By Jack Kresnak/Michigan’s Children A new report on the nation’s efforts to provide quality early learning shows Michigan was one of the few states to increase preschool funding last year. The bad news: We still serve only 18 percent of 4-year-olds and no 3-year-olds, putting Michigan in the bottom half of states in accessibility to […]
Guest column: Early childhood efforts need more than office equipment
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Traditional polling worthless in predicting ballot-proposal votes
By Mark Grebner/Practical Political Consulting Inc. Some polls prove to be right on the money, while a few miss by five or even 10 points. But some polls that aren’t worth anything at all: The ones that try to predict how a ballot proposal will fare with the voters. When the final pre-election poll published […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Snyder pushes end to personal tax on business
Steve Carlson considered buying a couple of new machines for his plastic molding business near Lansing, but he and the company’s other owners decided to hold off for now. One reason, he said, is Michigan’s personal property tax on the new equipment would drive up the cost of doing business, adding another 30 percent to […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Business, Republican leaders express confidence in personal property tax repeal
In the looming battle over Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed personal property tax repeal, both sides agree on one thing: It’s a tax neither particularly likes. “This is an investment penalty,” said Lt. Governor Brian Calley before a Senate committee Wednesday. “The more you invest, the more you pay.” The Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Schools fear property tax cut will be permanent
Like many other Michigan public schools, the River Rouge School District is struggling to stay afloat. In recent years, it has laid off teachers and eliminated music, art, gym, libraries and athletics — but it’s still running a deficit. In February, voters turned down a request for a millage increase. So, if the Legislature and […]
Posted inMichigan Government
See where personal property tax hits
Bills that would lead to the elimination of the personal property tax for almost all Michigan businesses are now before the Michigan Legislature. Business groups have expressed strong support for PPT repeal, arguing the levy on business equipment makes Michigan less competitive. A coalition of local government and school groups says the plan by the Snyder administration could strip hundreds of millions of dollars from local governments. The administration says most of those dollars will be replaced by state funds appropriated by the Legislature each year.
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
Hey Grandpa, how about a little help?
A 5-year-old child born to a mother who has exceeded 48 months on cash assistance was being reared in destitution before the state yanked $5,000 in annual welfare benefits. A 75-year-old residing in a nursing home, meanwhile, receives $80,000 in Medicaid-funded care. Not that future fiscal choices should favor the young at the expense of the old, […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“The price one pays for pursuing any profession, or calling, is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side” — James A. Baldwin, American author. * OK, so it’s not “Jurassic Park” and velociraptors, but it’s still cool: A Northern Michigan man is cloning trees — and not just any trees: http://www.michiganradio.org/post/northern-michigan-man-clones-ancient-trees * CNN created a […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Snyder administration cleaning up state rulebook
The state has too many regulations and it costs too much to comply with them. That has long been a mantra of business groups. Now Gov. Rick Snyder has adopted the approach for state government as well. His Office of Regulatory Reinvention has been given the daunting task of sifting through all of the several […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
When a license plate just isn't enough
One person’s infuriating government regulation is another’s measure to protect public health and safety. That philosophical split plays out every day in how Michigan is enforcing regulations on commercial motor vehicles. In recent years, farmers and small businesses that rely on pick-up trucks to haul equipment, supplies and inventories have chafed at the Michigan State […]