It’s an EMERGENCY!

Congressmen Gary Peters and John Conyers have asked the Govenment Accountability Office to look into the efficacy of the Emergency Financial Manager Law in Michigan as well as whether or not it has resulted in any conflicts of interest or other improprieties as the law has been enforced.

Much more including their letter after the jump.

When you’re giving Michele Bachmann a run for her money, you’re definitely going off of the rails on the Crazy Train This past week, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann attempted to solidify her position as the “Craziest Person in Congress” with not one, not two, but THREE different comments. First, she was chased down a hallway by a CNN reporter trying to […]

The tea party wins – a good thing for the wrong reasons The Michigan Senate adjourned today for their 2013 spring break without acting on the state-run health insurance exchange allowed under the Affordable Care Act. Governor Rick Snyder said today was the last day to pass the needed legislation so the result is that the federal government will run […]

Wait, is that a “pregnancy tax”???

Grosse Pointe teachers signed a new four-year contract with their school district that continues a unique twist: It ties teachers’ pay to the school district’s fund equity (basically what the district owns minus what it owes). In exchange, they put off the effects of Michigan’s new right to work law for four years and, thanks to modifications in the previous contract’s provisions, avoided pay cuts of up to 9%. In this case, it appears that the school district was able to use the threat of the impending right to work law to get quick ratification of the new contract.

Much more after the jump.

You have to give them credit for taking government back — to a time when it didn’t care about the poor

Tea party groups in Michigan appear to have succeeded in preventing an expansion of Medicaid that would have given health insurance to nearly a half million working poor Michiganders and preventing the formation of a state-run health insurance exchange. The actions will cost the state millions and millions of dollars, ensure that fewer people have health coverage than would have under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act and, ironically, help take the country a step closer to a single-payer health care system in the long run.

On Wednesday, the House Appropriations subcommittee passed their annual budget bill without the inclusion of the expansion of Medicaid that Governor Snyder, doctors, and hospitals across the state supported emphatically. Even tea party governors like Florida’s Rick Scott support this element of “Obamacare” since it would mean coverage of millions of their residents while relieving the burden on their hospital systems. They also kicked poor people in the teeth in a couple of other ways, as well.

Click through for details.

What’s good for the goose is, apparently, NOT good for the gander

A couple of weeks ago, I reported on Republicans’ outrage that universities in Michigan were renegotiating contracts with their union employees and including provisions that postponed the impact of their recently-passed Right to Work legislation by allowing for the collection of union dues for several more years.

Today, the Republicans acted on that outrage and chose to punish the schools that did this, namely the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, by eliminating 15% of their appropriation for the next year.

Click through for more.

Sorry, face. This nose has got to go

Governor Rick Snyder is warning Michigan Republican legislators that time is running out to set up a state-run health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”.) As Gov. Snyder points out, we have the choice of doing this in a way that is customized for Michigan or letting the federal government do it for us.

Meanwhile, tea party groups in Michigan are working overtime to kill it, a position I have come to cheer on. Click through to see why.

I’d like to take this opportunity to say I TOLD YOU SO!

During a Right to Work rally in Lansing, Michigan last December, Fox News “reporter” Steven Crowder claimed he was attacked and had video to prove it. As I reported then, the video was heavily edited and the guy who “attacked” him was actually acting in self-defense. Here’s what I said at the time:

“Selective editing at about 0:39 mark shows what appears to be union guy attacking Crowder for no apparent reason. However, if you look closely, you’ll see that the guy is getting up off the ground — that he was NOT the one that became aggressive first.”

It turns out that I was 100% correct. Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III is not filing charges in the incident because Crowder provided him with highly-edited video and the full, unedited version shows that his “attacker” was simply defending himself.

Click through for details.

It’s good to be the king banker

There’s a story emerging out of Detroit about the role too-big-to-fail banks have played in the creation of Detroit’s fiscal emergency. Last week, Dave Dayen reported at the National Memo that some banks have begun foreclosure proceedings on homeowners and then simply walked away before taking possession of the property. This leaves evicted homeowners on the hook financially for the home they are no longer permitted to live in. What’s worse is that the banks don’t even have to inform the homeowner or the city of Detroit which no longer receives any tax revenue from the property.

Not only that, banks have been reaping huge profits in debt restructuring fees and, as added salt in the wound of a city in crisis, Republicans have ensured that these same banks will be paid in full as Detroit works to get out from under its crushing debt.

Much more after the jump.

Aww, geez…

I don’t want to beat this guy up too much since he’s just getting started and I feel compelled to wish him success in his job. He is a Democrat, after all, and I think we ALL want Detroit to do well. However, one would hope that the guy tasked with saving Detroit from its financial disaster would be a bit more detail oriented than this. It turns out Kevyn Orr has two outstanding tax liens on properties he owns in Maryland. They are related to unpaid unemployment taxes.

Oops.

Details after the jump.

They said it, not me

South Carolina Republicans have decided not to expand Medicaid in their state as provided under the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”.) By doing this, they are turning down $11 billion in federal funds and risk the creation of upwards of 44,000 jobs.

Why did they do this? According Republican state House Representative Kris Crawford, it’s because President Barack Obama is black.

You think I’m kidding but I’m not. Details after the jump.