Supporters of a proposal to end compulsory union membership had high hopes that neighboring Indiana’s recent adoption of Right to Work legislation would lead Michigan to soon follow the Hoosier state’s lead. That all changed on March 6 when a group backed by organized labor announced a ballot proposal for the November election that would […]
Right to Work sparks political frenzy
Posted inMichigan Government
Who's right on Right to Work?
The recent decision by Indiana to become the 23rd state (and first in the Great Lakes region) to enact a Right to Work law had Lansing buzzing this winter that Michigan may soon be the next. At least one legislator was preparing to push the idea and Gov. Rick Snyder, while downplaying the concept, did […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Legislature yaps at critical part of state's recovery
For years, physicists and science-fiction writers have speculated about whether parallel universes might exist alongside our own. I’m certainly not qualified to get into the domain of theoretical physics, but I can testify that when it comes to higher education, there are parallel universes existing right here in Michigan: Universe One has to do with the […]
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
Run government like a business? If only.
Back in the day, the craftier veteran legislators would pay the monthly lease on their automobiles with campaign checks they collected from lobbyists steering client political action committees. As their meals were generally covered by those same lobbyists, a Michigan legislator’s expenses could be handled with minimal out-of-pocket sacrifice. Which was good since into that […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Two parties, lunchmeat and pants afire
Here’s the thing about the media: We’re not supposed to call people liars. We get quotes from both sides, even when we know the claptrap on one side of the issue is, as Gongwer News Service subtly suggested Wednesday, “what some might call a lie.” That story (subscription only), along with this from the Detroit […]
Posted inMichigan Government
That's your government. You can't look in there.
A legal battle over who will run the city of Flint has centered on the provisions of the rewrite of the state’s emergency manager law — PA4. But an alarming side note was sounded in the fight this week — an idea that could weaken public oversight of government statewide. According to Gongwer News Service […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“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 […]
Posted inChildren & Families
Welfare reforms put care-givers in a wrenching bind
Todd Stafford has an uncontrollable neurological disorder that causes him to beat himself in the head hundreds of times a day. The beatings have made him blind and caused his head to “look like Frankenstein,” he says. His wife, Tina Stafford, doesn’t have a job because someone needs to be at their St. Joseph County […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Ex-city manager teaches emergency manager avoidance tips
When Ed Koryzno talks to officials in financially troubled communities, he can say to them with conviction, “Been there, done that.” Koryzno, hired earlier this year by the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder to help advise troubled communities, used to work through many of the same difficulties that financially troubled local governments are struggling to […]
Posted inChildren & Families
Extra attention keeps frequent fliers from landing in ERs
A groundbreaking health care clinic in Grand Rapids expects to save millions of dollars a year by targeting a chronic cause of high medical costs: patients for whom the emergency room is a virtual revolving door. Based on early results, the director of the Spectrum Health System clinic projects savings of $12 million to $15 […]
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