Gotta love this headline in the Detroit News this morning:
Michigan Legislature praised for reform bills
Sounds good, right? Here’s the thing: the only people “praising” the Michigan Republicans in the article are Michigan Republicans. But Michigan Republicans, I must say, think Michigan Republicans are totally freaking awesome.
The closest you get to praise are these to bits:
The Senate leader said the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post have noted improvements in Michigan’s economic climate. Bloomberg rated Michigan one of the top two states poised for economic recovery, he added. Fitch moved Michigan’s financial rating from stable to favorable.
Nothing about “reform bills” there.
Then there’s this:
Michigan State University Economics Professor Charles Ballard said the reforms are positive, but he doesn’t think they address the real cause of Michigan’s economic meltdown.“These are small steps in the right direction,” Ballard said.
Ballard said Michigan had a very inefficient tax system with high taxes on some businesses and low taxes on others, and some receiving subsidies through a cloud of credits. But that had little to do with the loss of 845,000 manufacturing jobs between June 2000 and December 2009.
“I don’t think very many of those (job losses) were due to our tax structure,” Ballard said. “The biggest good thing that has happened to the Michigan economy is the auto bailout.”
While the tax changes are positive, lawmakers should also invest more in education and job training, according to Ballard
Not exactly praise, is it? In fact, Professor Ballard gives more credit to the Obama administration than to Michigan Republicans.
But that’s okay. Michigan Republicans still think Michigan Republicans are awesome. And when you run the whole goddam show, that’s really all that matters.
