Is it Just Me?

Many blogs ago I asked the question: Now that we've won, how do we turn this into good public policy?

On the national level there were a few gimmes at the start: expansion of CHIPS, the Ledbetter equal pay act, Sotomayor, and... (help me out here - there must be more.)

At the Executive level there have clearly been major changes in attitude at places like the Interior Dept, where they will stop giving everything away to the extractors. But at Treasury it's business as usual, which means giving Goldman Sachs everything they want so they can pay their precious bankers and traders $10 fucking billion in bonuses.

At the state level, it's business as usual with more taxes on beer and cigarettes because they are so sinful and Granholm clearly doesn't give a shit for the predominantly poor people who smoke and drink (let alone the awesome Michigan beer industry.) Everything else coming out of her office is nothing but chipping away at budgets with no constituency so she can keep shoveling money out the door to movie makers and any corporation that says it will add a few jobs. The vision thing just ain't there, and if Andy Dillon is the only person making grand statements (about dismantling union negotiated health care agreements no less), we've got problems.

And then we have health care, and the willingness of the Administration (which is supposed to be Our Administration) insisting that there is such a thing as a bipartisan Republican. Is the President that we worked so hard to elect really going to cede decision making to gas bag Senators from rural stares with less population than Grand Rapids? Is he really going to gut health care reform even though it is obvious the not a single Republican Senator is going to vote for it? He can't be that naive and he's clearly not stupid.

Please God tell me this is just a well laid trap where Rahm and Barack will come back from vacation and announce that they have seen enough of the Republican bullshit, and that it is obvious that they have no intention of negotiating, and the the Democrats are going to pass the right bill. If they have to ram it through reconciliation and cause the GOP to wet their pants with indignation, so be it.

Mike Cox and the Big Lie

Not that it's a surprise to anyone, but Michigan AG Mike Cox is running for governor. He's been sucking up to the hard right for years so it's clear which way he's going to lean to try to win the GOP primary.

In a recent Press exclusive Cox leads off his platform with the Big Lie, the conservative meme that refuses to die, the GOP fantasy that cutting taxes will actually increase revenues to the state. This is the so called Supply Side Economics cooked up in the Reagan administration - that has as much to do with economics as my dog's nuts.

Cox the Magician says he will cut state taxes by $2 billion:

Cox insisted that increased revenues stimulated by the tax cuts would help Michigan close a projected 2010 budget deficit of $1.6 billion.

"When you reduce tax rates, revenue going into government actually increases," Cox said.

What planet does this guy live on? Hello Mike, this is 2009! We just tried the Supplied Side crap for eight years with your soul buddy George and, uh, I don't think it worked too damn well. And then there's John Engler - remember him? the guy who cut Michigan taxes 30 or 40 times? That worked really well too, didn't it? Just look at all the economic growth that flooded in after all those tax cuts.

As if that's not enough, Mr. Cox also thinks Michigan needs more Nuclear and coal-fired power plants:

"I think we ought to aim to be the energy capital of America," Cox said. "Nuclear is one way we could be more competitive in the long run. In the long run, that's a way to diversify our economy."

He noted he backs a $2 billion, 800 megawatt Consumers Energy "clean coal" operation in Essexville.

Clean coal? Another big stinking turd dreamed up by our friends in the coal industry. There is no such thing as clean coal, period.

And not to forget the religious right, Cox tops it off with his opposition to gay marriage and civil unions:

"Gay individuals by and large do enjoy the protections that heterosexuals do," he said.

Go for it Mike, wanker extraordinaire that you are.

Green Economy my Ass

In her radio address today, Governor Granholm again touted the miracle of Green Business and how it is going to save Michigan. She conveniently failed to mention that United Solar Ovanics just put its Greenville plant on a two week shutdown and is postponing opening a new plant in Battle Creek until orders pick up.

I have nothing against wind turbines, solar cells, battery powered cars and the rest of it - but these industries are highly competitive, global and cyclical. They're also not all that big. As for the Governor, she did nothing to promote renewable energy for her first five years in office and Michigan fell behind dozens of states in authorizing a Renewable Power Standard - the essential first step to attracting renewable power. And when the RPS was finally voted in, it was part of a sweetheart deal for Consumers and Detroit Edison.

The Green Economy is going to be a real deal but it is not the magic wand that is going to cure Michigan's economic disaster. By focusing everything on this new fad, other businesses struggle, and wonder where's the love for them?

Tell Me Agan who runs the National Association of Manufacturers?

An interesting sign of the times today: Duke Energy quits the NAM because of the organization's opposition to regulating global warming gasses.

The NAM is one of the most powerful business lobbies in Washington and has consistently fought against even accepting global warming, let alone trying to do something about it. Duke is a huge utility and clearly not the kind of company that one would call Progressive. Still, they aren't stupid - and recognize that fixing global warming is as much an opportunity for profits as something to deny and fight.

So who is leading the NAM's rear-guard action? None other than our favorite ex Michigan shithead-in-chief, John Engler.

Silver Line

Well, the Silver Line crashed and burned with the operating millage failing by 52 to 48%. Bill Harris analyzed the vote breakdown by district and it's clear that the supporters just didn't convince voters in Kentwood, Grandville, Walker and Wyoming that this was worth the money.

The Press today had a clear headed editorial that laid the blame on the transit officials for failing to make the case that this investment is worth it for the community. The cost per household is not extravagant ($12 per year on a $150,000 house plus $84 for continuing costs) but people said no.

I have to think part of the problem is that there are vast numbers of people in Grand Rapids who have never ridden pubic transportation in their lives. This sounds ridiculous but I would bet on it. If you haven't lived in an old East Coast city (or Chicago, or anywhere in Europe) pubic transit is something only poor people use - because it generally sucks. Voters just haven't had the experience of living with good public transit and the joy of not having to drive everywhere. I lived in and around New York for years and could go a week without getting in a car - and it was great.

Maybe the Silver Line pitched itself too much towards riders and not enough towards the economic development aspects of the project. It also never made the case to places like Kentwood that are miles away from the where the Division line would run. There was no vision for how the Silver Line would eventually tie into something larger that could actually connect the various cities.

Voters needed to be convinced that this was going to add value to the community beyond those who actually use the service. This message got through to East Grand Rapids but none of the other cities. It's really a shame, because this project would have been something good for the area.

Plutocrats for Change

The Joanne Voorhees story is the perfect summation of how small minded the local GOP can be. Telling Jon Huntsman he's not conservative enough for West Michigan makes me wonder how they can go about their daily lives without constantly being exposed to the dreaded Liberalism

Anyhow, the lightning speed with with the state GOP was able to to get Betsy DeVos to sponsor a substitute soiree for Huntsman shows how plutocrat Republicans can be counted on to stick together. Ms. DeVos is the daughter of billionaire Edgar Prince and the wife of the son of Billionaire Rich DeVos (and don't forget, the sister of Blackwater founder Eric Prince).

Jon Huntsman is the son of Utah Billionaire Jon Huntsman Sr. - so of course he felt right at home with the DeVos's (who hosted him at their own hotel, the ultra-deluxe JR Marriott in Grand Rapids. Ohmigod - the Marriotts are from Utah too! (Probably billionaires).

A splendid time was had by all. Sorry Joanne.

Shut Down the WEMET

The Press has a decent piece of investigative reporting on the front page today that can only lead to one conclusion: The West Michigan Enforcement Team (WEMET) should be disbanded and the officers reassigned.

What does this outfit do? They overwhelmingly go after low level pot dealers by making pathetically small $50 "buys" based on tips and then stage a big bust where they net small quantities of drugs, some cash and sometimes guns. The scorecard for 2008 tells the story:

Marijuana: 639 lbs
Coke: 12.4 lbs
Crack: 44 oz
Heroin: 22 oz
Meth: 6.5 of
Guns: 100

That's it for 25 officers and a half-million $ annual budget. The fact that the most dangerous drug (Meth) is at the bottom of the list shows how lame this effort is. They are busting part-time pot dealers and growers - and ignoring the drug that is brutally addictive, dangerous, toxic and pervasive in rural Michigan. The haul of guns is largely meaningless since you can walk into practically any home in Michigan and find guns (and probably a small amount of pot as well).

If the State Police don't have anything better to do with 25 officers and a half million dollars, they should give the money back. This is a joke.