[green_mariner]

I have been reading the forums about Michigan and everything wrong about the state. This is what I see. Michigan needs more moderate leadership. Instead of the "bleeding heart liberals", Michigan could use more moderate politicians. No, MI doesn't need arch conservatives. Unions need to be done away with. I think companies should provide health insurance, but please stay away from unions. Any abandoned spaces in the inner cities needs to be turned into business space. And another thing, if a business comes to MI, that business should not have to pay property tax for the first year. I also see MI has alot of taxes. Taxes should be streamlined and rearanged. Spend money on getting better police and putting them on the beat in the neighborhoods like neighborhood cops(and make sure we have good cops, because there is enough corruption for one lifetime.) so that the crime rates drop, spread the money around more. Detroit could use a new mayor if the current one isn't doing anything(I don't know whay Kwame Kilpatrick is doing.). Does anyone have anymore ideas.

[suydam]

My idea: Extend term limits or abolish them completely. The lack of term limits bred corruption, but it also forced some cooperation. When I see Lansing now, I see a bunch of brand-new idealists unwilling to waver from unrealistic political platforms. Because of term limits, these "young" (in length-of-service terms) idealists never get a chance to mature into pragmatic legislators.

If you abolish term limits, I wager we'd have already balanced the budget months ago.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by suydam

My idea: Extend term limits or abolish them completely. The lack of term limits bred corruption, but it also forced some cooperation. When I see Lansing now, I see a bunch of brand-new idealists unwilling to waver from unrealistic political platforms. Because of term limits, these "young" (in length-of-service terms) idealists never get a chance to mature into pragmatic legislators.

If you abolish term limits, I wager we'd have already balanced the budget months ago.

Totally agree. These youngsters in Lansing raised on Rush Limbaugh are even ignoring a letter from 34 retired Republican legislators saying that they MUST raise taxes to balance the budget. And they are ignoring a think tank's findings put together with two previous governors, Milliken and Blanchard, on how to solve the State's problems.

They're all too busy getting drunk off the party's kool-aid to think straight, especially when they think they carry the mandate and the State's voters disagree. I'm not even quite sure who they are listening to.

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

I have been reading the forums about Michigan and everything wrong about the state. This is what I see. Michigan needs more moderate leadership. Instead of the "bleeding heart liberals", Michigan could use more moderate politicians. No, MI doesn't need arch conservatives. Unions need to be done away with. I think companies should provide health insurance, but please stay away from unions. Any abandoned spaces in the inner cities needs to be turned into business space. And another thing, if a business comes to MI, that business should not have to pay property tax for the first year. I also see MI has alot of taxes. Taxes should be streamlined and rearanged. Spend money on getting better police and putting them on the beat in the neighborhoods like neighborhood cops(and make sure we have good cops, because there is enough corruption for one lifetime.) so that the crime rates drop, spread the money around more. Detroit could use a new mayor if the current one isn't doing anything(I don't know whay Kwame Kilpatrick is doing.). Does anyone have anymore ideas.

Why should employers have to pay for heath insurance? That would bring the minimum wage up to about $10.00. How much would you pay for a burger?

[Wabbit]

Before the state asks us for more of our money to waste,
let's take a look at their track record and demand some
accountability. To put it in laymans terms, If I want to
add more fat to a house cats butt, I'll do it in my own kitchen.
The fiscal irresponsibility of this state is criminal and I don't see
how throwing money at the problem solves anything until
there's at least some moderate consensus as to how we should
proceed.
I'm not at all opposed to higher state taxes to dig us out of this
hole, but when you consider what's likely to occur on the
federal level when Hillary gets in, that concerns me.
We will be taxed to the flippin' moon and Universal healthcare
is only the tip of the iceberg. Can you imagine the waste
that eight years of socialism is going to produce. This is no Bill
Clinton were talking about, here. Now before you start thinking
I'm some kind of G.R righty, I also think Bush deserves to be
impeached for sending those kids off to that sickening war.
Only through the concensus of moderates with a unified vision is
anything ever going to get done to really turn this state around
and sorry, but I don't have enough confidence in the current
brat-pack to give them an extra bowl of kibble.