Michigan Has Become a Buyer-Beware State

Michigan has a dirty little secret and it's driving people out of our state.

Lindsay Duneske said she discovered how weak Michigan's Consumer Protection Act has become after the company that built her new home in Milan kept putting off needed repairs.

She said she and her husband bought the house in 2007 for $306,000, after receiving assurances that the builder would fix buckling roof shingles and vinyl siding, leaky windows and other problems.

After the builder reneged, Duneske said, she couldn't find a lawyer to help her because home builders are no longer covered by the Consumer Protection Act.

She said the builder eventually went out of business and its lawyer got a court order to stop her from pestering him.

"We have been totally and completely cheated," Duneske said, adding that she feels betrayed by state officials. "We are looking to move, and it will be anywhere but Michigan." [emphasis mine]

Builders aren't the only ones exempted from the law. Banks, mortgage brokers, debt collectors, finance companies, home improvement contractors, new and used car dealers, auto repair shops, funeral homes, and plumbers and electricians are included. And according to a State Bar of Michigan Consumer Law Section study, consumers are at risk:

The study, titled "Consumers at Risk: Are Most of Michigan's Worst Business Practices Exempt from Our Consumer Protection Act?", examined businesses on the state Attorney General's list of top 10 consumer complaints for 2008. It found that 72 percent of businesses generating the most complaints are exempt from the state's Consumer Protection Act due to Michigan Supreme Court decisions. [emphasis added] That includes nearly all the businesses in the top three complaint categories – credit and finance; gasoline, fuel and energy; and telecommunications, satellite and cable TV.

Michigan Supreme Court decisions (a Republican Supreme Court majority installed by former Gov. John Engler) in 1999 and 2007 turned the law into mush according to former State Attorney General Frank Kelley, leaving people in the lurch. Frank says he's "sick about what happened," and he added that, in his judgment, the court's interpretations have "been against the public."

A decade ago we had some of the nation's best consumer protection laws on the books, now we're ranked with Rhode Island as "the Terrible Two" by the National Consumer Law Center.

"While these two states have UDAP statutes that appear strong on paper, they provide almost no actual protection to consumers," the Boston-based advocacy group said. Such statutes are known in the consumer protection community as Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices (UDAP) laws.

"In fact, the UDAP statutes in these states are worse than ineffective, as they give the appearance of providing protection for consumers while actually providing nothing."

Where has AG Mike Cox been this whole time? He's been busy keeping his name in the papers and doing seminars on worthy projects which might just propel him to be the governor someday. And attempts to fix the law have gone nowhere because business groups and the MICOC oppose any changes.

"The Chamber of Commerce has a long-standing policy in opposition to expanding the Consumer Protection Act," said its Lansing lobbyist, Wendy Block, who spoke out against a 2007 measure to restore the act. She said the legislation would open the flood gates to needless lawsuits.

Because of their opposition, consumers are left holding the bag when unscrupulous companies take advantage of them.

State Rep. Robert Jones (D-Kalamazoo) introduced corrective measures to protect consumers, but these groups opposed the plan and it died. The Democratic House plans to reintroduce the measure soon, not just to protect consumers, but also honest businesses that Jones says, "often can't compete with fly-by-night operations whose promises – although deceptive – sound better than the offers of honest merchants."

The Free Press says it's time to pass the legislation. They also have some questions for Mike Cox, Mike Bishop and their Republican colleagues:

Is it really their intent to exempt three-quarters of Michigan businesses from the ethical rules laid down in the MCPA? Or did the justices who defanged the state's consumer protection overreach?

My money is on exempting three-quarters of Michigan businesses. When did Republicans ever do anything for consumers?

Must See TV: No Reservations (Detroit)

Hmm... From my keyboard to Anthony Bourdain's ears maybe? This is what I wrote in December 2007:

Just in case Anthony Bourdain is looking for a place to shoot next, I'd like to recommend Michigan. From pierogies in Hamtramack to pasties in the U.P., we have plenty of food and culture - and "no reservations" are required.

And this is what the Free Press wrote today:

Chef and culinary adventurer Anthony Bourdain, visiting Detroit this week to film part of an episode for his Travel Channel series “No Reservations,” says “the city fathers are not going to be happy” with the places he has chosen to feature in the show. [...]

“I’m not interested in places where we sell each other cheeseburgers,” he said. “I’m interested in places where people make things, and where Mom and Pop businesses grow up around those businesses to feed the people who make the things. … And Detroit is full of those,” he said.

Among the places he visited, he said, are Hamtramck’s Polonia restaurant, where he had “fantastic” duck’s blood soup, and Family Donut Shop, where he tried paczki as well the phyllo-wrapped pastries called bourek.

The "city fathers" may not be happy, but Hamtramck and other suburbs are "Detroit" in my mind. We're all one big family.

And although I'm not too crazy about the title of the three-city episode featuring Baltimore, Buffalo and Detroit, the “Rust Belt show, I have no doubt Bourdain will portray us realistically, rust and all. That's what I love about his show. He gets down and dirty and shows us the heart of the areas he visits.

BTW, it's due to air early next summer.

Hush Puppies and Superstars

I'm in the mood to reminisce today after reading that Hush Puppies is celebrating their golden anniversary this year. That reminded me about a pair of their shoes that I once owned. They were rust colored, suede, penny-loafers that I just couldn't wear out. I had those shoes for at least 20 years, which was a good thing since they were among my more expensive ones.

Have you owned a pair of Hush Puppies? I've always considered them more utilitarian than fashionable, and I bought them for that purpose. (Or maybe because I couldn't resist that soulful-eyed basset hound!) They were comfortable to wear. I didn't stop to consider if they were trendy, and I didn't care if other people were buying them or not, so I was surprised to read the following trivia about people who have worn them over the years.

Like Forrest Gump -- who wore a pair -- Hush Puppies have been part of many historic moments.

Future President Gerald R. Ford proudly presented a pair to then President Dwight Eisenhower. Decades later, Kevin Spacey and Nicholas Cage were wearing Hush Puppies when they collected their Academy Awards in 1996.

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev invited the brand to be the first American company to do business in the Soviet Union.

They also have been just as popular with royalty and rock stars. England's Prince Phillip wore a pair when he visited the U.S. in 1959 -- and Princess Diana ordered a custom-made set.

The rubber soles of his Hush Puppies are credited with saving the life of Rolling Stone Keith Richards from electrocution during a 1965 concert in Sacramento.

The Beatles and Rolling Stones also wore Hush Puppies on their U.S. tours in the mid-1960s. I guess I'm not such a fashion nerd after all!

There's one other fact about Hush Puppies that you might not know. They're headquartered in Rockford, Michigan, where they originated. The shoes are now sold in 139 countries outside of the U.S. and production has moved overseas, but most of the design and marketing is still done in Rockford.

It's nice to know that a cultural icon like Hush Puppies has its roots in Michigan.

(Picture courtesy of Flickr)

Turning America Around for Working People

Union leadership is fired up about working conditions in this country - rightfully so. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger gave a speech in Cleveland last week and stressed that public policy must change to support manufacturing. These are the key areas he touched on:

National health care -- "What's needed, as our union has long advocated, is a single-payer, universal, comprehensive, national health insurance program that covers every man, woman and child in America. Because we believe health care should be a right, not a privilege for those who can afford it."

Fair trade -- "Let's just a write the trade agreement on a postcard -- human rights, workers rights, environmental protections, protection from import surges, no currency manipulation and an enforcement mechanism. ... Our trade deficit is $2 billion a day."

Industrial policy -- "In this country, we have the most open market in the world, and we have stood idly by while entire industries have disappeared -- toys, textiles, televisions, computers and the list goes on. Unless we take action, we are going to see a continued decline in manufacturing industries."

America is not working for working people. Union busting tactics are on the increase, good jobs are disappearing, health care costs are soaring, and retirement security is being threatened. Here in Michigan workers are living with the ramifications of decisions made by politicians, corporate America and bean counters.

Michigan fell 10 places among the states in per capita income to 26th between 2000 and 2006 - the latest available year - as it shed thousands of manufacturing jobs, according to the Michigan Future study.

The state's per capita income was 8 percent below the national average in 2006, the worst performance since the Great Depression year of 1933, according to figures for the study prepared by University of Michigan economist Don Grimes.

Something needs to be done, but what? AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has some ideas he'll be outlining via live webcast tonight. "Turn Around America" is being sponsored by the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School.

In the first-ever address by an AFL-CIO president to the influential Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, Sweeney will describe why America is not working for working people and what the AFL-CIO will do to create an America that works for all, including increasing member mobilization this election year and working to reform U.S. labor law to give workers a free chance to form unions. Says Sweeney:

We have an opportunity not only to restore the voice and vitality of the union movement, but to change the direction of our economy and our country. We’re faced with a fundamental choice: continue down the low road we’ve been taking and end up in a swamp of inequality where corporations and the wealthy always get more, or turn around America and head back up to higher ground where working people get a fair share of the wealth they help create.

After his address, Sweeney will take part in an interview and a question and answer session with the audience. You can see the live webcast of the forum on Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. at www.iop.harvard.edu/events_forum.html.

(Cross-posted at Blogging for Michigan - A blog so good Republicons had us censored!)

Helping the Michigan tourism industry

Michigan could use some sunshine. We've had almost two weeks of cloudy, gray skies and it's been hard to maintain my normally sunny disposition (lol), but I found the perfect picker upper. I convinced my hubby that a day outside in frigid temperatures was just what we needed, so off we went to the quaint Bavarian town of Frankenmuth to check out their annual Snowfest activities.

Brrr...it was cold, but it was fun watching the people and checking out the goodies in the warming tents. I experienced a couple of firsts too. Did you know people can actually bowl with frozen turkeys? That just doesn't seem right, but people were lining up to throw wrapped turkeys down a snow alley. To each their own I guess. I prefer my turkey stuffed with all the trimmings. The other thing I discovered was a new drink made from butterscotch schnapps and hot cocoa topped with a dollop of whipped cream. Yum! That sure helped take the chill away.

Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what you missed. First up are a couple of snow statues.




There were lots of ice statues scattered around too. My favorites were Minnie Mouse and Yogi Bear.




I didn't see Mickey Mouse around, but I took 25 pictures altogether if you're interested. In the meantime, I'm heading out to the kitchen to see if I have any cocoa and butterscotch schnapps!

RIP (Again): George Gipp

The DNA test results from the exhumed body of George Gipp are back and guess what - he didn't father an illegitimate daughter. I wrote a post about this when it happened and questioned why the family might have disturbed his grave. My online friend Abi did some Googling and discovered posts on a genealogy bulletin board that indicated Gipp may have fathered an illegitimate daughter.

The whole story is bizarre and sounds like it was motivated by greed. From the NYT:

“It was crazy what went on at the cemetery,” said Karl Gipp, a distant relative of Gipp’s and the court-appointed representative of the estates of George Gipp and his sister Bertha Gipp Martin. “It was like a circus, what went on out there. I was furious then and I’m still furious. There was no reason for it, and these people really did a disservice to our entire community.”

One of the people to whom Karl Gipp is referring is Mike Bynum, a Birmingham, Ala., author of six sports books and editor of many more, who started this latest chapter in the Legend of George Gipp in August of this year while doing research online. He happened on a posting from August 2005 on a genealogy Web site by a woman looking for information about the George Gipp family. Bynum said he located the woman, Ellen Easton, and began talking to her about finding out whether her mother, known as Bette Easton, born four days after Gipp’s death, was the daughter of George Gipp.

Bynum was hopeful that the manuscript he was working on would become more interesting to publishers because of the paternity question. Less than two months later, Bynum invited a production crew from the new ESPN show “E:60” to be on hand for the exhuming of Gipp’s remains in Laurium, Mich.

Easton declined to comment directly about her dealings with Bynum, but she said in an e-mail message that she and her sister, Paula Krebes, were “appalled” when they learned Gipp’s body had been exhumed to obtain DNA that would establish whether he was their grandfather. “We had been convinced there was a lock of hair to compare DNA to,” Easton wrote. Krebes wrote in an e-mail message that she did not learn about the exhumation until Bynum called her four days after it occurred. “I vaguely remember hanging up on him as he began to describe the process the lab would be using to extract DNA from bones,” she wrote.

I think appalled is an appropriate response. It certainly sounds like Bynum was hoping to uncover something juicy about the Gipper and make a fortune in the process. What's Bynum's response to all of this? From the DetNews:

Bynum, who helped set up the exhumation and DNA tests, said he was just trying to bring two families together, not promote his book.

"That's the least of anyone's interest," he said about the tome, which will be published in the fall.

So what was the rush? According to Torger Omdahl, a lawyer in Iron River, Mich., representing the Gipp family, "Proper procedures were totally ignored. For someone interred 87 years, a disinterment should be done almost like an archaeological dig. They went in there with a backhoe and at first had the wrong gravesite and dug up Bertha Gipp’s skeleton.”

And questions have even been raised about the way Rick Frueh, a great-nephew of George Gipp who worked with Bynum on the exhumation, went about obtaining the required legal approvals. It turns out he'll receive royalties from the book, although he claims that has nothing to do with why he helped Bynum.

Frueh, in a written statement that Bynum helped prepare, said he was trying to help a family that may have been related to him as it tried to solve a mystery.

"Helping family is the strongest act of love that we can offer each other," Frueh wrote.

Yeah, right. I think he meant to say "helping myself to some family money." The whole situation is sad and gruesome, and Bynum, Frueh and ESPN will come out winners and make money on the publicity they've generated, but at least the Gipper still has his reputation intact. Now, please, let the man rest in peace.

Road Trip: Pittsburgh

Hubby and I went to Pittsburgh for a few days to visit family and enjoy the fall colors. Since I couldn't take you along, I did the next best thing and took lots of pictures. (I heard that groan!) The colors weren't as nice as we expected (I read that global warming is to blame), but Mother Nature didn't disappoint either. This first shot was taken on the Ohio Turnpike as we zoomed through the Cuyahoga Valley area, which is east of Cleveland. (You can try clicking the pictures to make them bigger. It works in Firefox, but I'm not sure about other browsers.)



It was pretty cloudy on the way there as you can see. The next picture shows downtown Pittsburgh as seen from the North Hills area. Those white awning-like objects are part of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.



After driving through town, we crossed the Liberty Bridge (over the Monongahela River) and headed into the Liberty Tunnel, which goes through the hillside on Mount Washington. I'm always a little nervous while we're inside, especially if traffic backs up and we have to stop. We breezed through this time, but I had a moment of panic when my flash went off and I wondered if Homeland Security saw it and was ready to pull us over. I guess they were sleeping or I look pretty harmless!



Our trip home was much sunnier as you can see from the next picture taken as we crossed the Allegheny River. The bridge you see is for trains.



Have you heard of Joe Namath? Well, the next picture was taken on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as we crossed over the Beaver River, a tributary of the Ohio River, in Beaver Falls, home town of Broadway Joe. You can't tell from the picture, but that bridge is really high above the water. If that bridge ever collapses, you'd better hope you're wearing a parachute.



Michigan readers will recognize the next picture showing Bronner's Christmas Store in Frankenmuth. The billboard is on the Ohio Turnpike just as you leave Pennsylvania. It's been there as long as I can remember, and in fact it looks like it's been refreshed. I guess the advertising must pay off.



Finally, home sweet home. I wish Michigan had a snazzier looking sign welcoming people to our state. It looks cheap and it's pretty pathetic that Bronner's has a nicer looking billboard than the one welcoming people to Michigan. Sigh...I guess money for a new sign is out of the question, huh?

A little self-promotion

Three things happened to me this week that I wanted to share with everyone. First, I was invited to become a front-pager at Blogging for Michigan and I accepted. BFM is a relative newcomer to the blogging scene here in Michigan (I believe they started up in July), but they hit the deck running and haven't stopped since. Check them out. They have many talented, progressive bloggers that provide news and commentary on issues that affect us here in Michigan from the local level all the way up to Washington.

I wasn't sure I'd fit in since I tend to write about everything from soup to nuts (hence the title of this blog), but they assured me my posts didn't have to be Michigan specific and that anything I wanted to contribute would be welcome, it was all good. So, I decided I'd give it a try and see what happens.

That brings me to my second bit of news. Earlier in the week, I posted this at BFM: Our children are not safe around Republicans. It's about the smear campaign directed at Graeme Frost and his family by right-wing conservatives. You can click over and read it if you're interested. Frost is the 12-year-boy who suffered a brain injury in a car accident and continues to receive help through the SCHIP program. Anyway, that post was mentioned by Bill Scher at Tom Paine/Common Sense today!

Scher specifically said, Michigan bloggers are out in full force, and besides my post at BFM, he also mentioned posts at Michigan Liberal and Michigan Class Notes. Kudos to those blogs! Michigan definitely has a strong group of progressive bloggers and this proves it.

Finally, I have to thank Abi for something he dug up on the internet in response to my post: Must See TV: George Gipp. The Gipper's body was exhumed from a Michigan cemetery earlier this week for DNA testing without much explanation, but Abi found two entries on an ancestry bulletin board that "might" explain why. A woman claims her grandmother may be the Gipp's daughter and an author currently writing a book about the football player answered her and said DNA testing could be arranged. Anyway, since Abi posted his comment, my count meter has been zooming and 75% of the people are reading that post and his comment.

That just goes to show you that dead celebrities generate more interest than politics!

Have a good weekend.

Must See TV: George Gipp

Another "Must See TV" show was recently filmed in Michigan, although I have to admit I find it a little macabre.

The body of U.P. sports hero George Gipp was exhumed from its gravesite at Lakeview Cemetery in Osceola last Thursday. The reason, according to the Houghton County Medical Examiner's office, was medical/genetic testing.

According to the Mining Gazette, the DNA testing is in conjunction with an upcoming book on the Gipp's life written by historian Michael Bynum, and an ESPN crew was present because the network is airing a program on the Gipp as part of a series on the top 25 college athletes of all time.

Bynum's book was postponed to include the results of the DNA testing, which he said will be detailed at a later date. I'm curious to know what it is Bynum's looking for, especially after reading that his book will seek to correct past works on Gipp that he claims were marred by sloppy research and exaggerated details. Maybe the Gipp didn't die from pneumonia and strep throat like historians claim. They also said the Gipp liked women and gambling. Can DNA testing verify that?!

I hope there was a good reason to dig him up. Gipp's great-nephew (who authorized the exhumation) apparently thought there was, but several other family members were less than pleased. Ron Gipp, a distant cousin, said, "I stayed right until the end when he was buried in the ground again. And this time, he'll rest in peace, and this will be over with."

The airdate of the ESPN program is unknown, and so is the guarantee the Gipp will rest in peace for eternity.

Update: Check out the comments and read the links Abi provided there. It appears the Gipp may have fathered an illegitimate daughter based on correspondence between Bynum and a woman that Abi found posted on a genealogy bulletin board.

Do tax dollars disappear into a black hole?

This is an interesting idea that might be worth taking a look at here in Michigan. From Democracy for Utah:

Utah cities to emphasize the services you get for your tax dollars

The Utah League of Cities and Towns has started a new marketing campaign called "Making Life Better" (brought to you by the same folks who did Utah's "Life, Elevated" tourism slogan) to highlight the services that cities provide (Deseret News):

The league has commissioned eight years of surveys that show Utahns incorrectly believe their hometowns collect a large portion of their taxes but provide few services. [...]

As league policy analyst Neil Abercrombie introduced the statistics from the latest survey done by Dan Jones & Associates, he said, "I'm not going to say people are clueless. Let's just say they're less than knowledgeable about who provides city services."

For example, the survey asked residents whether they had used a municipal service in the past 24 hours.

Sixty percent said yes, but only 15 percent of those said they used a city-maintained street that day, and just 11 percent said they used city-provided electricity and sewer services.

Republicans have done their best to convince people that their tax money just goes into a big black hole. Who would've thought that, in Republican Utah, city governments would want to promote the fact that they provide a lot of services for your tax dollar. [emphasis mine]

According to the Deseret News, the campaign is expected to improve the perception of cities and towns by making it clearer exactly what services are provided with those tax dollars. I think that's a great idea, particularly after reading only 11 percent of Utahns said they used city provided electricity and sewer services! What are they using, candles and outhouses?

For the record, I have a feeling Michigan's residents don't fully comprehend what services they get for their tax dollars either - from the state level on down.

Two Michigans

Recent events in Michigan got me thinking about John Edward's "Two Americas" and it saddened me to realize Michigan could claim a similar title - Two Michigans.

Yesterday, the UAW went on strike against GM in an attempt to hold onto their jobs and keep them from being outsourced to China or Mexico. Meanwhile, our state still faces a shutdown if legislators can't come to an agreement on the budget. Republicans want to cut Medicaid funding, state police, and education, among other things. They also want to eliminate 2,232 jobs. To add insult to injury, today we learned that Bank of America plans to layoff 1500 workers in Michigan over the next two years. Too bad all these people don't have a union working on their behalf. These cuts will drastically affect the lives of average citizens just trying to give their families a decent quality of life on increasingly stagnant or falling wages.

Contrast that to the lifestyles of those Republicans who would like to be our next president. They recently gathered on Mackinaw Island to hold their Republican Leadership Conference and it was quite the aristocratic affair according to this article in Salon:

The GOP gets gaudy in Michigan

How do Republican presidential candidates woo the beleaguered voters of what may now be a crucial primary state? Party like aristocrats!

For about 36 hours beginning Friday afternoon, more than 2,000 politicians and party activists passed through the Grand Hotel, boozing and slapping backs in one of America's last bastions of Victorian aristocratic nostalgia. One by one, the leading Republican presidential candidates came as pilgrims to pay homage to the gaudy affair. At times, the scene recalled Jack Nicholson's ballroom hallucinations from the 1980 horror movie, "The Shining."

Built in 1887, the Grand Hotel is columned and cavernous, with a candy-striped interior, a pink hair salon, a maroon wine bar and a jewelry store named "The Colony Shop," which was sold out of canary diamonds for the weekend. The wait staff, imported from Jamaica on temporary visas, was entirely black, and they served food to invariably white Republicans while wearing white-tie tuxedos with jackets the color of AstroTurf. (Brochures left in the guest rooms explained that the Jamaican help is provided with laundry and "recreational facilities" at their on-island dormitories.) Croquet and bocce ball could be played down in the Tea Garden, which was decorated with abundant blooming flowers and bushes shaped like horses. At tea time, a harpist in heels played "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" while women in maid costumes served tea cakes and champagne just a few steps from an exhibit of vintage oil paintings that showed young girls in lace dresses and young boys with spent shotguns and dead birds. [...]

The candidates' appearances, however, were almost tangential to the real point of the weekend, which was to celebrate the pleasures of money and privilege. The diners supped on cold strawberry soup, prosciutto, and pecan-coated ice cream balls. People did not use the word "money" when they talked about money. "Everyone in this room understands the importance of resources, the importance of finance, in winning campaigns," said Dick DeVos, the son of the billionaire founder of Amway, who lost a costly race for governor last year, which he funded with $35 million of his own fortune.[...]

Yep, two Americas: Those who have the money and power - and the rest of us, the ones who need unions or PACs like MoveOn in order to be heard.

Cross-posted at Blogging for Michigan.

Where was this sentiment months ago?

From the Macomb Daily: Granholm's 2-cent tax doesn't look so bad now

Now that the Lansing budget battle has degenerated into bitterness and brinksmanship, it’s too late for lawmakers to pull back and retrace their steps.

But somebody has to say it: The 2-cent tax on services that was proposed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm doesn’t look so bad now, does it?

No, it doesn't look so bad, and I said that way back in February. Of course, my opinion didn't count, not that it matters. Republicans never wanted a solution. They only wanted to make Granholm look bad.

So, here we sit seven months later on the verge of a state shutdown and this editorial comes to the conclusion that Granholm was right after all, and they give lots of solid arguments to back up their reasoning.

The prospect of an income tax increase has taxpayers up in arms and legislators cowering in fear. Yet, I think we all realize that we’re going to see an income tax boost to 4.6 percent when this melodrama ends.

Compared to the finger pointing and gnashing of teeth in Lansing over the past 10 days, I think the 2-cent tax would have been an easier sell to the constituency — and easier for lawmakers to swallow.

Which would you prefer, a bigger bite out of your weekly paycheck or an extra two cents on the dollar when you get your hair cut or play a round of golf ?

When Granholm proposed the services tax in February, she claimed it would cost the average family just $69 a year. That was probably low, but even if the price tag was $100, that’s about one-third the cost of a higher income tax. [...]

It was a broad-based tax on about 120 services, meaning it would have brought in a lot of money paid by tourists and visitors to Michigan. It would have better reflected the new economy, with service industries emerging as a large and growing sector. It probably would have had minimal impact on Michigan’s national reputation in the business community, since most states already tax a wide array of services.

Most importantly, it would have levied taxes on “discretionary” spending rather than hitting workers’ paychecks. Those who choose to pay for a health club membership or prime seats to a Red Wings game would know that a 2 percent levy was attached.

Anti-tax activists say that people in Michigan are hurting and can’t afford a tax increase. Well, those who are hurting don’t spend money on pedicures and tanning salons and expensive concert tickets. In fact, I suspect low-income families would barely feel the pinch of a tax on services.

In addition, the 2-cent tax would add some symmetry, some logic, to Michigan’s tax system. Why, when we go to a golf course pro shop, should we pay taxes on the purchase of golf balls but not on a round of golf ? Why, when we go to a salon, should we pay taxes on hair-care products but not on a hair cut? [...]

It’s important to remember that the 2-cent tax would have generated $1.5 billion, more than what’s now needed if cuts and reforms take hold. Some controversial levies could have been eliminated from the list of taxable services, or the tax could have been whittled down to a mere 1.5 cents.

But that’s now all hindsight, with our legislators flailing away and embarrassing our state. This whole budget battle could have been avoided if Granholm’s tax had been recognized months ago as a better alternative to a higher income tax.

The GOP failed the citizens of Michigan in their zeal to make Granholm look bad. Was it payback for her punishing win over DeVos? Possibly. Whatever the reason, they need to be held accountable for playing politics instead of working and booted out of office next time around.

My "Pure Michigan" Moment

I spent the weekend with my family at a campground near Jackson enjoying nature and sitting around the campfire. We had a great time. The weather was perfect - hot days and cool nights - and we never had to use our bug spray even once to ward off the mosquitoes! It can't get much better than that, but it did. A hot air balloon club out of Stockbridge spent the weekend entertaining us while they practiced maneuvers over the water. It was a "Pure Michigan" moment.

I took dozens of pictures so I thought I'd share a few with you.







I've never been in a hot air balloon because I'm not crazy about heights or water, (don't laugh... I even wear a life jacket when I ride on a pontoon boat) but after watching this group all weekend, I just might get up the courage to try it someday. How about you?

Detroit's newspapers continue downward trend

Jack Lessenberry has the statistics to prove what Detroit-area readers think of the Detroit News and Free Press:

In July 2006, the Detroit Free Press circulation was 315,519. Over the last year, as the paper became more and more Gannettized, that dropped to 305,137. That's a loss of more than 10,000 customers.

The Detroit News, which was pretty much destroyed by two decades of Gannett ownership before being partially liberated in 2005, lost subscribers too, but only a third as many. It now sells 192,722 copies a day. (Twenty years ago, before being combined in a competition-killing monopoly business agreement, each paper had more than 600,000 subscribers.)

For an even clearer indication of the marketing genius of Gannett, the all-dominant partner in the Detroit newspaper partnership, consider the circulation of the Sunday paper, which is purely a Gannett product, except for a News editorial page stuck in. It fell fastest of all, from 652,000 last year to 625,000 this year.

That's a pretty steep decline by most people's standards. I realize our economy is struggling and people's wages have fallen, but a paper is still a cheap form of entertainment compared to a movie, sporting event or dinner out. The fact that people aren't choosing to spend whatever discretionary money they have on a Gannett newspaper subscription says one thing - it isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

It's all in the message, Gannett, and the message your writers send (especially at the Detroit News) is that Michigan sucks, Michigan's workers suck, Michigan's governor and Democratic leaders suck, and all union households suck. And so do all African Americans, women, homosexuals, Arabs and children.

Do you see the problem, Gannett? Apparently not. Lessenberry has the details:

How did the Gannett-controlled Detroit newspaper partnership respond to this staggering vote of no confidence? By getting rid of all their circulation customer service staff! In a memo they sent to the soon-to-be-axed employees, the corporate monster announced, "Our customer service operation will be consolidated into a Gannett regional call center in Tulsa, Oklahoma." That change, which becomes effective Oct. 14, "will mean the elimination of most customer service positions." However, wage slaves take heart. There will be "retention of a few part-time jobs."

Naturally, I am sure the flacks would tell you that service like this is has no relation to the fact that Gannett's stock price has fallen 42 percent over the last three years, or that rumors of a takeover of the company are sweeping Wall Street. I do have an idea to save Detroit's newspapers, however:

Heavily promote keeping pet guinea pigs. They constantly pee, and require massive amounts of newspapers to line the bottom of their cages. The newspapers are unwilling to do much about quality, but a few cheap summer interns could puff up the delights of pig ownership.

GUINEA PIG TRASHES NOLAN FINLEY EDITORIAL. Now that's a headline that just might tempt me to buy one of their papers!

Michigan connections in the news

As Rodney Dangerfield might say, I got nothing. I'm not inspired to write, but I've been doing a lot of reading, so let me share some links that all have ties to Michigan.

First, from Schools Matter, comes this little tidbit about All Children Matter, founded by Michigan's losing gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos:

What happens when someone like charter school kingin, David Brennan, wants to buy more influence in Ohio elections than state law will allow? You do what Tom Delay did--you simply launder the money through an out-of-state outfit like All Children Matter that turns your cash into campaign contributions for your preferred stable of candidates.

Wisconsin also filed a complaint, contending the group laundered money and failed to register, but the state elections board there refused to authorize an investigation.

Also related to the DeVos family name is this news regarding Alticor (formerly known as Amway):

Alticor Inc. has fired 15 long-term and highly influential Quixtar distributors who filed a class-action lawsuit against the direct sales giant last week.

The ramifications of the dust-up for the Ada-based parent company of Amway could be huge -- especially as the company faces increased regulatory pressure in India and the United Kingdom.

Seventeen distributors are named as plaintiffs in a scathing suit that says Quixtar operates as a pyramid scheme selling merchandise at prices so inflated it cannot be sold to anyone other than distributors.

Did the company really fire them or did some of them resign? Webraw reports that eight distributors posted their letter of resignation online the day before the Quixtar announcement.

The big news this week was Karl Rove's resignation, but did you know there might be a Michigan connection?

What Really Brought Rove Down?

When the Bush administration angered one of its most hard-right officials, he launched an investigation into Karl Rove's politicization of the federal government -- which may be what led to Rove's resignation.

Scott Bloch, director of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), may have been Rove's ultimate undoing. As you might recall, Bloch embarrassed the Bush administration in 2004 when he removed from his agency's website a notice of long-standing protections for gays and lesbians. Bush officials were forced to contradict Bloch's stance and Rove reportedly referred to Bush's religious-right supporters as "out of control." Shortly after this, Bloch demanded that most career attorneys in his office accept involuntary transfers or lose their jobs. Nearly all of these attorneys had challenged Bloch's decision to remove the nondiscrimination policy statement about gays and lesbians from the Web site and two were openly gay.

So, where's the Michigan connection, and how does this relate to Karl Rove? Read on:

One of the agency locations to which transfers were being made was a new office Bloch was opening in Michigan, even though the agency was dealing with very few cases in that region. However, the region was home to Ave Maria Law School, an institution founded by Thomas S. Monaghan, the Daddy Warbucks of new-right Catholics... Bloch ended the standard competition for law internships in his office and began hiring straight out of Ave Maria. [...]

Bloch may have thought that his brand of anti-union, homophobic loyalty to the Bush-Rove cause of misappropriating the taxpayer-funded apparatus of the federal government for partisan political purposes would win him some major kudos. But it was not to be. Apparently Bloch's Ave Maria-boostering and overtly anti-gay (hating both the sin and the sinner) antics were a bit over the top, as it were, so in 2005, Clay Johnson, the No. 2 at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) called on Bloch to resign, according to columnist Robert Novak. Then, wrote Novak, some mysterious, unnamed, Bush-loving Catholic was dispatched to Bloch to gently suggest the same.

When Bloch refused to tender his resignation, Johnson, according to Novak, set off an investigation of Bloch via a referral to the inspector general of the Office of Personnel Management. Bloch responded in kind, launching an OSC investigation into the administration's politicization of government agencies -- an investigation that landed at Rove's door.

Bloch's investigation led to the discovery of Rove's infamous PowerPoint presentation that "listed Democrats the White House has targeted for defeat in 2008" and to the discovery that Rove deployed officials from various government departments to appear with Republican members of Congress engaged in tough 2006 re-election fights (paid for by taxpayers). How ironic that a Bush appointee, one who was stereotypically loyal, hard-right and religious, might be responsible for Rove's resignation. It's too bad it took so long.

Finally, Romney says he could win Michigan if nominated. I don't think so. Romney is the wealthiest candidate in the race and isn't afraid to spend his own cash to get elected, but that didn't influence Michigan's voters when DeVos spent $35 million of his own kitty. He lost to Jennifer Granholm by a 14 point margin.

I don't think voters will be influenced by the fact his father, George Romney, was once our governor either. The voters bought that line of logic when they elected George Bush the son and look where that got us. Sorry, Mitt, but the Mitten says NO!

Bishop yields to the First Amendment

In an about face, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop capitulated today and agreed to restore full access to Blogging for Michigan. (See previous post.) He released the following statement:

"I stand by the position that Senate employees should be not be using taxpayer equipment to view political blogs pursuant to Senate Rule 1.401(c). These blogs are of questionable content and employees who are paid to conduct the business of the people of Michigan should not be interacting with them during business hours.

"Senate Democrats seem intent on making this a debate on censorship and their right to view questionable political content during business hours. Senate Republicans believe this a discussion of the proper use of taxpayer resources and appropriate conduct during business hours and establishing strict guidelines on employee use of the Internet and websites.

"Access to the site in question has been restored. Given the evolving nature of the Internet in politics and the emergence of blogging in political commentary, I am directing the Secretary of the Senate to perform a full review of the Senate's current policies concerning employees' use of the Internet."

Senate Democrats were right to make this a debate on censorship. Bishop didn't block access to blogs on all sides of the aisle. He only blocked access to one, Blogging for Michigan, a liberal site that holds his feet to the fire and keeps him accountable. It also bears noting that Democrats weren't the only ones crying foul, Nick De Leeuw who runs the blog Right Michigan also said blocking the liberal website was censorship.

Our constitutional rights are too sacred to be taken lightly, Sen. Bishop. Next time you have an issue with a partisan site, stop, step back, and ask yourself how you'd feel if the shoe was on the other foot and Democrats were blocking a conservative blog.

Censorship doesn't belong in Michigan

Censorship doesn't belong anywhere in this country either, but it's alive and well in Michigan thanks to a certain state Republican. Here are the pertinent facts from Conservative Media:

Senate Majority Leader and chief obstructionist Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, took the unusual step and for the first time in Senate history illegally censored a liberal blog for daring to call him out on his foot-dragging and attempt to hold the state budget hostage for his political gain.

Subscription only Gognwer News Service reported Bishop ordered "Blogging for Michigan" blocked from being accessed from Senate computers, using the false claim that the blog was “created by a Senate employee using Senate equipment.” The blog was created and operated by Shiawassee County resident Christine Barry, a systems engineer, from her home. All the material posted comes from public sources, such as newspapers, newsletters, the Senate websites, the Senate Journal and the Senate session and most of the committees are broadcast live on the Senate web site. Not only that, the info is properly sourced with links, something you don’t see in the mainstream media. [...]

Ironically, this is the only blog that was blocked; leaving all three of the conservative blogs in the state, as well as that thing ran by the chair of the state GOP, even Michiganliberal was not blocked. [emphasis added]

I don't see the irony. I think this was a blatant attempt to censor BFM because they said things about our state Republicans that made them look bad (excuses like work productivity were also given). In fact, Matt Miner, Bishop's chief of staff, said other sites like Michigan Liberal weren't banned because they didn't say bad things about them. Boo-hoo, gentlemen. Get a grip on your manhood. We're talking about constitutional rights, not bruised egos.

Sadly, Michigan doesn't need anymore Republican-generated bad publicity, but that's just what's happening. The story has already been picked up by the AP, Detroit Free Press, Lansing State Journal, and DailyKos.

More important than the black eye this gives our state, is the fact that Bishop is violating the free speech of one blog and, as BFM points out, he's following in the footsteps of scandal-ridden Gov. Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky and (closer to home) Flint's Mayor Don Williamson. In Fletcher's case, he's being sued and the case is still in court, and in Williamson's case, the City of Flint ended up paying $150,000 for violating a person's civil rights. Detroit News blogger, Libby Spencer, sums up Bishop's actions best:

Bishop who is dancing faster than the hapless drunk in an old western trying to justify his boneheaded move, is surprised by the reaction. Maybe he should bone up on his constitutional knowledge. If he wants to ban blogs in the hallowed chambers of Lansing on account of work productivity, fine. But then he has to block all of them -- or none. In America, freedom of speech means everyone gets to talk. Not just the people who agree with him.

That's right, Mr. Bishop. Everyone gets to talk, not just Republicans.

Thankfully, knowledgeable, rational people like Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer have stepped up and spoken out against censorship, and Michigan Liberal (the "not banned because they don't say bad things" blog) stepped up too:

We at Michigan Liberal, committed to free speech and expression, have just posted a petition calling for an end to blocked access to Blogging for Michigan to show our solidarity. All of you are encouraged to pop in and sign it as a sign of solidarity, and to recommend it to everyone you know who lives in, or cares about Michigan, to do likewise.

We commit to bumping this to the bottom on a regular basis and leaving it in a prominently displayed place until such time as Mike Bishop's staff has reconsidered its actions. We also encourage all of you who run your own blog to post a link to this pledge and encourage your readers to come and sign our petition, because we know that Michigan Liberal continues to be monitored and read by Senate Republicans.

I've signed it. If you believe in the concept of free expression laid down in the U.S. Bill of Rights, then I encourage you to sign it too by clicking here.

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all." ~ Noam Chomsky

Update: Mike Bishop yielded to the First Amendment and restored access to Blogging for Michigan. Chalk one up for democracy!

Must see TV: Michigan

Hollywood loves Michigan! Okay, maybe not Hollywood per se, but film crews from the Discovery Channel and Travel Channel appear to be smitten by our Midwestern charm.

The Travel Channel show “Best Places To Find Cash and Treasures” just wound up a 10-day-shoot in Dollar Bay and Houghton after the crew excavated copper at the Caledonia Mine in Ontonagon. The episode will be eighth in their new fall season. I'm not familiar with this show, but because of the Michigan connection I've added it to my "must see TV" list. (Check out the Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain too. Maybe we can sell him on filming a show about Michigan's culinary and cultural charms. Our wineries are to die for!)

The Discovery Channel has been busy here too. Back in May, the zany and informative "Mythbusters" gathered to test an urban legend at Kalitta Air in Oscoda.

In this case, the question centered on whether a jet engine will flip over a passing vehicle.

''We get a lot of our ideas from fans, but this one came from a story circulating on the Internet,'' explained Tod Mesirow, the show's U.S. series producer. ''The report said that an errant taxi driver drove behind a jet in Brazil. The engine's force flipped the cab over.'' [...]

Yet the cab test wasn't entertainment enough for Byron and her mates. The San Francisco team super-sized Tuesday's experiment by towing an Oscoda School bus, and then a single-engine airplane, into the 747 blast zone.

The results are top secret so you'll have to tune in this fall to see if the myth was busted, plausible, or confirmed.

The TV show I'm most looking forward to is "Dirty Jobs" with Mike Rowe. In May, the program filmed Mike tackling the Mighty Mackinaw Bridge. [Picture courtesy Wikipedia]

[...] The hour-long Mackinac Bridge episode, entitled “Bridge Painter,” is airing in conjunction with the bridge's 50-year anniversary.

While Rowe has done his share of jobs that have left him up to his thighs in mud, splattered with goo and decked out in a variety of grubby hardhats, gloves and rubber boots, bridge officials told Rowe the work on the bridge is an entirely different challenge.

“I would describe our maintenance activities as daunting or difficult, as opposed to dirty,” said Mackinac Bridge Authority Administrator Bob Sweeney. “It takes a certain person to meet the challenges of the job.”

The show is expected to focus on workers painting the huge cables that run along the bridge or doing maintenance inside one of the bridge towers, which soar 552 feet over the water, officials said.

Sweeney's observation, “It takes a certain person to meet the challenges of the job,” is no understatement. It takes a certain person to meet the challenges of driving across the bridge! The Mackinaw Bridge is approximately 5 miles long and the height of the roadway at mid-span is approximately 200 feet above water level, and on a real windy day the bridge is designed to move as much as 35 feet east or west. I've crossed the bridge under those white-knuckle conditions and can attest that it's definitely scary.

To give you a feel for just how high the bridge is, check out these photos of the "Dirty Job" crew filming Mike Rowe above the water, particularly image #14. But to see what Mike thought of this job, you'll have to watch "Bridge Painter" which airs on August 7 at 9 p.m.

In fact, make a point to watch all three shows and see for yourself why people love Michigan.

I've got the vacation time blues...

How much vacation time do you get each year? I'm self-employed, so I can usually schedule time off, but there's a downside to doing that since I'm a one person operation and the work doesn't get done if I'm not here - it just backs up and I have double the workload when I get home. I also risk losing my contracts if I take too much time off.

Gee, I wish I were a Michigan legislator. They get generous amounts of time off (some of them even enjoy free Lake Michigan charter fishing excursions).

From Michigan Liberal:

During the first six months of 2007, the Michigan Senate under the "leadership" of Mike Bishop worked a total of 66 session days and about 120 total hours, averaging barely more than 90 minutes of work per session day.

At Mike Bishop's $105,650 annual salary, that means that he was paid more than $440.50 per hour for the Senate's work in the first six months of this year. [emphasis added]

That's a sweet deal, eh? In fact, it's a better deal than most Americans get according to Marie Cocco at TruthDig:

Americans and vacations just don’t mix. [...] a quarter of American workers get no paid vacation or paid holidays. And on average, those private-sector workers who do get paid time off are granted only nine vacation days and six paid holidays each year, according to government statistics analyzed by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

It's even a better deal than workers in many other industrialized countries get.

In the rest of the industrialized world, a month or more of paid vacation is typical, and often required. Many Americans know that. And there are can-you-top-this supplements to this surfeit of paid time off. Such as: In Austria, workers who labor at “heavy night work” get two or three extra days off. Also in Austria—as well as in Sweden and New Zealand—workers are actually paid at a higher rate when they’re on vacation than when they’re at work.

In France, workers get extra paid time off if they take some of their vacation days outside of the summer season. In Norway, those 60 and older get extra time off. And of course, your vacation could be ruined if you get sick while you’re away. So Sweden guarantees that if a worker becomes sick while on leave, the days of the illness don’t count against vacation time.

Unbelievable! Why don't Americans get the same perks? I'm sure Republican talking heads would claim it all boils down to money. If a person wants to get ahead and obtain that American Dream, then he has to work hard and work long. Right? Umm...not really.

Back to TruthDig:

In theory, all this hard work is supposed to spark a more robust economy that is, in turn, an engine of greater upward mobility than what is found in the supposedly coddled precincts of, say, the European Union. But lately, it hasn’t. An ongoing, bipartisan study of intergenerational economic mobility conducted jointly by conservative and liberal-leaning researchers for the Pew Charitable Trusts has found the myth of superior American mobility to be — a myth.

Researchers for the Economic Mobility Project studied the relationship of adult children’s incomes to those of their parents and found that the United States now lags behind France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Norway and Denmark in this measure of upward mobility. “There is little available evidence that the United States has more relative mobility than other advanced nations,” the group reported in May. “If anything, the data seem to suggest the opposite.”

Comparing the incomes of American men who were in their 30s in 2004 with males who were in their 30s in 1974, the researchers found that today’s men actually earn about 12 percent less, after inflation, than their fathers’ generation did. “There has been no progress at all for the youngest generation,” the group reported. The American family stays afloat because its total income has been swelled by women’s paychecks.

There's a family value for you. It takes two paychecks to keep American families afloat.

That brings me back to "Mr. $440.50 per hour Bishop" and friends. It's time to shake up the status quo in Lansing and model their benefits and perks to align closer with those of the constituents they represent, maybe then they'd understand what it feels like to get by with two weeks vacation or - horror - no vacation at all.

MIGOP: Tax cuts come before people

Michigan's Flint Journal gets the prize for best Sunday editorial:

Michigan lawmakers give lip service to all kinds of programs and causes, but what they spend the public's money on tells their true priorities. And based on the latest budget finagling, the state's public colleges and universities don't rate very high with them. [emphasis mine]

By cutting or delaying about $180 million to these institutions as part of a recent budget-balancing maneuver, Lansing puts the lie to its sermons about education being Michigan's salvation.

Instead, they've likely made college more expensive for students - continuing a trend over many years - and undermined these schools' abilities to pursue the research and innovation a knowledge economy requires.

Lansing cut funding to higher education a total of $275 million between 2002-2006. Combine that funding cut with escalating health insurance expenses, and our colleges and universities are in even deeper water. And while it's true that tuition has been rising across the country for all students, so has state support for universities. According to the FJ, there's been "a 14 percent increase in state support for universities nationally over the past two years."

The FJ also points out how hypocritical it is for lawmakers to talk up a futuristic agenda that requires the "best and brightest" workforce, yet they turn around and cut funding to higher education. That's some message they're sending. They want highly educated workers, but they don't want to pay for them. Of course, they claim there's a reason for that.

Naturally, lawmakers would argue that declining revenues made cuts to colleges unavoidable. Yet they never stopped tax rollbacks that would have supplied more funding.

Whether it's a household or the statehouse, people usually find money for what they deem important. Therefore, Michigan's stinting on higher ed over the years leaves little else to be said. [emphasis mine]

The scales should be falling from voters eyes: The Flint Journal earlier reported that Republicans were most responsible for these cuts.

It appears the "family values party" isn't very family friendly.