Ahhhhhh Michigan……tsk tsk, another state ruined by ‘progressive’ tax policy. What a wasteland of a state..….alas, we are in the same boat, if not worse, but at least we have better weather in California, and you can always sleep on the beach.

The State of Joblessness
The tragedy of Jennifer Granholm's Michigan.

State lawmakers will soon face large budget deficits again, perhaps as much as $100 billion across the U.S. Here's some free budget-balancing advice: Steer clear of the Michigan model. The Wolverine state is once again set to run out of money, and it is once again poised to raise taxes even as jobs and businesses disappear.

In 2007 Governor Jennifer Granholm signed the biggest tax increase in Michigan history, with most of the $1.4 billion coming from business. The personal income tax—which hits nonincorporated small businesses—was raised to 4.2% from 3.95%, and the Michigan business tax levied a surcharge of 22%. The tax money was dedicated to the likes of education, public works, job retraining and corporate subsidies. Ms. Granholm and her union allies called these "investments," and the exercise was widely applauded as a prototype of "progressive" budgeting.

Some prototype. Every state has seen a big jump in joblessness since 2007, but with a 15.2% unemployment rate Michigan's jobs picture is by far the worst. Some 750,000 private-sector payroll jobs have vanished since the start of the decade. For every family that has moved into Michigan since 2007, two have sold their homes and left.

Meanwhile, the new business taxes didn't balance the budget. Instead, thanks to business closures and relocations, tax receipts are running nearly $1 billion below projections and the deficit has climbed back to $2.8 billion. As the Detroit News put it, Michigan businesses are continually asked "to pay more in taxes to erase a budget deficit that, despite their contributions, never goes away." And this is despite the flood of federal stimulus and auto bailout cash over the last year.

Following her 2007 misadventure, Ms. Granholm promised: "I'm not ever going to raise taxes again." That pledge lasted about 18 months. Now she wants $600 million more. Among the ideas under consideration: an income tax increase with a higher top rate, a sales tax on services, a freeze on the personal income tax exemption (which would be a stealth inflation tax on all Michigan families), a 3% surtax on doctors, and fees on bottled water and cigarettes. To their credit, Republicans who control the Michigan Senate are holding out for a repeal of the 22% business tax surcharge.

As for Ms. Granholm, she and House speaker Andy Dillon continue to bow to public-sector unions. There are now 637,000 public employees in Michigan compared to fewer than 500,000 workers left in manufacturing. Government is the largest employer in the state, but the number of taxpayers to support these government workers is shrinking. The budget deadline is November 1, and Ms. Granholm is holding out for tax increases rather than paring back state government.

The decline in auto sales has hurt Michigan more than other states, but the state's economy would have been better equipped to cope without Ms. Granholm's policy mix of higher taxes in order to spend more money on favored political and corporate interests. If any larger good can come of the experience, it is that Michigan is teaching other states how not to govern.
Michigan's Economy Withers Under Tax Burdens - WSJ.com

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

Michael Moore had the solution. Make millions off Detroit's misery and move to NYC.

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Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. ---P. J. O'Rourke

A few weeks ago, I was talking to someone who lives in Michigan (forget exactly where). He was telling me that he rents a four bedroom 2-1/2 bath house, on three acres, with a barn and a large pond. He pays $425.00 a month. If I decided to put up with the weather (I don’t dig the cold), I could give up my day gig, retire for real, and live on my military pension up there. Hell, I’d just buy a motorhome so I could get the fuck out during the winter months…

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For those who have fought to defend it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know...



If it wasn't for double standards, liberals would have no standards at all...

I wouldn't move to michigan on a bet....

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

If I didn't have to worry about getting a job I might.

I'd be okay living just about anywhere...

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For those who have fought to defend it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know...



If it wasn't for double standards, liberals would have no standards at all...

Living on or near the shores of Lake Michigan in the summertime is great. Northern MI or the UP is great, but winter in either place is nothing I would want to experience (again).

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Want government run healthcare? Join the military.

right.

it's michigan's tax policy that's causing the state's economic woes. the collapse of the entire american auto industry didn't have nearly as much to do with it as the tax policy.

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"My country is the world, and my religion is to do good." --Thomas Paine

And now she's doing TV commercials saying "bring your business to Michigan"........

so we can run it in the ground for ya.

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Want government run healthcare? Join the military.

you are free to go back oh ten years, when engler was ruining things, they were okay not great but they weren't running a deficit.

Granholm came in at the start of 2003, she wasn’t even smart enough to get in on the boom while it was rolling, She has wrecked that state, it was heading south 3 years ago when she really started taxing the shit out of everyone for 4 years of idiotic governance and the usual lib entitlement express train to deficit hell.....

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

Michigan barely held it's own when times were booming in the car industry. The Southern Right to Work low tax states benefited big time with car factories springing up all over the South.

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Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. ---P. J. O'Rourke