Michigan Government

I’ve added a tab to the GR Pundit web site with what I’ve created and now call the “Michigan Sales Tax Revenue Index.” You can view it by clicking on the tab above. This index is a three month average (to smooth the volatility) of the state’s sales tax revenue. Any number above zero...
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BREAKING NEWS: State bureaucrats surprised to learn that paying people to do nothing results in more people doing nothing. From the Detroit News: Landscapers find workers choosing jobless pay But B&L Landscaping in Oak Park finds the labor pool is noticeably weaker and less motivated, director Richard Angell said, even though the company still...
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The state’s monthly revenue report for February was released today and my reaction was, “Recovery? What recovery?” This statement from the report sums it up well: “Revenue from Michigan’s General Fund and School Aid Fund earmarked taxes totaled $474.3 million in February, down 28.8% from last year’s level . . . February tax collections...
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Why doesn’t the media do any investigating any more? Among today’s headlines is the story that Governor Granholm is delaying the school funding cut of $127 per pupil because the state’s November property tax revenues were $150 million higher than expected. Property taxes are among the most stable forms of government revenue, so such...
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The October revenue report for the state of Michigan has been released, and there’s very little good news to be had. Revenues were again below the most recent projections. October saw tax collections that were $31 million below expectations. The best real-time indicators of economic activity, sales taxes and income tax withholding, are both...
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The latest monthly state revenue report was finally released today, and it doesn’t look good. A few of the money quotes: The revenue collected from Michigan’s General Fund and School Aid Fund earmarked taxes totaled $1.3 billion in May, which was down 13.4% from last year’s level.  This marked the  fourth consecutive month  that...
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Ouch! The Senate Fiscal Agency just released their February report of state revenue and it’s a doozy. A couple of quotes: While tax collections in February were expected to fall below last year’s level, due primarily to the impact of the economic recession, the decline was much worse than expected . . . In addition, tax collections...
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  Today it was announced that Michigan’s unemployment rate hit 11.6%. What is governor Granholm’s reaction? She announces her support for an increase in gas taxes! Great idea! She has already succeeded in increasing the income tax by 12% and increasing business taxes by 22%. That seems to be working out really well. Not....
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There’s an old parable about getting hooked on government handouts. I had heard this years ago, but it just popped in my mind again today. I searched the Internet and found one version of it. A chemistry professor at a large college had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class...
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It was only a matter of time. Now that the Congress and US Treasury have decided that it is legitimate for the Federal Government to spend $700 billion “bailing out” various banks and financial companies, the line is getting longer of those holding their hands out for free money from heaven. First, we were...
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