“Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice” — Anton Chekhov, 19th century Russian playwright. * It’s high season for complaining about taxes. But have you ever wondered exactly how Michigan’s tax system operates. The inestimable Citizens Research Council of Michigan does an annual overview of the state tax system. The latest […]
Land O Links
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“Science is the knowledge of consequences, and dependence of one fact upon another” — Thomas Hobbes, 17th century English philosopher. *Remember when Michigan was talking so much about the need to increase the number of college degrees among its populace? And now: Jackson Community College saw a 12 percent enrollment decline for its winter (current) […]
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“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest” — Confucius. * From a new AARP report: “According to Genworth, the median daily rate in Michigan for a nursing home in 2011 was $235 for a private […]
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“I have approximate answers and possible beliefs in different degrees of certainty about different things, but I’m not absolutely sure of anything, and of many things I don’t know anything about, but I don’t have to know an answer” — Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize-winning American physicist. * Michigan’s local governments were collaborating and sharing services […]
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“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful” — Samuel Johnson, 18th century English essayist. * In our increasingly “yes/no” political world, let’s start off today with a thought experiment about “maybe.” Settle in. What if you were told the Legislature and governor just enacted bills to increase […]
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“What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child” — George Bernard Shaw, British playwright * Starting July 1, the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association fee, levied to cover medical costs from auto accidents as part ofMichigan’s auto no-fault insurance regime, will go up $30, to […]
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“All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason” — Immanuel Kant, 18th century German philosopher. * Foreign Policy has an analysis of five trends that threaten recovery in advanced economies around the world, including our own. One of the five is […]
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“A man’s errors are his portals of discovery” — Irish author James Joyce. * You will be hearing a great deal in coming weeks and months about “Mip-sers” — the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System. The Citizens Research Council of Michigan, at its blog, gives a good run-down of how school districts are being […]
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“I have tried to know absolutely nothing about a great many things, and I have succeeded fairly well” — Robert Benchley, American humorist and newspaper columnist. * Bob Jones, who consults with educational institutions and others on public policy, ran through the latest unemployment data. His messages: If you’ve been jobless a long time, you […]
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“The old believe everything; the middle aged suspect everything, the young know everything” — Oscar Wilde. * It’s March Madness, so everyone’s trying to figure out how to use the temporary obsession with brackets to convey interesting or amusing information. WARNING: At this point, Michigan State University alumni and fans should stop reading. At the […]