*A perennial problem in Michigan elections will reach its yearly peak soon. August primary elections sneak up on voters who quickly find they might not have ready access to independent information about candidates and issues. Vote411 is an attempt to help. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters Education Fund, the site offers ballot language, […]
Citizens Research Council
Posted inMichigan Government
Onekama provides test case on government consolidation
Most Michigan voters who find their ways to the polls today will be making decisions on who will run their governments and how they’ll fund such operations. The residents of the village of Onekama have a bigger question to answer: Keep the local government we have, or live under the neighbor’s? The 400 or so […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“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 […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Promise helps Kalamazoo weather tough times
For a decade, Michigan’s economic dashboard has flashed red: high unemployment, record foreclosures, bankrupt automakers, population declines. And the Kalamazoo region hasn’t been spared from the pain that spread across Michigan. But leaders and families in Kalamazoo are hopeful that the start of the 21st century will mostly be remembered for the birth, in 2005, […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
'Shadow Tax Cut' deepens local budget crises
A $900 million cut in property tax revenues since 2007, the “Shadow Tax Cut,” has devastated the budgets of local governments that heavily rely on these taxes to provide police and fire protection — and a host of other services. They’ve laid off hundreds of firefighters, police officers and other employees; cut pay and benefits; […]
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