intro_slide bike1 cents1_0 highway1 gas_pump1 car1 house1 tollbooth1 cell-phone1 11 things every Michigan taxpayer should know Comparatively, Michigan’s tax burden is low – and getting lower. Look around: YOUR taxes could be much higher. Michigan gives more tax breaks than it collects for schools/gov’t. The definition of “Anti-tax conservative” has changed Why might taxes seem […]
Ted Roelofs
Ted Roelofs of Kentwood, has written extensively on healthcare as well as prison and juvenile justice reform. Roelofs spent nearly three decades at the Grand Rapids Press where he covered politics, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, rural poverty and mental illness among the homeless. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin. Reach Ted at ted.roelofs@gmail.com
Posted inBusiness Watch
So, what will happen with your taxes over the long term?
11 things every Michigan taxpayer should know Comparatively, Michigan’s tax burden is low – and getting lower. Look around: YOUR taxes could be much higher. Michigan gives more tax breaks than it collects for schools/gov’t. The definition of “Anti-tax conservative” has changed Why might taxes seem high to YOU? The motivation for a state income […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Higher taxes for schools? A big fight brews in Utah
A group of powerful Utah business leaders is pushing for more money for that state’s schools. Utah lawmakers are having none of it.
Posted inMichigan Government
Gerrymandering in Michigan is among the nation’s worst, new test claims
Heard of the ‘efficiency gap’? You may soon. It’s key to a Wisconsin redistricting lawsuit that could eventually affect how Michigan’s lines are drawn.
Posted inMichigan Government
An uphill fight to take redistricting out of politicians’ hands
Grassroots activists seek a referendum on alternatives to gerrymandering. The odds are stacked against them.
Posted inMichigan Government
Is the Michigan Supreme Court trying to make it harder to punish bad judges?
The high court is considering rule changes that critics say will make it harder to prosecute inept or crooked judges and delay the public release of misconduct charges.
Posted inMichigan Government
Obamacare survives, but some rural hospitals may not
Rural residents depend on small medical facilities for chemotherapy, emergency care and other critical procedures. Hospital chiefs across northern Michigan say that ongoing efforts to dismantle Obamacare could put them out of business.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan residents to Lansing: We don’t trust you to do the basics
People across the state told The Center for Michigan they have fundamental doubts about the government’s ability to deliver on education, public health, campaign transparency and other critical functions
Posted inMichigan Government
Michiganders say emergency managers wield too much power
With Flint on their minds, state residents are overwhelmingly opposed to Michigan’s divisive emergency manager law and want the state should work more collaboratively with locally elected officials.
Posted inChildren & Families
Abused as a small boy. Now what?
A new statewide program aims to intervene with children exposed to drugs or violence to help them become healthy, capable adults