For years, it was unthinkable that Michigan, the cradle of the labor movement, might ever become a Right to Work state. Union workers helped build the state, union power shaped its politics and the idea of severing the two would be like Georgia rejecting peaches. Things are different now. The battle over Proposal 2, which […]
Michigan Government
Citizens cannot do their job of running their government if they don’t know what their public servants are doing.
Posted inMichigan Government
Foul called on Medicare claim in Stabenow attack on Hoekstra
MICHIGAN TRUTH SQUAD ANALYSIS: “The Truth About Pete Hoekstra” and “Through Me” Who: Stabenow for U.S. Senate What: TV ad and website pages Truth Squad call: Foul The campaign material for incumbent U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, attacks Republican Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra for his stand on Medicare, abortion, taxes and other issues. Questionable statement: “Hoekstra supports […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Everyone gets a foul in House 67 campaign, Truth Squad rules
MICHIGAN TRUTH SQUAD ANALYSIS: Jeff Oesterle v. Tom Cochran Who: Friends of Jeff Oesterle (http://www.jeffoesterle.com/), Committee to Elect Tom Cochran (http://votetomcochran.com/), Michigan Republican Pary (“Loyalties” mailer, “Sand” mailer), Michigan Democratic Party (“Example” mailer, “Polluter” mailer) What: Websites and mailers Truth Squad calls: Flagrant foul and Foul on Democratic mailers; Foul and Technical foul on GOP […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Proposal 5 seeks end to majority rule on taxes
The signal moment in the budget reform agenda of Gov. Rick Snyder came by a margin of one, as the state Senate voted 20-19 in May 2011 to approve a $1.7 billion tax cut for business and impose a variety of changes to Michigan’s personal income tax. Lt. Gov. Brian Calley cast a rare tie-breaking […]
Posted inMichigan Government
California is poster child for tax limitation rules, for advocates and critics alike
In the depths of the Great Depression, California lawmakers devised a bold prescription for balancing the state books. Called Proposition 1, the 1933 measure called for a complicated shift in taxes between state and local governments and boosted state spending for schools. Almost as an afterthought, it required a two-thirds vote in each chamber to […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Prop 5 advocates say taxes are high, but figures show Michigan in the middle
It is an article of faith among small government advocates that Michigan residents are overtaxed, especially in relation to other states. That might have been true in 1985, when Michigan ranked seventh in the nation with a state and local tax burden of 10.4 percent, compared to a national average of 9.7 percent. The data […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Prop 1 is fight over local control, with backdrop of fiscal crisis
Of the many laws Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has championed during his first 21 months in office, few have proved as divisive as the one that gave emergency managers sweeping new “superpowers” allowing them to dismiss elected leaders and rip up union contracts to help balance budgets in financially distressed cities and school districts. If […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Touting of GOP justices by chamber gets 'no foul' from Truth Squad
MICHIGAN TRUTH SQUAD ANALYSIS: “Real Cases” and “Tough Judges” Who: Michigan Chamber of Commerce What: Radio ads Truth Squad call: No foul The Michigan Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Republican state Supreme Court justices Stephen Markman and Brian Zahra and Republican candidate Colleen O’Brien. Questionable statement: “A man convicted of raping a 7-year-old tries to […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Flagrant foul called on Democratic attack in Supreme Court race
MICHIGAN TRUTH SQUAD ANALYSIS: “Streak” and “Lily” Who: Michigan Democratic Party What: Web/TV ads Truth Squad call: Flagrant Foul Questionable statement: “After my daughter, Lily, was killed at the hands of a child abuser, I vowed to spend my life protecting children. I know how important it is to have judges who protect them too. […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Fouls aplenty in House 57 campaign, Truth Squad rules
MICHIGAN TRUTH SQUAD ANALYSIS: Mailings, website in Nancy Jenkins-Jim Berryman 57th House District race Who: Michigan Republican Party, Michigan Democratic State Central Committee, Jim Berryman website What: Mailers and Jim Berryman website Truth Squad calls: Flagrant foul, Fouls on GOP mailers; Technical foul on Berryman website; Foul on Democratic mailer Can We Trust Jim Berryman in […]