Michigan's wrong direction - By Curt Guyette, Metro Times

[Bozita]

Michigan's wrong direction
By Curt Guyette
PUBLISHED: JANUARY 9, 2013


"Michigan's current tax system is broken and must be reformed. It cannot consistently raise the revenues needed to invest in Michigan's future, create economic growth and maintain needed public services. As the state's economy has struggled and evolved, its tax system has not kept pace."

So begins a scathing report just released by the nonprofit League for Public Policy, a group whose self-described mission is to "foster economic opportunity, independence and security of Michigan's economically vulnerable population by shaping public policy through objective data-driven research, education and advocacy."

In a study filled with much disturbing information, the bottom line is all too clear: In its push to become more business-friendly, the state is making life more difficult for the poor and working-class. But it's not just them who are being hurt.

The ultimate result of the policies Michigan has been pursuing is an inevitable downward spiral that's pulling us all under by making the state a less desirable place to live and do business.

In a very real sense, the report provides yet another refutation of conservative economic policies. The evidence is abundantly clear: We can't cut our way to prosperity, and we can't continue to pursue regressive tax policies that put a disproportionate share of the burden on the working class and the poor. It is a reality that some other states have grasped.

more...
http://metrotimes.com/news/michigan-s-wrong-direction-1.1426772

[MichiganVote]

1. I wish Jerry Brown would come to Michigan....

[knitter4democracy]

2. The problem with conservatives is they can't see the big picture.

Big picture: if you don't make it a great place to live, no one's going to bring their business here. Bad roads, crumbling infrastructure, high property taxes because of lack of profit-sharing with local communities, fewer cops, and more all make it so no one wants to live and work in Michigan.

Better would be to take Henry Ford's way to heart: more greenspace, pay workers enough and support them, pay enough in taxes to make it a place your employees want to live in, and you'll be more successful. Why they can't look at the better times in our state and learn something, I don't know.