Recall Governor Granholm & Open Trackbacks

Posted by Pam on 3/15/2007

I am begging all those that belong to Link-fest Haven and Open track-back alliance to help me out with this!

High taxes lead businesses to flee the Wolverine State.

Comerica Inc. was founded in 1849 in Detroit and the Detroit Tigers play in Comerica Park, but this week the bank holding company announced it is moving its headquarters to Dallas–where, it said, the bigger growth opportunities are. Consider it one more vote of confidence in the state the national expansion forgot, and especially in Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm’s economic agenda.

Re-elected last year, Ms. Granholm recently rewarded the voters by announcing some $1 billion in new fees and tax increases. The plan would charge Michigan residents higher levies for almost every activity inside the state with a moving part. She would tax trucking, shopping, smoking, hunting, fishing, drinking beer and liquor, using a cell phone and, yes, even dying.

Her plan does complete the phase-out of the state’s hated “single business tax,” which the Tax Foundation has called one of the most anti-growth business taxes in the nation. She should have stopped right there. Instead the Governor wants to create a new corporate income tax as well as a new 2% excise tax on upwards of 100 business services. The net effect would be to raise Michigan’s overall business tax burden. She’d also impose a 5% death tax on estates valued at more than $2 million–which is a sure way to encourage even more Michigan retirees to relocate to Florida.

The Governor says all of this is essential to close an $860 million budget deficit, but the levies are part of what has become a vicious cycle for Michigan: Poor growth causes lower revenues, so raise taxes, which leads to even poorer growth, so raise taxes again. The state has lost some 362,000 jobs since 2000 and the jobless rate in December was 7.1%, second highest in the country after Katrina-ravaged Mississippi’s 7.5%. The national rate is 4.6%.

A new analysis by economist David Littman of the Mackinac Center reveals that the per capita income in the state fell to its lowest level in 75 years in 2005, relative to the national average. (See the recent trend in the nearby chart.) All of this is in contrast to the growth Michigan experienced in the 1990s, under former Governor John Engler, who succeeded in cutting income-tax rates and the welfare rolls.

It’s true that some of Michigan’s current woes are due to the secular decline of the U.S. auto makers and their unionized lack of competitiveness. In essence, the U.S. auto industry has been gradually relocating to more hospitable, right-to-work states. But that’s all the more reason for Michigan to improve the business climate for other industries, though this is exactly the opposite of what Ms. Granholm plans.

Meanwhile, her budget would increase spending by 2.2% and pay off the teachers unions that support her with a new $178 per pupil spending increase, most of which would be absorbed by the bureaucracy and never see a classroom. This continues the state’s lack of spending restraint; between 1995 and 2007 Michigan spent an aggregate $14 billion above the rate of inflation and state population growth, according to a Mackinac study.

Public-employee unions are especially powerful in the state, and Ms. Granholm bows to their every wish. One result is that, according to the Governor’s own Financial Advisory Panel, the state has amassed a $35 billion unfunded liability in its public-school health and retirement benefits. The state spends a whopping $1,200 per student per year on teacher and administrator benefits.

Republicans lost the state House last fall, but they still control the Senate and are vowing to fight the Governor’s tax increases. We hope they succeed lest the state continue to lose taxpayers and business to more favorable climes.

And from Recall Granholm:

Granholm was reelected due to national politicsÂ Â Â Â

Michigan is in a unique situation due to its economy!

Statistics from granholmrecord.com:

51st in growth of home values

Detroit ranksÂ #2 most dangerous city in the US, Flint is #3 most dangerous

Vetoed 4 year limit on welfare (Vermont is the only other state with no limits)

Michigan faces possible $100 million in sanctions if no working welfare workers

Increased Medicare costs from $5.6 billion to $7.2 billion

Detroit ranked behind Cleveland as second poorest major city

Detroit household incomes dropped 18.8% 1999-2005

Failed to work with Delphi then blasted Delphi after it filed for bankrupcy

2700 Electrolux AB employees jobless in Greenville,Mi after Granholm failed to act

Due to Electrolux layoffs, Montcalm County opened its first homless shelter for men

Failed to meet with Honda, losing 1500 jobs, $400 million

Dept of Human Services overpaid $25.5 million for welfare in 2003

Granholm increased taxes by $2 billion

7.1% unemployment rate (37% more than the national average)

Falsely claimed she landed Google-Larry Page, cofounder, is the son of

Michigan State University computer science professor Dr. Carl Victor Page

Vetoed road project Ford Wixom plant, then plant closed

nearlyÂ half (44.7%) Detroit children live in poverty, 31.7% adults live in poverty

50th in per capital gross state product growth

ranked 49th best state to do business in

manufacturing jobs lost since 2003-115,700

Foreclosures doubled in two years; RealtyTrac states Detroit, Livonia, Dearborn are

number one in the nation for most foreclosures, 4 times the national average

544 schools failing to meet federal standards

bottom 4 states to improve teacher quality

signed HB5029 allowing hunters to hunt mourning doves for target practice with

the potential for lead hazards in decaying birds

Michigan ranked D for computers in classrooms

6 people released from prison during Granholm tenure due to administrative failures:

Patrick Selepak was released due to an error in parole violation and was one of the 6.

Since 2003, 53,000 more with no health insurance

Michigans graduation rate dropped from 76.2% to 74%

321 Foster Care providers convicted of crimes both sexual and domestic abuse

ranked 10 out of 10 in disaster readiness
failed to eliminate SBT- 80,000 jobs lost

We need volunteers to help in this effort: 25% Michigan voters needed to sign petitionÂ in 90 days

to force a special election after a successful recall.

To contact us email us at contact @ recallgranholm . com