State of Our State

Monday, June 7, 2010

2 men charged with threatening Rep. Bart Stupak | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Steve Ballmer's iPad point: Not affordable for all | Nanotech - The Circuits Blog - CNET News

Friday, June 4, 2010

Gingrich pitches no-tax zone to revive Detroit | detnews.com | The Detroit News

This debate on the Gingrich is worth doing. Will a tax free zone for Detroit lead to investment in Detroit and revitalize the City of Detroit? On the other hand the question of what should the state and Detroit for revenue so they can operate their appropriate functions--police, fire, schools, infrastructure, etc.?

If this tax free zone does work and is proven to bring investment into the city why are we excluding other urban centers who are also suffering: Flint, Saginaw, Muskegon, Benton Harbor? If its good for Detroit why not these urban centers/cities?

Gubernatorial candidates mix it up on bridge, labor, lakes | detnews.com | The Detroit News

A good old fashion political brawl is good for the soul and good reading. However after that it should be back to a discussion of real issues with real solutions being put forward.

On a serious note there has got to be a better way to get transparency on the backgrounds of candidates for statewide office and sort of a "truth squad" on what they claim and what they own.

Voters concerned about illegal immigration | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

What is the appropriate state role in this immigration issue? What is the role and why? Is there an appropriate relationship between the federal and state government on this issue? Intergovernmental relations? Shared governance?

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Poll results: Taking Michigan's pulse | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Good details on the pulse of Michigan citizens. Interesting that 25% of all polled would cut budget to deal with ALL of the needed budget budget deficit reduction. That is a large number.

Michigan voters prefer cuts to higher taxes | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

This trend among Michigan voters will continue to get larger until the State starts cutting programs and services more than they have done up to now. I think that voters early next year will not like some of the cuts that could be coming our way. However it is interesting message to policy makers that the old days of budget making, budget cutting and operations of government programs is not going to be accepted by Michigan voters.