Meekhof and Schmidt In Trouble Recall Language Approved

 It appears Michigan Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof and  Michigan Senator Wayne Schmidt are in for a fight.  The recall language against both of them was approved unanimously today. 

Both have passed legislation against the citizens of Michigan, most recently pushing through the gas tax that voters vehemently voted down last may by a margin of 80% .

Included with the gas tax grievance constituents also site that Schmidt also supported two new, unnecessary roundabouts in Grand Traverse County that cost taxpayers $10 million

The County then had to buy 2 special snowplows for those roundabouts at a value of $500,000 each.

His constituents also say that he lied about his education while campaigning for office.

Grievances for Meekhof beside the gas tax range from his stance on the expansion of Obamacare in this state to attempting to prevent the press from obtaining information through the Freedom Of Information Act.  

Ironically it was also Meekhof that worked to pass legislation to make it even more difficult to recall sitting legislators. 

Just As We Thought The Gas Tax Increase Isn't For The Roads

You can blame Obamacare and Governor Rick Snyder for our roads not being repaired.

Senator Patrick Colbeck

Governor Snyder stepped into it, as they say, when he pushed through the Medicaid Expansion also known on the radio at the Healthy Michigan Plan. 

By offering free medical care to some it is we the taxpayers that have to pay for it.   This is nothing more than distribution of wealth and fits the classic definition of socialism.

To now pay for this medicaid expansion Governor Rick Snyder is pushing for a gas tax increase.  The voters in May of this year shot down a tax increase by an overwhelming margin of 80%.

State Senator Patrick Colbeck, who has a plan to fix our roads without raising our taxes confirmed this today in a facebook post of his:

"Many of you are wondering why it is so difficult to pass legislation that would fix our roads. Simple answer...some people insist upon it being about much more than roads. According to Gongwer News Service (not yet addressed in SE MI papers), one of the sticking points in the most recent negotiations revolved around increasing the Health Insurance Claims Assessment (HICA) tax. "What does HICA have to do with roads" you say? HICA revenue goes to pay the state portion of Medicaid payments. OK...what does Medicaid have to do with roads?

The short answer is that some people in state government are relying upon a tax increase to backfill gaps in Medicaid funding with the same money that the House and Senate plans have already earmarked for roads. This problem becomes exacerbated in 2017 due to the passage of Medicaid Expansion (i.e. Section 2001 of HR 3590 otherwise known as Obamacare). In 2017, the Federal government will no longer provide 100% of the funding for the expanded Medicaid population.

So...if you are wondering why it is so difficult to fix our roads, look no further than Medicaid Expansion. The good news is that I have offered solutions to both Medicaid Expansion and our Roads that protect you from tax increases."

Another Lansing legislator State House Republican Peter Lucido of Shelby Township also has a plan to fix our roads without raising taxes.  

Between these two plans we should be able to fix our roads.  As for the Medicaid expansion problem?  That is something Governor Rick Snyder will have to figure out.  That plan was forced upon the people of Michigan after it failed on the first vote.  And now that the people of Michigan are seeing that the Medicaid Expansion is holding up our roads being repaired, I would have to believe it is even less popular than it was two years ago. 

Gov Snyder and Senate Majority Leader Alran Meekhof Looking To Raise Taxes For Roads After Proposal 1 Failed

They just don't seem to get it in Lansing.  After a major ass-

Gov Snyder & Senate Majority Leader Meekhof
Looking To Raise Taxes For Roads

whooping with the defeat of the $1.2 billion tax increase proposal 1, our tax and spend legislators in Lansing are looking for another way to raise our taxes.

Governor Rick Snyder Business leaders don’t believe finding $1.2 billion in additional road funds without raising taxes is possible.  Why is it not possible?  With proper cuts to wasteful programs such as the Michigan Economic Development Corp (MEDC) which promotescronyism, killing the film subsidies that have done nothing to help Michigan as a whole and other wasteful programs that should generate a good chunk of the revenue needed.  

Some loud voices that have friends in the media are screaming if we get rid of the MEDC we won't have any more "Pure Michigan" commercials.  Has anyone verified the effectiveness of these commericals and why do they play frequently in our State?  Why doesn't the MEDC invest more to atract out of state tourism?

Also Michigan's unemployment rate has dropped from 14.1% to a "reported" 5.4%.  Where is this additional income tax revenue going?

The Michigan House should stick with a tough love approach and push through the cuts to unneeded programs such as the MEDC.

Here is where the trouble likes two-thirds of senators, mostly RINOs Republicans In Name Only, are term-limited and won’t face voters again in their current posts. The hope is that they’ll feel more free to vote for tax hikes.  What they don't realize is that they will be remembered for when they try to find another political hole to fill.

The Senate lead by disappointing Senate Majority (non) Leader Alran Meekhof is expected to back a plan already floated to raise the fuel tax by 5 cents a gallon each year for three years. That 15-cent hike will ultimately produce $750 million, with additional money found by bringing diesel fuel taxes in line with those on gasoline, and perhaps raising vehicle registration fees.  Michigan already has one of the highest gas taxes in the country, yet the worst roads.  How do you explain that?

It is likely to make us look like they are working in our favor, the senators will also offer up spending cuts  largely from the estimated $500 million MEDC budget, including the possible elimination of much or all of the $50 million film subsidy. The cuts are expected to be about half what the House passes.

Is A Gas Tax Increase Really Necessary??

Michigan's road debate continues.

By Senator Patrick Colbeck

Proponents of tax increases have an extremely strong lobbying base. They have incessantly pushed a false narrative that our roads cannot be fixed without tax increases, despite our citizens already being subject to the fifth highest gas taxes in the country. After having served as vice chairman of the Senate Transportation Subcommittee on Appropriations for the past four years, I happen to have a different opinion.

Let me be clear. I want to fix the roads as much as anyone. The key difference is that I know that we can do so without having to dig deeper into the pockets of families struggling to make ends meet.

Here are some simple facts for Michiganians to consider. When I started my service in the Legislature four years ago, our state budget was $46.8 billion. The last budget that we enacted for FY2014-2015 was $53.1 billion. That is an increase of $6.3 billion — $1.1 billion of that went toward education; $840 million has already gone toward our roads. That leaves $4.3 billion unaccounted for in our list of budget priorities.

What are the odds that folks would find most, if not all, of the spending items associated with this $4.3 billion less important than fixing our roads? Would we raise taxes to pay for film incentives? Would we raise taxes to pay for other corporate incentive packages? The funds for these programs could be used for roads, yet we are being sold a narrative that we need a tax increase to pay for our roads. Why not push the tax increase discussion onto these programs instead?

Compound these observations with the fact that a significant portion of our transportation budget does not go towards fixing our roads. Did you know that 10 percent of the taxes collected under the most recent Senate-passed bill to increase gas taxes would go toward rail and mass-transit programs? Diverting funds to rail and mass transit will not fix a single pothole. Funny, I don't recall trains and busses being part of the "Just fix the roads" propaganda blitz. Do you?

Against this backdrop, I maintain that we do not get the bang for the road funding buck that we deserve in Michigan. In earlier op-eds, I cited findings from the 20th Annual Highway Report compiled by the Reason Foundation. It stated that Michigan spends 53 percent more per mile than the national average on our roads. Their latest study shows that Michigan still spends 27 percent more per mile than the national average and 7 percent more per lane-mile than the national average. Despite this, our road conditions have consistently ranked 40th or worse.

When I cite such figures, I am assaulted by proponents of increased taxes, who point out the influence of our winter climate on our poor road conditions.

Minnesota, not exactly a winter getaway for warm weather enthusiasts, spends 18 percent less per mile than the national average, yet has higher rural road quality.

Truck weights are also cited as a major contributor to the poor quality of our roads. I'm all for lowering truck weights. In fact, the Senate has considered legislation to do just that, but as an engineer I am bothered by the lack of fundamental engineering data on this topic. Despite years of inquiries, I have yet to find a specification that connects the dots between how long our roads should last under a given load profile and the road designs that we build. It is very difficult to analyze the impact of truck weights and longer life road designs without this data.

The good news is, we agree that we need to fix our roads. The bad news is that there are still too many folks who choose to make their point by misrepresenting the views of folks like me who do not believe that we need to raise taxes. Proponents of tax increases have poured significant time and money into making us believe that tax increases are the only "rational" solution to our road woes. Meanwhile, Michiganians pour out the fruits of their labor towards satisfying government's insatiable appetite for more of their hard-earned money.

Tax increases should always be the last option considered. All too often, though, they are the first. It is time we changed our priorities.

State Sen. Patrick Colbeck, R-Canton, represents the 7th District.