had a great piece that ran in yesterday’s papers talking about some of the many reasons so many of us stay in Michigan. Why we take less pay for longer hours. Why we consider it a good day when our salary gets slashed because unlike our neighbor we still have a job. Why we’re doing more with less while the state continues to nip at our wallets.
If we could get the governor and Speaker Dillon and his caucus to focus more on the survival of the state of Michigan and not the state government we might actually start to make a little progress. Dillon’s team, at least, will be facing an election next fall. If it weren’t for that there’s little doubt in my mind they’d have rammed that $1.8 billion tax hike through the House already. They may still. Just proves how important all of these local elections are.
And to further illustrate how important the national election will be for Michigan next year too (Carl Levin and his votes in support of amnesty for illegals and inability to stop the domestic auto industry killing CAFÉ spike) there was quite a scare yesterday at Bishop International airport in Flint, where nine bomb threats were phoned in to staff.
The Associated Press reports:
Norm Brewer, a Transportation Security Administration spokesman in Washington, told The AP shortly before 9 p.m., "All is clear in Flint and aviation operations are back to normal."
Brewer said he did not know if any bombs were found or whether there were any suspects or arrests. Dawn Clenney, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Detroit, declined to discuss the investigation in detail.
"There was a nonspecific bomb threat called into the airport. ... It did not mention any airline by name," Hutcheson told The Associated Press. "We evaluated the threat. We considered it a nonspecific threat, but we take it seriously nonetheless."
Don’t remember the last time there was such a serious threat to an airport or other instillation in Michigan. But serious or not, I’m pretty sure though it wasn’t job makers phoning them in, Andy.
Great, and of course you know how to make that actually happen?
It's not that I disagree with the notion in theory, but in practicet thats not what we get. Which is why the constitution is primarily designed to balance power instead of trying to wield it.
This is just another example of why tax breaks (credits, deductions, exclusions, etc.) that are targeted at specific industries or specific activities just represent industrial policy by the back door. I've even heard Judd Gregg call this practice "tax code socialism." Basically, the practice does nothing for the economy but just rewards politically powerful interests for activity they would have engaged in anyway, while diverting resources away from activities that don't qualify for the breaks (because they are not favored by the political powers-that-be).
Pro-growth tax policy means lowering marginal rates across the board on work, savings, and investment. Just keep the tax burden UNIFORMLY low across the economy and let private investors and workers decide which industries/activities hold the most promise for profit. Having some pay more and some pay less just because politicians favor certain industries over others won't do a thing for either Michigan or the USA.