Surprise! Would you believe that … political systems are stacked in favor of those with money? That’s probably been true since the days of the pharaohs, if not before. But these days, two things make the normal much worse in our country: First, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the Citizens United case, essentially ruled two […]
Rick Snyder
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
Capitol conundrum: Fewer inmates, same high costs
Round numbers can provoke course corrections because they are easier to understand and, if large enough, shock the system. Here are a couple: 50,000 and $2 billion. The first is the inmate population barrier breached at the Michigan Department of Corrections in 2006. The department’s budget first exceeded the latter figure in fiscal year 2008. […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Schuette may need big taxpayer bucks to get tougher on crime
Editor’s Note: This post, originally published at 8 a.m. on Jan. 26, was updated at 1 p.m. the same day, 10 minutes after Bridge received new estimates from the Michigan Department of Corrections. A summary of the original estimates provided by MDOC are in this updated post. “AG asks Michigan to spend big to get tougher […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Sorry, governor, Mich. still losing families
During his 2012 State of the State speech last week, Gov. Rick Snyder included, among his “Dashboard Updates,” a special mention of the newly released Atlas Van Lines moving index. The stated reason for the mention was that Atlas’ index showed that, in 2011, Michigan stopped a six-year trend of more people moving out of […]
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
Snyder's message wasn't friendly to Capitol majority
Gov. Rick Snyder may not be a typical politician, but he’s also no fool. With fresh good news to share in his second State of the State address before a statewide television audience, Snyder led with it. And he invited Republican lawmakers in the House chambers to take credit for the positive unemployment report released […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Guest post: Mich.'s campaign disclosure rules stink
By Rich Robinson/Michigan Campaign Finance Network It was welcome news when Gov. Rick Snyder announced, during his 2012 State of the State address, that he believes Michigan needs campaign finance, lobbying and ethics reforms. It has been a long time since a Michigan governor has expressed serious interest in this important area of government accountability. […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“The wisest mind has something yet to learn” — George Santayana, philosopher. Gov. Rick Snyder and his staff said passage of so-called health exchange legislation to implement the federal Affordable Care Act is a top priority in 2012. Michigan appears to be a bit behind on this, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The White House says more than […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Deja vu: Biz tax cuts head agenda in Lansing
“At the end of the day, we’ll be a stronger, more vibrant state,” Gov. Rick Snyder asserted a year ago in his first State of the State speech that offered the first outlines of his 2011 legislative agenda. But he didn’t say what day that would be. As he prepares to deliver his second “SOS” […]
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
Snyder will dance with social conservatives in 2012
Gov. Rick Snyder’s quest to reinvent Michigan apparently won’t be extended to his own Republican Party. Given the chance to confirm the suspicions of cultural conservatives that he’s a different kind of Republican far more concerned with rebuilding the economy than deploying government force to advance a social agenda, Snyder punted at the end of […]
Posted inMichigan Government
'College tax' burdens students, state
Caroline Robinson and Barbara Twist are cousins who share far more than bloodlines. They are both seniors in college; each attends one of the top public universities in the nation. The similarities stop, however, when the tuition bills arrive. Barbara is paying twice as much for her education at the University of Michigan as Caroline […]