GM Starts Over (and We Aren't Appropriately Sad)

We’d like to be more sympathetic to the fate of General Motors, which will likely declare bankruptcy tomorrow but we’ve already tipped our hand ; this is one more company that deserves to fall into the hole (we put AT & T, Northwest Airlines and Hilton in that batch as well).
Folks want to blame the current buying slump that is afflicting the auto industry for GM’s latest trouble, but that is rather simple-minded. GM has been losing market share for years. As of April it sat at a meager 19.2, falling from a mighty 60% at one time.
How foolish was the move to hand over billions to avoid what was plainly inevitable?
In November, the freshly minted President-to-be Obama – along with our Gov. Granholm - pushed for $50 billion for GM; “And if the companies don't get almost $50 billion, Obama will be dealing with the issue again by next summer,” a Bloomberg article stated,with little apparent insight.
Granholm said in a December statement that "the auto industry is the backbone of American manufacturing, and the ripple effects of bankruptcy would have touched communities and families all across our nation."
Recall Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announcing that “Congress is trying to save Detroit” also in December. We'd like to pass if that offer comes this way.
In the aforementioned Bloomberg piece, we also heard that "the auto industry is too big to fail," from Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. We have looked for more insightful comments on the auto industry from Behravesh in the wake of the latest developments, but they are nowhere to be found.
So what is the fallout? We’ve seen so much hand-wringing and sky-is-falling utterance that it’s almost impossible to believe that the whole state will shut down upon the end of GM as we know it. Don’t feel badly for the employees; they have been handed plenty of ammo for the future in the way of money and benefits. Their going away package is something all of us would covet. Ditto the executives. And for any merchant who has based a life on the health of GM, well, GM's ebbing market share has been available for anyone to see for the past decade. Now we move forward and watch for the new big thing.


Hummer image by Flickr user GTM,CC 2.0
Toyota Camry image by Flickr user The Toad, CC 2.0

Tax Incentives Dissected; Where is the Media? Covering the Parade...

Why are tax incentives failing to give Michigan an economic boost? The Anderson Economic Group’s study released this month was commissioned mysteriously by the Michigan Education Association and the National Education Association, and we couldn’t be happier to see them all in the same space. Patrick Anderson’s dead-on editorial piece in the Freep last week cites, among other things, “a troubling lack of transparency in reporting the results of these major taxpayer investments.”
And from the report, which we are trying to get permission to post here, the authors say "There is currently no proper, publicly-available inventory of business tax incentive programs. Such an inventory should list the programs, statutory authorizations, intended purposes, eligibility criteria, nominal or estimated amount of tax revenue foregone, and nominal or estimated effectiveness in attaining the intended purpose."
In the Freep op-ed, Anderson goes on to mention that the state’s tax-based programs, which include tax abatements for manufacturers to update facilities, MEGA grants for some companies and the tax breaks for the film industry have also been plagued by that lack of a compilation of these tax breaks and no independent agency to collect the information,
He could have also mentioned something else: Where the Hell are the newspapers that used to dog governments and make them accountable?
Since you asked…
The Lansing State Journal has no statehouse presence, instead opting to use its talent for stunning stories such as “Walk to School Day a healthy step for kids.”
The Detroit News, which has a small statehouse bureau, finds it important to cover a parade and run a story “Thousands crowd downtown for Race for Cure.” We could have found a better use for that space.
The Grand Rapids Press blows the lid off a new scheme with a story, “Michigan state parks offer novices camping lessons,” which is a rewrite of a story the News ran in April. Who didn't do their homework?
Lightweight stories can add to a news product's value. But when a dearth of coverage shows up repeatedly, it becomes apparent that resources are being directed away from actual news and more toward features. And Anderson's report exposes the glaring lack of a real news industry.
We’ve explained the demise of the old news model, which was brought about not only by the rise of the Web, as most newspaper folks want you to believe, but by the people who have decided to pass by the burning building on the way to cover the parade.
The Anderson report is a terrific work, although we feel the authors missed one aforementioned crucial element, that of a derelict news industry.

Booze: Say Yes to Michigan. Even Our Government is in Step. Mostly.

Being Michiganders, our adult beverage industry is a teeming, blessed money maker. To lose money on drinking habits in the Great Lakes state is to not try, or to be hampered by ill-advised regulation; our state is one of 18 to have its booze sector managed by the government. We’d bet that such management has closed a number of fine establishments, as well as keeping prices on the high side.
Looking around at the site of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, we noted a number of things. First of all, like so many state boards, the commission meets monthly virtually without any coverage by a media outlet. In case you are interested, we’ve posted the schedule below. Please note the additional change of venue for the June meeting.
In poring over the commission’s FY 2008 report, we see that this 144-person unit must be one of the few offices in our state government to oversee an industry making money. Even the gross sales increase of 3.4% is enough to make us think positively. Better yet, the report states that “Since the 1999 fiscal year, there has been a 45.1% increase in dollar sales from $638.0m in FY 1999 to $925.5m in FY 2008.”
In that same period, the state’s jobless rate has more than doubled, from 3.8 to 8.4. We aren’t about to let a job loss keep us from a drink or two.
We can also note here that a large portion of the MLCC was privatized in 1996-97, taking the staff from 532 to 152. This was former Gov. John Engler’s thing, privatize at any cost. Overall, he failed in his attempt to do it with liquor in the 90s.
The commission has not had a thorough performance or financial audit since 2001, and we see that it was a very cursory look compared to a 1998-99 financial audit of the commission in which the Michigan Office of the Auditor General discovered that some commissioners were using state phones, cell and office, for their own expensive personal calls, in particular.
“In some instances, Commissioners did not identify if telephone calls were for MLCC business or personal (III). However, our review of these telephone calls disclosed telephone calls that appeared personal. For example, former Commissioner Arthurhultz did not identify telephone calls made to a relative, individuals in foreign countries, an out-of-State real estate agent, and art importers.”
Seems the former state senator was chalking up hundreds of dollars in personal business phone bills to taxpayers. We can only hope that such abuse has been stemmed, although we are not optimistic.
The state has been wise enough to keep a lid on booze taxes, although we chuckle at the graphic in the report – which we have also posted below – that notes that of the retail license fee revenue earned in FY 2008, 55% went to local governments, 41.5% to licensing and enforcement and, a nice token of 3.5% to “alcoholism programs.”
The commission has been on the wrong side of a few issues, particularly the mail order wine sales, which was a political matter that only a state so fearful of competition like Michigan, could embrace. Let’s also make sure that voters know that gubernatorial hopeful Mike Cox was a leader in the effort to prohibit those wine imports, and even advocated for an overall ban on mail order wine.
Overall, we like the commission, one of the few government agencies that actually delivers a product that taxpayers enjoy. Even the salaries are not out of control – MLCC chief Nida Samona makes $106, 037 and a number of others we check through the Lansing State Journal’s salary database came back under $100,000.
Yes, there is a huge money grab in there somewhere, and special interests abound. What we’d like to see is more coverage of this important body. But the depleted journalism ranks do not allow such, so the MLCC will continue to meet without critique. We don’t see minutes of the meetings posted, and can only assume that the MLCC likes things they way they are, that is, running under the radar.

Bar sign image by Flickr user loungelistener, CC 2.0

Michigan Liquor Control Commission Public Meetings

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MLCC Meeting_Change_6.18.09_280286_7

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Michigan Law Enforcement Case Hits SCOTUS, AP: Ruling "Dissapoints Civil Rights Groups"

A rather infamous Michigan case went before the U.S. Supreme Court this week in which the right of a suspect to a lawyer, and that murky territory between apprehension and courtroom is addressed.
The 1986 Michigan v. Jackson ruling held that law enforcement may not question a suspect who has a lawyer unless that lawyer is present. This applied to suspects who consented to speak to the cops even without their lawyer, although they had one or had asked for one.
Usually, based on this, once a suspect asks for a lawyer, all questioning stops. Numerous parties, including U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan, asked that this be overturned. The court this week agreed and made it easier to question suspects.
We agree with both the Obama administration and the court on this. A prisoner still maintains his or her right not to speak to authorities. This is a right anyone who has committed a crime knows to exercise. The cops use dirty tricks and will lie in order to get what they want. This is a game – cops v. robbers – in which both parties are often bad news. But the summary is this: If someone commits a crime, they need to be removed from among us and punished. But even then, they can keep quiet if they so choose.
One thing we do note, and for this reason continue to be impressed with Obama on many law enforcement (and other) issues: Check the Associated Press account of the SCOTUS decision and read between the lines at its own regret: “The Obama administration had asked the court to overturn Michigan v. Jackson, disappointing civil rights and civil liberties groups that expected President Barack Obama to reverse the policies of his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush.”
SCOTUS Mich. v. Jackson

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We Support Granholm for SCOTUS

We’re out of town for the week and most likely won’t be putting a whole lot up. But this little look at the sad, sad Republicans and their hope to somehow thwart Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s vault to the nation’s highest court is interesting. Doubtful she’ll make the cut; Her record of running this state into the dirt is much too obvious, and we’d guess Obama wants to appear open to her just for the political statement. But with such a poor track record as a politician, we don’t think Granholm is actually taken seriously in most places in the U.S.
We do think that a nice soft spot on the court would keep her away from places where she would pose a much more dangerous threat. That justice selection is going to a liberal voice no matter what, and that's where it should go. And Granholm, if she could get the nod, can continue her record of inadequacy and drama in a place much more suited to such, Washington D.C.

MSU Newspaper Prevails in Open Records Contest Vs. University

The State News, Michigan State University’s student newspaper, has prevailed after working diligently on an open records case concerning a 2006 campus assault. The case involved one student and two nonstudents charged in connection with pointing a gun at three people and pouring gasoline on one of them.
The original FOIA request goes back to March 2, 2006 as part of what should have been routine reporting of a pretty serious crime, a crime that other students should have been privy to every detail (especially considering the cost of tuition).
This week Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk “ruled MSU must release the incident reports, which occurred on Feb. 24, 2006, as well as police officer names and suspect mug shots that were previously withheld,” according to the State News.
Draganchuk originally had ruled with the university, but was reversed on appeal by the Michigan Supreme Court.
The judge clearly came down against open records the first time, and she is a heavily lobbied establishment judge who was bound to side with the state. Further, an appellate court panel identified several errors committed by the circuit court, as noted in the Michigan Supreme Court's opinion. (posted below)
MSU appealed to the state Supreme Court, and so on.
The case has taken up plenty of taxpayer money and time. Now, over three years, later, the press appears to have prevailed. Perhaps small change in the overall scheme of things. But something to remember next election.

State News image by Flickr user CedarBendDrive CC 2.0
Mi Supreme Court Ruling in State News v. MSU

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Stimlus $$ in Michigan - Readers Get Good Choices to Decipher

The difference between the mainstream media and a part-time site devoted to Michigan business and transparency is easy. We had this on March 2.
The Frep has this today outlined the funds like this.
With one, you get some opinion, true. With the other, you get a good overview but little context. There is room for both. That’s where we are today, the best of all worlds, whether you agree with the opinion or not.

Newspapers Fold Jobs When New Model Screams for More Coverage

We noted the passing of the Tucson Citizen over the weekend, although it’s hard to say that it didn’t bring on its own demise. One more chapter remains, it appears, for that paper.
But it allows us to reflect on the end of the excellent Ann Arbor News, which will cease publication July 23. In its place will be a Web-based model, which is a smart plan.
We’ll keep this brief, as we’ve outlined what has happened to newspapers before. But one thing has jumped out at us repeatedly, and it’s this cutting of staff. Printing jobs, of course, can go. But eliminating reporters is simply a smoke screen and conflicts with this idea of a “new model.”
From the Ann Arbor News story: “As of March, a total of 272 people worked for the newspaper at its downtown Ann Arbor office, its Livingston County office and its Pittsfield Township printing plant…A total of 70 News employees previously accepted buyout offers, some of whom left before the announcement was made. All told, 214 jobs are being eliminated.”
The Web provides a larger news hole, not smaller, and a larger staff, composed of hungry young reporters with a year or two at a small daily, and veterans from large newsrooms, would be able to cover the community – government, law enforcement, education – more efficiently and completely. And using the Web in a smart way, there is no worry about word count, how to publish public records, get those killer Q & As and use things like audio and video for completely cover the news. Coverage could be geographically broadened, in fact, since access to news boxes is no longer an issue in terms of circulation.
But these newspaper companies have no interest in delivering the most complete news. Their troubling idea of operating a business has even opened the door to misguided notions to make newspapers government subsidized. You know, like they do in Cuba and other bastions of a free press.
We have the tools to provide the most complete media ever, to be that system that questions the people who use our money. We now have room for all the news that is fit to print. It won’t be happening from the folks at Gannett, Scripps, or Tribune. But it will from somewhere else; it's just a matter of time.

Tax Breaks Handed Out by Board With No Dissent, Few Questions

The Freep today does an excellent job on reporting the efficacy of tax breaks that are handed out in exchange for the promise of job “creation.” (we still struggle with that term – Nixon had it right in noting that sound business policy presents “job opportunities.”)
The story states, “...A six-month examination of the Michigan Economic Growth Authority tax credit program -- once described by Granholm as "the flagship of Michigan's economic development efforts" -- uncovered trends that raise questions about the incentives' effectiveness.
* A large percentage of the tax credits has gone to companies that later couldn't meet the job creation requirements.
When the Free Press tracked what happened to 195 of these tax breaks awarded by the state from 1999 through 2005, it found that 51% of these incentives had either never been used or were not used in recent years.
* Despite Michigan's efforts to diversify its economy, the auto industry has been a big recipient of the tax credits. Auto suppliers and automakers received 45% of the 195 tax breaks awarded by the state from 1999 through 2005.
* About 90% of the 491 total tax breaks granted since the incentive program began have gone to Michigan companies planning expansions rather than to out-of-state firms.
* In recent years, the state has expanded the incentive program by enabling more companies, particularly smaller tech firms, to qualify for the tax credits, primarily by lowering the job-creation requirements.”
FreeMichigan has discussed the Michigan Economic Growth Authority on several occasions, and we are happy to see our mainstream brethren checking things out. Reporter Katherine Yung did a terrific job.
This board is a rubber stamp for tax breaks. Review of its minutes for meetings since last June, which is as far back as the posted minutes go, shows not a single no vote with regard to any business before board.
This is not a system of checks and balance. Instead the board is packed with yes-men who apparently lack the instinct or courage to even question a petitioner’s request. Minutes also show that the governor periodically stops by the meetings to encourage and thank them.
We also note that Douglas Buckler, executive secretary/treasurer of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights (MRCC), serves on the board. As a union leader, we find this wholly inappropriate. Do you think that Buckler was simply the best choice for the board, despite what one could easily claim is a fealty to special interests, i.e. organized labor? In case anyone cares, Buckler in 2007 pulled in a salary/benefit package of $418,198, which included an expense account of $25,940, per the union's 990 tax form. Someone who is so beholden to an interest as such cannot perform what is demanded of a body dealing with our money.
Finally, let’s go back to November 2001, when the state and Pfizer announced the drug maker had received at least $70 million in state and local tax credits for expansion. It had threatened to leave Michigan unless it was given these breaks.
One news account reported, “The deal increases the odds that the company, Ann Arbor's largest private employer and largest taxpayer, will stay put and continue to have a significant impact on the state's economy.
The Pfizer expansion is the largest new economic development project announced in Michigan this year. State officials say it would pump more than $89 million and 988 jobs into the economy in the next 20 years.
At a news conference Tuesday in Ann Arbor, Gov. John Engler praised the Pfizer deal as a "welcome confirmation that Michigan is attracting the important companies and investments that will make the Life Sciences Corridor vision a reality."
The Michigan Economic Development Corp. on Tuesday granted Pfizer a 20-year single business tax credit worth an estimated $25.8 million. It also granted a 12-year, 6-mill abatement of the state education tax, valued at $10.7 million.”
Pfizer announced in 2007 that it would close its facilities in Michigan.
There is something very suspect about a board that operates with no opposition, no voice of dissent. But that is exactly what MEGA is doing. Is anyone going to do something about it?

Michigan Part of AG Collective Seeking Fed Ruling on Open Meetings Act

As we spoke of our Attorney General yesterday, we noted that his notion of transparency is one that sometimes comes with a price tag.
We now see that Mike Cox has joined with a number of other state AGs in asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to revisit a decision last month by a three-judge panel of the appeals court that opens the door to private decision making by public officials.
The panel ruled in favor of two members of the City Council of Alpine, Texas, who had four years ago taken part in an e-mail discussion of city business. The two were investigated by the local district attorney but their indictments were dismissed by the prosecutor.
Still, the council members sued in September 2005, asking a federal judge to declare that the criminal penalties of the Texas open meetings law violated their First Amendment free-speech rights.
U.S. District Judge Robert Junell ruled that the First Amendment "affords absolutely no protection to speech by elected officials made pursuant to their official duties."
His ruling was appealed, and the three-judge appeals court panel reversed him last month, asking Junell to justify his ruling that the council members violated the law by discussing a city project in an exchange of e-mails.
The brief filed by the groups of AGs reads in part, "The heart and soul of an open meetings law is to channel government officials' communications primarily by subject matter. Consequently, the unprecedented level of constitutional scrutiny the panel decision prescribes would impact the central function of any open meetings law."
Michigan’s Open Meetings Act does not appear to address email, so we can assume that many council members, as well as other officials, conduct clandestine but public business via such missives. It would be nice to see that glaring lack remedied. Any takers?
Cox has been fair in most of his rulings on open government, showing that he firmly understands the laws and will, in most cases, render a decision based on that grasp. This notwithstanding of the $143,000 charge for records requested by a political foe, Mark Brewer, as we discussed yesterday.
Cox is right on in joining this collective of AGs in hopes of examining the 5th panel’s ruling.

Mark Brewer, AG FOIA Flap Documents - Part 2- AG Response

This is the AG's response. He has some good points - On Page Two, Cox notes that "the department recognizes that the purpose of FOIA is to promote access to government records in the most efficient and economical way possible." And he makes the point that Brewer's request has political connotations, quoting a section of the FOIA law states that fees "...shall be uniform and not dependent on the identity of the requesting person."
The next step on this case could be a courtroom. How much is too much? We can't wait.

Mark Brewer, AG FOIA Flap Documents - Part 1 - His Request

The man who has bedeviled state Republicans for years, Mark Brewer, is attempting to shine a light on State Attorney General Mike Cox. And Cox wants to charge him $143,000 for his trouble.
He’s accusing Cox of overcharging for an open records request related to a multi-million dollar settlement with Countrywide Financial Group. The money was in theory earmarked to help people who are hitting the financial skids keep their homes. But Cox also sent $500,000 of the cash to Grand Rapids to help with the cost of a couple of local parks/projects. One payment was $250,000 to the city. Another a donation for a park.
Many folks believe this is a case of political payback, some fiscal help to a friend or two in GR.
The $250,000 gift from the settlement for Kent County's Millennium Park is a obviously open to question. Peter Secchia is head of fundraising for the park, and Secchia donated nearly $10,000 to Cox campaigns in 2002 and 2005. This is, of course, political business as usual. But that doesn't make it immune from analysis. And it sure does a good job of helping voters make an informed choice.
Brewer filed a FOIA over the issue seeking records for “each federal or state lawsuit, complaint, of civil, criminal or administrative legal proceeding…involving corporate, commercial or business defendants brought, joined or participated in by the Attorney General and resolved by any means…”
Brewer seeks some simple things, including docket numbers, parties and venues. But he also asks for disposition of proceeds, all communications, including email text and phone records from the AG and his staff pertaining to the cases. It is a well-written, comprehensive request.
Cox fired back with a bill for $143,000 to comply. But he also says “Please be informed that nearly 8,000 pages of settlement documents currently are available on the Department’s website: www.michigan.gov/settlementcenter and the department continues to add to this site. The Department believes, based on your most recent media statements, that the settlements you are most interested in may be available on the Department’s website at no cost.”
Of course if they are available there at no cost, it would seem that the $143,000 in charges might be whittled down a bit.
This is often where open records hit a wall. When a body does not want to give them up, it simply trumps up the charges for processing those records, which usually discourages the filer and keeps the records sealed. It has happened to us before with this state.
We obtained copies of the FOIA and ensuing correspondence between Brewer and Cox’s office. We are posting it all here in two parts in an experimental fashion – you now have the tools to decide who is right and who is wrong, if there is such a thing here.
We also emailed John Sellek at the AG’s office last night asking for a copy of Brewer’s FOIA. After all, he is said to have claimed that “…Brewer is seeking to exploit the issue by filing a request so broad it would require the searching of thousands of boxes of documents dating back six years.”
We have yet to hear back from Sellek.

One More Michigan School District Contracts its Bus Service - Union Angry (Again)

One more school district sees the wisdom in privatizing its school bus service.
Benton Harbor’s move to use First Student Inc. of Cincinnati, owned by mass transit giant First Group drew a lot of ire from the unions. It even got Iris Salters, the $256,340 a year chief of the Michigan Education Association, to march around in a huff.
None other than the Federal Transit Administration has advocated for private school bus services, noting in a release to school district that “Many school districts throughout the nation contract with private school bus companies to provide cost-effective supplemental service or full service to students in their communities. Likewise, public transit agencies may find that private school bus companies can help keep their communities safe and mobile, by providing supplemental services to regular public transportation. Working with private school bus operators to provide supplemental public transportation service can help communities make more efficient use of their resources, while increasing mobility for community residents.”
Unions have long battled school districts who converted their bus services to a private firm in order to prune costs and avoid onerous union rules. We like this feeble effort to discredit privatization in that it bases its argument on a study by a guy named Mark Cassell, a board member of a labor advocacy group named Policy Matters Ohio. Apparently, there wasn’t a credible source to use.
At the same time, let’s allow that a reasonable source is in the eye of the beholder, and here’s our idea of credible when it comes to this issue.
But privatization of school bus service can often be a sound idea, allowing use of technology such as GPS that cash-strapped school districts can’t afford.
On the other hand, let’s recall that former Michigan Gov. John Engler - who now earns $1.3 million a year as head of the National Association of Manufacturers - so loved privatization that he did so even when it cost the taxpayer more. We’re still smarting over that folly.

School bus image by Flickr user wheany, CC 2.0

More Reports on Michigan's Roads

The disrepair of our roads has been discussed here many times, and new reports on the problem keep coming. One from inside the state and another from outside.
We especially enjoy the latter report coming from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which we have posted below.
Inside the report, Michigan is given some special attention: "The Michigan DOT Asset Management program encompasses all the physical transportation assets in the state, including more than 9,700 miles of road, 5,679 bridges, 450,000 signs, 4,025 traffic lights, 8 million linear feet of guardrails, 83 rest areas, 13 travel information centers, 85 roadside parks, 27 scenic turnouts, and more.
The program is built around five major functions: policy goals and objectives, information and data collection, planning and programming; program delivery, and monitoring and reporting.
[MDOT Chief Kirk] Steudle said the program begins with setting a broad policy about the current condition of the asset and then setting a goal for where you want that asset to be within a specific time frame. For Michigan, the goal was to increase the condition of all its roads and highways, moving from 65 percent of state roads in good condition in 1997 to 90 percent in 2007. Pavement preservation was the primary tool for achieving that goal.
The department met its 90 percent goal and improved to 92 percent in 2008. A similar goal-driven asset management process is now underway for the state’s bridges. "
We appreciate that the state has met its goals. But how ambitious were these targets? Anyway, it continues:
"Michigan has a statewide Transportation Asset Management Council, which brings together all the agencies in the state that have jurisdiction over roads. Its purpose is to broaden the use of transportation asset management throughout the state and ensure that groups are working together, sharing methodology, collecting the same data, and speaking the same language."
To read this, you'd think things were going pretty well here. But we question the association’s heed to the head of a somewhat failed department, MDOT.
The association sees higher taxes/more revenue as a solution for the ailing roads as it sits with net assets - this is the association we're talking about - of $14 million in its FY 2007 tax filing. It paid out over $20 million to one consultant that year, Info Tech of Gainesville, Fla. And the association's executive director, John Horsley, was paid a package worth $400,000. And this is the group that just let us know that, well, our roads are pretty bad and transportation departments need more money.
It's hard to understand sometimes, these lofty places that hand down our public policy. Perhaps they could do a better job of explaining, and perhaps we could try a little harder to grasp their ideas. And ask more questions, hard questions, that force an actual response rather than a buck-passing non sequitur.

RoughRoads_FullReport

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Follow Up on Privacy of Michigan Film Incentive Tax Revenue

The other day we questioned the notion that a tax information derived from a governmental policy is subject to privacy laws, especially in the case of a corporate interest benefiting from public policy, or more directly, taxpayer dollars.
We followed up with a call to Michael Shore, a spokesman for the Michigan Economic Development Corp. He was admirably quick with a response, which he left on our voice mail, referring to a section of the Michigan Revenue Act.
Under 205.28 (1) (f) “Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, an employee, authorized representative, or former employee or authorized representative of the department or anyone connected with the department shall not divulge any facts or information obtained in connection with the administration of a tax or information or parameters that would enable a person to ascertain the audit selection or processing criteria of the department for a tax administered by the department. An employee or authorized representative shall not willfully inspect any return or information contained in a return unless it is appropriate for the proper administration of a tax law administered under this act…”
State law in this case would trump our open records notions, we think, but there may be some room in here for interpretation. This has nothing to do with criticizing the idea of these film incentives - the plan keeps generating activity and is saving a lot of money for some people. What we demand is some openness about the whole thing. We are seeking specific details about spending of money by those receiving these breaks and the amount of tax dollars returned to each production. And we will keep pushing.

Michigan Court Delays a Decision on Courtroom Dress and Propriety

The Michigan Supreme Court has delayed a decision in the case of a woman who, dressed in traditional Muslim garb, refused to remove her veil for a judge.
Some stories have couches the issue a bit by stating that “a proposed statewide court rule would specifically let judges regulate the appearance of parties and witnesses.”
I’ve covered cases in courts that disallow t-shirts, jeans and other dressed-down garments, so this simplistic statement is somewhat misleading. The crux of the argument is the term “religious purposes.” Can this defendant wear a veil in court because it is part of her religion?
There have been similar cases in which law enforcement won out, and rightly so – we think of the 2003 Florida case of a convert named Sandra Keller. She refused to remove her veil for an updated driver’s license photo, then litigated with the help of the ACLU and lost it at the state appellate level in 2005.
Then there are the judges who just don’t screw around with this stuff, like this guy in Georgia.
And even our neighbors to the north are not convinced that allowing court participants to cloak themselves is wise. In this Canadian case from earlier this month, a court said that it is at the judge's discretion.
It all provides a good discussion for just how far lawfulness and religious freedom extend. We think that when you partake in the U.S. court system - be it at a local, state or federal level - you play by the rules of the court. And for the record, we dislike most rules.

Here's the Executive Order for Budget - Lists All Cuts by Item

We have the full detail of the state's budget cuts in terms of departmental impact and it looks pretty good.
There are some key cuts, although we see that again, some of the usual groups including unions and other special interests came away in fair shape. The executive office was hacked by $197, 200 while $9.5 million in day care funding at the Department of Human Services was cut. Education took a measly $363,500 hit, while the Department of Education gave up $3 million. Department of Civil Rights is out $655,800 but the Attorney General’s office is down $1.7 million. And we’re still not sure where the outcry over the cut in AIDS education is. But there is it, $540,400 hacked from the AIDS risk reduction clearinghouse and media campaign.
We’re a little amused at how the media always runs to the services that are cut and we hear how many people will suffer without the good hand of the big government to help them. But things work out remarkably well even after cuts are made. Which really leads to a conclusion that a government, like a household, can run on less when needed.
Budget Cuts Exec Order

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Film Incentive $ - How Much is Staying Here?

As we touched on the state's film incentive program a week or so ago, noting that it is mired in partisan political squabbles. Now comes a report from Livingstondaily.com that much of the tax break dough is leaving the state. There is a serious problem here, though, with getting to the real numbers because a state agency refuses to give out much of the financial information needed to properly assess the effects, good and bad, of the film incentive plan.
“Pressured by hearings conducted by state Sen. Nancy Cassis, R-Novi, the Michigan Film Office reported last month that 30 films made in Michigan last year reported expenditures of $104 million, of which $71 million went for salaries. State officials, however, would not say how much of that money went to the approximately 2,800 Michigan residents who snagged part-time jobs that averaged only 23 days in length.”
We dislike the word ‘only’ when used in writing a story. It betrays some form of bias in the reporting, so we are led to believe this story – a well written, finely reported one – may have a slant.
Still, there is this:
“…The Michigan Department of Treasury is required to protect all individual or company tax information, according to Michael Shore, spokesman for the Michigan Economic Development Corp., a state agency charged with business development in Michigan.
"You're now talking about someone's tax information," he said.”
We are looking into just what is public record and what it not. Tax-exempt entities are required to make their tax info public, so Shore’s defense of withholding these records, of which taxpayer money is part of, seems a little flimsy on its face. And this is not “someone’s” tax information that we care about here. It is that of a corporation which has opted to do business with the public's money. If you want your private business to stay private, then don't accept breaks that require a public concession.
And we aren’t here to do the bidding of one side or the other – it could well be that the film incentive plan is a good one. Much of the work analyzing the plan has been done by the Mackinac Center, and it is extensive. The Center for Economic Analysis at Michigan State University has done a study as well.
We’ll keep moving on this. Our guess is there is much more here than just the usual, predictable statehouse rabble.
Film Incentive Plan Assessment

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Need a Job? Have No College? The State Wants You.

While the state is mired in its unemployment funk, the questionable bright spot is that you are I are hiring. Or at least taking aps.
That is, the State of Michigan has hundreds of job openings, despite what you might hear about scaling back and the 6-day holiday for state employees to ease budget troubles.
I was going over just what we are asking of these employees and how much we should pay them, when I found out that the job of sitting at a desk at one of those little Welcome Centers we have at the state border(s) pays up to almost $40,000 a year.
Requirements include a high school diploma or GED certificate, and a year of what they call “7-level administrative support activities.” This is, simply put, the some very basic clerical experience. This would be regarded as two years of clerking for the state. In a complaint filed last year, an applicant from outside, meaning not one of those already on the state payroll, dared question the meaning of 7-level administrative support activities and was rebuffed. It appears that the complainant, Gregory Dutcher, had some pretty good experience. But from the Civil Service Commission finding:
“The Equitable Classification Plan (ECP) Glossary of Classification and Selection Terminology defines the term administrative support as follows: Work where the principal duties and responsibilities involve office support work in such areas as answering telephones, customer and staff support, word processing, data production, database and file maintenance, performing calculations, and secretarial office coordination.
In other words, qualifying experience must essentially be clerical in nature. Second, when evaluating non-state experience the same standards must be applied as are applied when evaluating state classified experience. In the state classified service, it typically requires two years of administrative support experience to even reach the 7-level, which means that one year of 7-level experience actually means a total of three years (6240 hours) of administrative support, or clerical, experience.”
So to sit behind that desk at the Welcome Center, you have to be in the system, it seems. For that, you get $40,000 and a UAW-protected, lifelong job from which it is almost impossible to be fired.
How does this square with the notion that to succeed, “you have to have more than a high school degree,” as our elected leaders have maintained for so long as they advocate for taxpayer-funded college for anyone who so desires?
“We want every student in Michigan to leave high school with the skills it takes to succeed in college and the work place,” Gov. Granholm said in her state of the state address in 2008.
I would simply point to this job at the Welcome Center as proof that you don’t even need to finish high school – get a GED if you like – and once you get into the system, a $40,000 sinecure is yours.

Rep. John Conyers: A Portrait in Spending

Would you donate to a politician who uses that money for Super Bowl tickets, $13,000 on limo services, or a stay at the W Hotel in Los Angeles?
Many people would, and it allows Rep. John Conyers to travel and entertain in a fashion many of his constituents cannot. And we know the 22-term Conyers is not alone in his spendy ways. But he is the most prolific spender among his peers, according to recently released campaign documents.
Donors include Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, Kevin Kelleher, chief financial officer at Sony/BMG and the usual cadre of lawyers and special interests.
We might add that a stay at the Westwood/LA W at the government rate comes in at a reasonable $128, and it's a fine place. BTW, given that government employees have more money than a good chunk of working America, isn't it time to amend that little discount and make it available to actual work crews or in some other fashion? Just thinking that the hotel lobby might want to check in and see what could be done.
The News does a good job on this Conyers story, and we can only help it along by posting the Conyers filing below.
Conyers for Congress Filing

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Who is Running These Newspapers? And Who is Reading Stories on Themselves?

An astute reader, Chetly Zarko, figured out that the transparency Web site referred to in the Traverse City newspaper and questioned by FreeMichigan last week was NOT the one for state Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer's noble transparency effort but is actually his site at the Republican House umbrella site on the lower left. It's a nice little report, although we again need to know just what the publications are that he spent $834 on in March. We don't doubt that the charge is legit - but wouldn't it make sense that we get some detail?
We would hope that Rep. Elsenheimer notified the newspaper pronto of the mistake, but when we checked, the mistken site is still posted. Did he read the story?
But the fact remains that transparency is a slippery little item when it is jammed amidst a host of other nice sounding notions that reflect well on government.
We are traveling the rest of this week but will again try to do some work here as time allows. This time the trip is to the desert Southwest, business, and temps are headed for the 100 degree mark. If we could find a sunny rock to perch on all day, we would.

KAE-MarchOfficeAllotmentReport

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Decent Plan to Close Budget Gap - You're Getting Warm...

The governor’s now-approved cuts and other measures to hone the budget makes sense on its face and represents an an ‘it’s about time’ moment.
As an example, let look at the state police. The first thing you’ll hear is that this will take officers off the street. While this may be an unfortunate fact, look to a January 2003 press release that announced this:
“Teaching, Educating and Mentoring (T.E.A.M.) School Liaison Project [was] developed by the Michigan State Police Prevention Services Section. T.E.A.M. is a proactive effort to make schools and communities safer by promoting an understanding of social rules, the consequences of unlawful behavior and students’ responsibilities as good citizens. The State Police introduced the school liaison program in July 1998….By the fall of 2003, the total number of officers teaching T.E.A.M. in Michigan schools is expected to reach 300.”
Now look to the item in this news account, noting that the proposed cuts include the layoff of 100 State Police troopers, dropping trooper strength to just over 1,000. Which means that nearly one-third of them were also devoting time to teaching a program of dubious merit in public schools? Perhaps we could adjust that trooper number estimate for staff drops in the last six years. But on what planet do to have time to qualify 300 police officers to teach in schools? Can’t they just make sure we are safe?
We also like the six unpaid days for government employees. It appears these days are at the discretion of the employee, but a look at just how those days are spent would be an intriguing study. My bet is they will be treated as holidays and the spending will be free. They are well-paid and a big help to the local economies. The plan mirrors actions in other states, including North Carolina and California.
Now then, the notion of placing blame for this deficit, as written by a statehouse News reporter in an earlier edition story: “The reductions are meant to help wipe out a $1.3 billion state budget deficit due to the economic malaise and the struggling auto industry.”
He is right in noting 'THE economic malaise,' for sure. We hope he is not referring to the current national recession, though. Michigan has been in a serious economic slump for years, even when the auto industry was anything but struggling. In 2005, 16.9 million cars were sold, and in 2006, 16.5 million. In 2004, when Michigan had a balanced budget, auto sales were 16.9 million. General Motors sold 27 percent of them.
But Michigan, in 2004, still had a 7 percent unemployment rate, the highest corporate tax burden in the U.S. and the makings of a new tax increase that would benefit the state’s three automakers.
Things have gone interestingly since. We have some of the highest insurance rates in the U.S., maintain the highest unemployment rate and now, face a $1.3 billion budget deficit.
But really, these new cuts will help and while the administration did nothing to address the out-of-control obsession with funding poor public education and some dubious, anti-free market plans, this is a step in the right direction.

UPDATE: White House Press Corp Threat

Update: Here is the transcript from Lauria’s appearance on WJR that I referred to earlier today, picked up by alert blogger Tom Blumer for NewsBusters.
It appears that WJR is having trouble getting the podcast loaded, for some reason.

Lawyer: White House Threatened to Sic "Press Corp" on Recalcitrant Chrysler Creditor

An attorney representing some Chrysler bond holders this morning alleged that the Obama White House threatened to bring “the full force of the White House press corp” down on a creditor if it continued to resist the terms of Thursday’s government-engineered Chrysler bankruptcy.
Thomas Lauria, a lawyer at White & Case in New York, made the accusation in an interview on Detroit radio station WJR’s “Frank Beckman Show.”
“One of my clients was directly threatened by the white house and compelled to withdraw its opposition…” Lauria said.
“It’s not standing on this side of the fence opposing the President of the United States. People have asked me who I represent and…that’s a moving target.”
White & Case is handling some of the creditors in the Chrysler case.
The client, Perella Weinberg Partners, was one of about 20 firms who initially planned to contest the White House plan for Chrysler.
Perella Wienberg backed off yesterday.
Is Lauria saying that the White House is that confident of its control of the press? Imagine the threat to free enterprise that would represent.