By Jarrett Skorup | Courtesy of Michigan Capitol Confidential
A new federal report shows that the amount spent by taxpayers for union employees to do union work on government time is the highest it has ever been measured. Taxpayers now spend $155 million for this practice. … Click Here for More
Over past few years, Pontiac Public Schools had a 35 percent increase in teacher’s salary and a 45 percent reduction in students
By Tom Gantert | Courtesy of Michigan Capitol Confidential
Pontiac’s biggest issue is that students are leaving the district. It had 10,507 students in 2005, which dropped to 5,785 in 2011. In 2007-08, the last year Pontiac was debt-free, the average teacher salary in the district was $56,781, according to the state. That jumped to $76,449 in 2010-11, the latest year data is available. … more
Join guest hosts Joe Vollmer and Pat Tavolacci with guest washington political consultant Jeff Breneman discussing sequester and 2014 congressional election. Get some common sense radio! Click Here for Podcast
By Jarrett Skorup | Courtesy of Michigan Capitol Confidential
A few years ago, the conservative chief executive at Walmart went public advocating for an increase in the minimum wage. A short time later, the “maverick” left-wing Costco CEO Jim Sinegal followed suit. Was it out of the goodness of their hearts? Maybe — but the more likely reason is that this would help their bottom-line. … Click Here for More
Two bills have been introduced this year, both by Republicans, that would allow sinking funds be used for technology and security. Those types of ongoing expenses divert from the original intent of Proposal A. … Click Here for More
The Sky Didn’t Fall
Gary Wellings, Chief Editor
The Sky didn’t fall at midnight last night and it won’t fall in the coming weeks. The media of course will do their best to protect our Dear Leader and make his dire predictions of mass cuts come true or at least look like its true. There are no mass cutbacks necessary. Look at the graph below , this $85 billion cut is not a real cut but merely a reduction in the growth of spending and still leaves over $200 billion more than the Feds had to spend last year. Only in Washington DC (and some state capitols) can an increase in spending be called a cutback.This is the Federal government’s legacy to us. To try and confuse us with numbers. Its why they now talk about savings over ten year periods instead of in a single year. We must not fall victim to this heinous act of betrayal and lying by our Federal Elected politicans. Stay informed and seek your news elsewhere than the mainstream media who are complicit in trying to fool the American public into believing that we actually need the government to be spending Trillions of Dollars that we don’t actually have to spend. The bill collector is coming and the scariest thing is we don’t know who that will be or what they will demand.
Watching the president and his minions relentlessly fan the flames of Sequestration panic, my first reaction was, “Does Obama think we’re all complete idiots?” Then the answer hit me. Of course he does, we reelected him. This explains why every day he or his team made another prediction, each more dire than the last. Yesterday Democrat Representative Maxine Walters hit the jackpot when she claimed the sequester will cost 170 million jobs. (Don’t believe it? View it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8-d95SO_3g).That is no mean feat…Click Here for More
Was Engineer Murdered for Talking About Chinese Spying?
Family believes man did not commit suicide after talking about china getting info Click Here for Story
Mackinac Center Legal Foundation files on behalf of three Taylor school district teachers who disagree with 10-year clause that forces them to pay dues or fees to keep job
By Tom Gantert |Courtesy of Michigan Capitol Confidential
Special education teacher Angela Steffke, special education teacher Nancy Rhatigan and English teacher Rebecca Metz are being represented by the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation in a lawsuit charging that the 10-year “union security agreement” that expires in 2023 and signed by the Taylor Federation of Teachers Local 1085 and the school district is illegal. The agreement prevents union members from exercising the right to leave the union without paying fees or dues as allowed under Michigan’s recently passed right-to-work law. … Click Here for More
After seven years and more than $34 million taken from home-based caregivers, union contract officially ends
By Jack Spencer | Courtesy of Michigan Capitol Confidential
As of today, March 1, Michigan’s home-based caregivers no longer are unionized. The contract between the union and the dummy employer used for the scheme officially ended Feb. 28. … more
Predicted flight delays among initial issues in Michigan
By Jack Spencer | 3/1/2013 Courtesy of Michigan Capitol Confidential
President Obama and the White House spent much of the week warning people about the alleged life-altering effects the sequester will have on people and the economy. In Michigan, it was highlighted that travelers would face long delays at Detroit Metropolitan Airport because of cuts to air traffic budgets.
But even with the $85 billion in cuts, federal spending for the current year will be higher than last. … more
Plenty of Things Can be Cut
Dubious energy lab under scrutiny after million dollar employee un-covered Click Here for Story
BREAKING NEWS
Conservative Groups Oppose HB 4111 – Obamacare Dollars
For immediate releaseFebruary 27, 2013
Contact: Jack Hoogendyk
269-806-4626
jackhoogendyk@gmail.com
Kalamazoo – Several conservative groups have banded together to oppose HB 4111, the appropriation of $30.6 million for the implementation of the Obamacare Health Insurance exchange partnership. A final vote is expected on the bill at noon, Thursday on the house floor.
“Most Conservatives and Republicans in Michigan do not want anything to do with Obamacare,” said Jack Hoogendyk, President of Citizens’ Alliance for Life and Liberty. “These exchanges are being forced on us by the federal government and now, in an attempt to make it more palatable, the feds are offering us a $30.6 ‘gift’ to help us with setting up the technology to eventually accept a flawed health care law with thousands of pages of rules and regulations that will transfer control of our health care to bureaucrats in Washington. It will only serve to drive up the cost of insurance on hardworking Michigan families and the resulting tax increases on business will kill jobs in the state.
“Now it appears that the governor and the Speaker, knowing they do not have the votes on the Republican side of the aisle, are looking to the Democrats for 51 of the 56 votes needed to pass the bill. This is unacceptable.”
Citizens’ Alliance for Life and Liberty, Madison Project of Michigan, Core Principles, MI-CPAC, Michigan Conservative Union, Independents for Responsible Government (I4RG) and numerous “tea party” groups across the state will be scoring this vote.
“We will be tracking the votes of legislators who are looking to reelection in 2014,” said Hoogendyk. “There are thousands of grass roots activists who are ready to go to work to elect or UN-elect lawmakers in the primary of 2014, based on their loyalty to conservative principles.” CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES GO TO CONTACTS ABOVE
Summit Academy director Alison Cancilliari oversees high school given ‘F’ on report card
By Tom Gantert | Courtesy of Michigan Capitol Confidential
One of the most highly compensated superintendents in the state is from a charter public school whose high school received an “F” on an academic performance report card in 2012. … Click Here for More
Variety Isn’t Discrimination
Schools of choice may offer variety that is different than what a prospective student wants Click Here for Story
Gov. Snyder favors expansion; Wisconsin governor says not so fast
By Jack Spencer | Courtesy of Michigan Capitol Confidential
The federal government is going to operate the exchanges and the political fight at the state level is over Medicaid expansion. Obamacare (a.k.a. the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) calls on states to expand Medicaid to those earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line (FPL). … more
Lanny Davis says his editor was warned too, the paper’s staff could lose their White House Press credentials if they continued Lanny’s columns Click Here for Audio
Taylor School District local union staged ‘sick-out’ forcing 7,500 students to miss school
By Tom Gantert | Courtesy of Michigan Capitol Confidential
In a Jan. 28 announcement posted on Facebook, AFT Michigan boasted so many union members took Dec. 11 off “that Taylor schools shut down.” For her efforts, the American Federation of Teachers-Michigan gave Taylor teachers’ union president Linda Moore an award for shutting down the schools. … more
The Most Disrespectful Public Servant Award Goes To…
Congressman Keith Elison! Play Video below via you tube
Parts of the Michigan Liquor Control Code read as if it had been written by private, special interests to protect them from competition and generate monopoly profits. This needs to change. … more
How a right-to-work law came to be in Michigan. … more
Senate Wants More Money
Our “masters” in Washington DC, like Senator Harry Reid want you to give more of your money instead of cutting back like the rest of us Click Here for Details
By Jarrett Skorup | Courtesy of Michigan Capitol Confidential
When the government subsidizes higher education, it becomes cheaper for people to access, so more people apply. The demand for college rises, which in turn drives the price of tuition up. At the same time, as the price of college rises, politicians are urged to spend more as universities become more empowered and invested in making sure those appropriations keep coming. And students are less likely to pay attention to their ability to actually afford what they are purchasing, let alone have a sense of the value of their degree. … Click Here for more
The Lie of Sequestration
Obama and company cry about laying off employees as they continue to hire new ones Click Here for Story
Like most public schools, Wayne-Westland pays educators only on degree-level and longevity
By Tom Gantert | Courtesy of Michigan Capitol Confidential
In the Wayne-Westland Community Schools, high school math teachers are the lowest paid as a group and make on average almost $25,000 less a year than the physical education teachers. The high school science teachers make $11,000 less than the district’s gym teachers on average. … Click Here for more
If, after a decade of relentless growth in spending, you believe that the federal government operates on a bare bones basis, and that even the slightest reduction in the rate of increase must necessarily cause draconian cuts in essential services, then you might be an Obama voter. For the rest of us, the dwindling few still capable of rational thought, such dire threats are … Click Here for More