"Because every dollar the government takes, that it doesn't absolutly needs, is theft."
Friday, May 9, 2008
House Dems and Rep. Ball, "Constitution is too pro-citizens."
The Michigan House of Representatives concluded this week of session in a most unusual manner. While House Speaker Andy Dillon was vacationing in Mexico, the Secretary of State concluded the first phase of the process that certifies petitions forcing Dillon to face a recall election on August 5th.
House Democrats, along with some Republicans, scrambled to try to help Dillon avoid being the first Speaker in U.S. history to be recalled. When citizens target a tax-hiking politician for recall, what's a group of fellow politicians to do?
Well, an official resolution of the House - that's what they'll do! What's a House Resolution? It's a vote by the House which expresses their 'official' opinion. What is the official opinion of politicians in the House? According to House Resolution 358, introduced by Representative Dick Ball (R-Owosso), it is that the Michigan Constitution is unfair because it gives citizens too much power. These politicians also believe, according to HR 358, that elections are bad for our democracy. Oh, also, citizens having the right to fire politicians who they believe no longer represent them is "chilling" to politicians.
Lets take a look at HR 358. It starts with:
"A resolution to express the sense of the House that recalls should be based on specific misconduct, criminal activity, or abuse of office and should not be based on a single vote and to denounce the effort to recall Speaker Andy Dillon."
The problem with the first sentence of the resolution is that it contradicts the Constitution, which states very clearly that:
"The sufficiency of any statement of reasons or grounds procedurally required (for a recall election) shall be a political rather than a judicial question." Article II, Section 8.
In other words, criminal acts go to courts, recalls are for challenging the policy (political) decisions of politicians. But Representative Ball and House leaders don't like the Constitution giving citizens so much power over politicians.
HR 358 further states:
"The threat of recall for reasons other than some measure of misconduct undermines the foundation of our democratic republic."
What? Recall elections undermine democracy? A recall involves citizens collecting the highest percentage of registered voters' signatures of any petition process allowed under law, and then requires a vote of the people in a scheduled election. How the heck is that damaging to democracy?
One more gem from HR 358:
"Whereas, Michigan's experience with recall seems to be a model of the potential for abuse at all levels of government."
Really? Michigan has only two experiences with lawmakers being recalled - Senators Serotkin and Mastin back in 1983 who were recalled for raising the income tax. Their recalls did not lead to "abuse", but rather to the legislature quickly rescinding most of that tax hike. Well, perhaps having to give money back to citizens makes some politicians feel abused.
What happened to the vote on HR 358? It never happened. I'm told that some legislators were actually concerned about challenging the Constitution. The other rumor is that Democrats freaked out after hearing that a Republican legislator was planning to offer an amendment to the resolution addressing removal of another politician from office - someone named Kwame Kilpatrick. Democrats quickly removed HR 358 from the agenda.
I'll keep you posted.
Leon Drolet Executive Director Michigan Taxpayers Alliance www.mitaxpayers.org
The phone call came less than two hours before our scheduled press conference in the State Capitol Building, where Rose Bogaert and I were set to announce the results of the petition drive to force a recall election of House Speaker Andy Dillon. The call was from Capitol Facilities, who awkwardly and contritely informed me that the room in the Capitol Building reserved for our press conference was, ahh, well, umm... "no longer available". In fact, I was informed that no room in the Capitol Building was available for our press conference, despite the fact that the room had been reserved for weeks.
Rose, Chair of the Wayne County Taxpayers Association, and I had to move the press conference outside the Capitol and call reporters during the lunch hour to inform them of the last-minute change. Fortunately, word spreads quickly among the tight-knit Lansing press corps and the conference was well covered.
Later, on the floor of the House of Representatives, a reporter asked Speaker Dillon why the campaign to recall him from office was not allowed to hold a press conference inside a Capitol room. Dillon's response says it all:
"They want to have a press conference in one of my rooms? Yeah, right."
His rooms. His Capitol. His government. His, and not yours.
Never mind that citizens' taxes built and restored the Capitol, and pay for its' utilities, staff and maintenance; it belongs to Andy Dillon. Dillon's arrogant sense of entitlement permeates Lansing, where lawmakers are wined and dined. These lawmakers receive tributes and awards from special interest lobbyists who laugh at their every joke and feign interest in their long-winded stories. They become seduced into believing that Lansing, and the Capitol Building, really is all about them.
Is it any wonder that these politicians, when faced with tough economic choices, choose to protect what they own? And what they own is the status-quo in Lansing. To protect their status quo, they decided to take more of what they think they are entitled to - your money. That is how the legislature and Governor Granholm ended up raising the tax on your income and on businesses by $1.4 billion, while also increasing the legislature's own budget by seven percent.
The announcement at the press conference? Over 15,000 citizens in Andy Dillon's district signed the petition to recall him from office. It seems that they want their House back.
Today's Detroit News editorial opposing the recall of Speaker Andy Dillon contains several embarrassing factual errors.
First, the News claims on three separate occasions that a recall election would be a separate election on a day other than the scheduled August 5th primary election day. A simple fact-check would uncover that the Dillon recall question would be added to the August 5th ballot, and NOT be a new election day.
Further, the News repeatedly equates the Dillon recall - which will be submitting signatures this week - to the failed attempt by Democrat Party Chair Mark Brewer to begin a recall of Republican House Leader Craig DeRoche. The News even claims that the non-starter DeRoche recall is "creating considerable bad blood" in DeRoche's district. Really? A non-existent recall is creating "considerable" bad blood among the masses in Novi?
The News also states that, on one hand, a recall election would be scheduled too close to a regular election and, on the other hand, that a recall election is a major distraction in Lansing. Pretend for a moment that the recall election IS on a separate day than a closely scheduled regular election. How is it that the recall would be a distraction in Lansing while the regular election would not?
I fully expect that most newspaper editorial boards will oppose the effort to recall Speaker Andy Dillon. Editorial writers love being invited to establishment cocktail parties and they hate it when the unclean masses undertake a political effort that is not officially sanctioned by Michigan's institutional elites. But for a major newspaper like The Detroit News to get so many basic facts wrong...embarrassing.
Below is the response that I sent to The Detroit News' editorial department:
Dear Mr. Finley,
The Detroit News editorial opposing efforts by citizens to recall House Speaker Andy Dillon from office contained numerous, substantial and repeated factual errors.
The editorial falsely claimed (three times) that a Dillon recall would add an additional election to the scheduled August and November election. The question of whether Speaker Dillon should be recalled would, under state law, be added to the existing August 5th ballot. Absolutely no additional election would be created and zero additional costs (outside of additional ink) would be bourn by taxpayers.
The editorial further claimed that the Dillon recall campaign is "vicious". Citizens exercising their constitutional right to recall their lawmaker by circulating petitions is hardly "vicious". "Vicious" better describes the response to the recall campaign by Dillon and state Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer, who have hired an squad of blockers to intimidate petitioners and potential petition signers. These blockers have swarmed petitioners who are peaceably gathering signatures, handed out fliers containing falsehoods to potential signers, and even stalked petitioners by following them to their homes.
Dillon and Brewer call these intimidation tactics "educational" and their squadron of thugs "voter education specialists". Yet, as The Detroit News reported last week, Brewer hired a parolee convicted of eight different felonies - including armed robbery - as one of his voter educators. This convict has never even voted, according to Secretary of State records.
Recalls are hardly "pointless". The successful recall of two state senators for raising the income tax in 1983 resulted in the legislature's immediate rescission of most of that tax hike and the enactment of significant spending cuts. After those 1983 recalls, the legislature did not have the audacity to hike the income tax for twenty four years.
Speaker Andy Dillon, Governor Granholm and other Lansing lawmakers ignored the lesson of 1983 when they imposed a twelve percent income tax hike and a twenty two percent business tax hike on economically beleaguered Michigan citizens and businesses.
Citizens choosing to peaceably exercise their constitutional right to recall a lawmaker for supporting the largest tax hike in Michigan history is hardly pointless.
Michigan needs to lose Granholm, Dillon, and their tax hikes if we are to have any hope for economic recovery.
Leon Drolet Executive Director Michigan Taxpayers Alliance www.mitaxpayers.org
Today is tax day. The day you are required to send your hard-earned money to politicians and bureaucrats in Lansing and Washington D.C. who are experts at spending your money. These experts don't just spend money on roads, national defense, courts, police and fire protection - they spend your money on windmill museums, counting horses, subsidizing ethanol (so that you have to pay more for food) and sending your cash to dictators in numerous third-world countries.
Michigan's tax woes are worse than most other Americans, and the Detroit Free Press was kind enough to allow me to partially explain the impact our state's new business tax is having on our job providers. Check out the editorial in today's Freep here.
The Frank Beckmann Show on WJR 760 AM is also giving me a chance to spout off during the 9:30am segment. Tune in if you read this in time.
Also, a final reminder about today's tax protest at the Redford Post Office at 12245 Beech Daly Road (just south of I-96) from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. Please attend and bring a friend, we need to support our friends at the Wayne County Taxpayers Association who are in the homestretch of their petition drive to force a recall election of the Michigan Speaker of the House, Andy Dillon, for his role in raising taxes and hurting our economy.
Leon Drolet Michigan Taxpayers Alliance www.mitaxpayers.org
TAX HIKE PROTEST ON APRIL 15! Government Workers Get Richer, Taxpayers Get Poorer
Friends,
Send in your state tax returns yet? Better hurry, because Governor Granholm and House Speaker Andy Dillon need the 12% more they jacked up your state income tax; and they need it fast. Why? To pay for the THIRD state employee pay hike since March 31st of last year.
Yep, most state employees, already the sixth highest paid state employees in the nation (The Detroit Free Press, 6-24-07) will, starting today, be paid six percent more than last March. All while inflation-adjusted, per-capita income for average Michigan citizens has actually declined since 2004. State employees already made an average of 29% more in salary and benefits than comparable private sector employees, but, for Granholm and Dillon, that wasn’t enough. Citizens must have less, so that they can have more.
Please join the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance (and Mr. Perks) for a Tuesday, April 15th protest of Granholm and House Speaker Andy Dillon’s tax increase!
The protest will take place at the Redford U.S. Post Office from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. The Redford Post Office is located at 12245 Beech Daly Road, Redford, MI 48239.
Why Redford? Because this suburban Wayne County community is in the House district of Speaker Andy Dillon. It has a very busy 24/7 post office. And Rose Bogaert and the Wayne County Taxpayers Association need your support!
Bring a picket sign. Make your position on the campaign to recall Speaker Dillon known, or speak out against Lansing's overspending and general ineptitude, or express yourself regarding the proposed Michigan Fair Tax. Just be there if you care!
The protest has one thing in common with taxes: it takes place rain or shine! See you on April 15th.
Governor Granholm and state lawmakers are supporting new legislation that gives a 40% tax break to movie and TV producers that film in Michigan. At a Lansing committee hearing on Tuesday, Free Press columnist Mitch Albom joined actor Jeff Daniels and a slew of state officials who argued that giving the film and video industry a tax break will boost investment and film production in Michigan.
But we know that tax breaks don't encourage job growth - government spending does! How do we know that? Granholm's treasury officials told us so. For years, Granholm's treasury officials testified before the House Tax Policy Committee that businesses don't care much about taxes; instead they care about quality services like police, fire, education, roads and such. These treasury officials apparently know more about what businesses want than businesses do, because business groups always testified that taxes DO matter.
So, did Granholm and the legislature propose that a fire truck and social worker be assigned to movie crews who set up shop in Michigan, hoping that these available services would entice more film crews? No, instead, Granholm has reversed course and argues that lower taxes DO matter - but only for movie makers. Everyone else wants more government stuff.
Hmm, wait a minute...a closer examination of the legislation reveals that the bills propose more than tax breaks. They also provide for up to $15 million in direct loans to movies studios, with the money coming out of future tobacco revenues borrowed at 40 cents on the dollar today.
Higher taxes on you and every other business in Michigan to pay for tax breaks and loans to Hollywood. With this kind of "leadership" in Lansing, we won't have to worry about enticing film makers - documentary crews will locate here to record Michigan's economic future and call it, "Apocalypse Now!"
Can you think of any other film titles appropriate for Granholm's Michigan? Maybe, "Jenny and We"? Send your film title ideas to leon@mitaxpayers.org and we will compile a top ten list to forward to state lawmakers.
Last Friday, State Representative Barb Farrah (D-Southgate) won a $2 million lottery prize during halftime of a Detroit Pistons game. Rep. Farrah was one of five finalists for the grand prize out of 875 lucky people who had earlier won a qualifying $1,000 instant scratch-off ticket.
The problem is that Rep. Farrah is the chairperson of the committee in Lansing that oversees the state lottery. And the method used to select the five finalists out of the 875 qualifiers was a non-public drawing conducted by a lottery employee.
News of the coincidence of the lucky key lottery legislator's win broke on the blog RightMichigan and you can read more here.
I served in the state legislature for four years with Rep. Barb Farrah and I believe that she is a very honest person who would never engage in any improper behavior. But with the state lottery, any appearance of impropriety must be avoided. That is why lottery employees are prohibited by law from winning the lottery. That law should be extended to include state lawmakers who directly oversee lottery laws and regulations.
To protect the integrity of the lottery, I have asked Attorney General Mike Cox to review the drawing that selected Rep. Farrah as one of the finalists for the grand prize. I believe that review would find no evidence of any wrongdoing by anyone. But the public deserves that assurance of fairness after a coincidence such as Rep. Farrah's lucky win occurs.
