As I was reading a Detroit News op-ed about raising the minimum wage this morning (Eclectablog motto: “we do it so you don’t have to”), I was, of course, unsurprised to see them advising House legislators to reject the bill passed by the Senate to raise the minimum wage to $9.20 by 2017. According to them, “the Senate bill isn’t […]

As I have written about before, Republicans are petrified of a drive to put raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour on the ballot in November. It’s such a winning issue for Democrats that Republicans know that they simply must kill it or risk losing big on election day as more Democrats than usual turn out to vote in […]

It’s good to be know the king A Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) permit has been issued to Russian steel corporation Severstal this week, allowing the company that DEQ once called “the most egregious facility in the state” to continuing spewing pollutants in Dearborn and Detroit at levels far in excess of state regulations. As I wrote about earlier this […]

Nobody in Michigan would argue that we don’t need to take drastic measures to fix our crumbling roads. In some places, gravel roads would be an improvement over what the roads look like right now. One proposal being floated is to change the gas tax from a flat 19 cents per gallon to a percentage of the wholesale cost. This […]

But Benghazi One of the biggest faux memes being perpetrated by Obamacare opponents is that people who signed up for it wouldn’t actually PAY for it. Charles Gaba over at ACAsignups.net got earsful of it. We even see it here at Eclectablog. Turns out it it’s a complete lie. Three large health insurers including WellPoint Inc. (WLP) and Aetna Inc. […]

This is getting ridiculous More revelations are emerging about apparent cronyism by the administration of Republican Governor Rick Snyder. This time it’s benefitting one of Detroit’s most egregious polluters, the Severstal Dearborn steel plant. The Michigan Economic Development Corp., Gov. Rick Snyder’s business-promoting agency, worked for months behind the scenes with one of the state’s most flagrantly polluting businesses as […]

Corporatism is alive and well in state governments across the USA The Guardian newspaper has a blockbuster piece out today that shows how the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), has turned to working through state Attorneys General to stop any efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The Guardian has learned that the American Legislative […]

Seriously, this is getting ridiculous MIRS has a damning report out this week about further examples of pay-to-play politics in the Snyder administration. According to their reporting, the Dickinson Wright law firm received a $225,000 contract with the state in July of 2013. The contract was signed by Attorney General Bill Schuette and former state Treasurer Andy Dillon. A week […]

The best government corporatist money can buy I have confirmation from two independent sources in the Michigan legislature that multi-millionaire Dick DeVos is using the threat of massive financial support for Republican primary opponents of vulnerable Senate Republicans to force them to vote for the bill that would expand the Education Achievement Authority statewide. The same approach was used to […]

MORE THAN HALF OF US NOW PAY HIGHER TAXES THANKS TO THE GOP AND YES I’M SHOUTING! A little over two years ago, I wrote a cautionary post titled “The tax timebomb that explodes in Michigan in 2012 is MUCH worse than you thought”. In it, I explained how the Republican budget passed in the first year after the 2010 […]

Pesky, pesky facts Meme courtesy of the Michigan Democratic Party At a public breakfast forum this week, Republican Governor Rick Snyder was challenged by Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lon Johnson over the more than doubling of the state contract held by Snyder’s cousin George Snyder. Johnson asked Snyder, “How can you justify cutting education and raising (taxes on the) senior […]