otterinbham 0 Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 An iPod for every kid? Are they !#$!ing idiots? The Detroit News We have come to the conclusion that the crisis Michigan faces is not a shortage of revenue, but an excess of idiocy. Facing a budget deficit that has passed the $1 billion mark, House Democrats Thursday offered a spending plan that would buy a MP3 player or iPod for every school child in Michigan. No cost estimate was attached to their hare-brained idea to "invest" in education. Details, we are promised, will follow. The Democrats, led by their increasingly erratic speaker Andy Dillon of Redford Township, also pledge $100 million to make better downtowns. Their plan goes beyond cluelessness. Democrats are either entirely indifferent to the idea that extreme hard times demand extreme belt tightening, or they are bone stupid. We lean toward the latter. We say that because the House plan also keeps alive, again without specifics, the promise of tax hikes. The range of options, according to Rep. Steve Tobocman, D-Detroit, includes raising the income tax, levying a 6 percent tax on some services, and taxing junk food and soda. We wonder how financially strained Michigan residents will feel about paying higher taxes to buy someone else's kid an iPod. That they would include such frivolity in a crisis budget plan indicates how tough it will be to bring real spending reform to Michigan. Senate Republicans issued a plan a week ago that eliminates the deficit with hard spending cuts. Now their leader, Mike Bishop of Rochester Hills, is sounding wobbly, suggesting he might compromise on a tax hike. We hope Bishop is reading the polls that say three-quarters of Michigan residents oppose higher taxes. There are few things in the House budget outline from which to forge a compromise. For example, Dillon says he would shift the burden of business taxes to companies that operate in Michigan, but don't have a facility here. The certain outcome of that plan is to drive even more businesses out of Michigan. About all we see of merit is a call for government consolidation and a demand that state employees contribute more to their retirement benefits -- which is no more than House Democrats suggested for future state lawmakers a few weeks ago. We find it ironic that the Democrats are proposing floating $5 billion in revenue bonds to pay for retiree health care, when Gov. Jennifer Granholm vetoed a nearly identical plan by Oakland County because it would cost the state money. Instead of advocating cost-saving changes in public school teacher pension and health plans, Dillon suggests more study. There have been plenty of studies of the issue, with the conclusion being that hundreds of millions of dollars could be saved through reforms. Michigan needs action, not more study committees. Dillon also proposes that the state cover 50 percent of the cost of catastrophic health insurance for everyone in the place, but once again doesn't specify a funding source. Stop the stupidity. Michigan can't tax or spend its way out of this economic catastrophe. The only responsible option is to bring spending in line with current revenues. The mission must be to expand the tax base, rather than to expand taxes, by crafting a budget that encourages growth. We won't get there by wasting money on early Christmas presents for Michigan kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupperClub 0 Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 How is it the government's place to ensure that every kid has an iPod? If I lived in Michigan I would want the sponsor of this bill to look me in the eye and explain it to me. Re-damn-diculous. I can already hear the next campaign ads: "Don't vote for Joe Republican, he'll take away your iPod!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietfan 233 Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 I don't know, but I suspect there's more to the "free I-Pod" story. I can't imagine any government just passing out free gifts of this nature. Perhaps the idea was somehow related to every child having access to technology in the classroom and the money was to be spent for classroom technology, but the opponents of the bill catagorized it as "free I-Pods for everyone". Again, I don't know, not having heard about this from anywhere else. (I also don't know what educational value I-Pods themselves have--they're not like computers or other educational technology--but then I don't teach children.) Maybe this is exactly as claimed. But maybe it's hyperbole on the part the opponents of the plan. The idea of just giving away I-Pods sounds a little too outrageous and simplistic to be literally true. Left or Right, Democrat or Republican, it's behooves us all to not jump to conclusions about any politician's claims or generalizations until researching them carefully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURaptor 1,125 Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 A chicken in every pot, and an I-pod in every pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger in Spain 0 Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 This will end when Ted Nugent is elected Governor! Seriously, it's this BS that has people leaving Detroit in droves. You can get some pretty good house deals there right now. Some places that have been bought for upwards of $300K are going for $100K or so. Working people just want to get out and leave the place to the freeloaders. I have family that live in the suburbs (Trenton) and they are livid. My uncle calls the place Detroitistan and says it is going the way of 1970's Birmingham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otterinbham 0 Posted April 7, 2007 Author Share Posted April 7, 2007 This will end when Ted Nugent is elected Governor! Seriously, it's this BS that has people leaving Detroit in droves. You can get some pretty good house deals there right now. Some places that have been bought for upwards of $300K are going for $100K or so. Working people just want to get out and leave the place to the freeloaders. I have family that live in the suburbs (Trenton) and they are livid. My uncle calls the place Detroitistan and says it is going the way of 1970's Birmingham. Heck, don't insult Birmingham by comparing it to Detroit. I've driven through Detroit and seen areas that look like the aftermath of Stalingrad. I do consulting for industrial recruiters, and they say Michigan is about to hit a tipping point. A mass exodus of manufacturers is about to occur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger in Spain 0 Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 My uncle is fed up with the place. He and my aunt have been looking at some land in Alabama and are very seriously considering making the move. They've lived in Trenton for a little more than 30 years and I know this decision isn't easy for them. He's retired from Ford and is expecting any day to hear that his retirement pension is gone. He emailed me the other week and was talking about how bad things were now in Michigan. He curses Detroit with every breath. Too bad. He and I have a hunting cabin up in the U.P. (right off Lake Superior outside of Munising) that I would seriously consider living in if I could convince my wife to go. I guess there's always chloroform. On the opposite side of the argument about handing out free iPods, I know there are educational resources out there for this technology and a lot of teachers make their study materials available in MP3 format. We all know that's what these little angels will use them for, don't we? When I first got mine, I was checking out foreign language programss. I looked a little deeper and saw that they also had complete Grateful Dead concerts. I went with the latter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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