Whats missing in this story??? We the citizens of MI. Not only did they crush the hard work and will of some Michigan constituents YET AGAIN of those who obtained the signatures, they are killing the state of Michigan with these two huge tax increases. MICHIGAN CAP CON Republican Push For Higher Minimum Wage Likely Has Anti-Taxpayer Strings Attached Analyst: [Y]ou can excuse conservative Republicans from wondering if they live in some alternate universe By Jack Spencer | June 3, 2014 Top Republican officials supported a higher minimum wage and tied it to inflation to get Democrats to support a measure to double the gas tax and secure Gov. Rick Snyder the extra money he wants for road funding, according to a widely accepted story out of Lansing. The same story was being repeated in conversations at the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerces annual Mackinac Policy Conference last week. Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, introduced Senate Bill 934 because Michigans various business groups had decided they couldnt risk the possibility that the minimum wage increase proposal would pass in November. Senate Bill 934 had to be passed by the Legislature and signed into law before May 28 — the date the minimum wage ballot proposal petitions were going to be handed in. Three Lansing political observers, Bill Ballenger, founder of Inside Michigan Politics; Mark Grebner of Practical Political Consulting, a Democrat who works with both political parties; and Dennis Darnoi of Densar Consulting, who is a Republican consultant, shared their thoughts about what has recently transpired. Why the minimum wage was increased The apparent May 28 deadline by which time Gov. Snyder had to sign the bill into law to render moot the petition drive may or may not prove to be important, Ballenger said. Ive never seen that sort of argument stop lawyers for aggrieved plaintiffs from filing suit, anyway, so this may very well be headed for a lengthy court battle. Darnoi said knocking the minimum wage increase proposal off the ballot appears to be the motive behind quickly moving Senate Bill 934. Republican leadership was clearly concerned about the impact that a ballot initiative on the minimum wage could have on turnout in the general election, Darnoi said. The speed with which the legislation was drafted, introduced, moved through both chambers and presented to the governor is the surest indication that the explanation above has a tremendous amount of merit. It also serves as a stark reminder of what can occur when the legislative leaders get their respective chamber in line. The apparent deal An apparent deal was struck, which resulted in significant changes to Senate Bill 934, and it was this changed version of the bill that was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder within hours of the May 28 deadline. The version of Senate Bill 934 signed into law would still theoretically kill the ballot proposal, but provided a larger overall minimum wage increase in various steps than the initial version of the bill, and it indexes the wage to inflation. These changes were apparently made to win support from the Senate Democrats not only for Senate Bill 934 but also for a legislative plan to double the states fuel tax by 2018 to provide a new funding stream toward the $1.5 billion goal for road and bridge repair and maintenance. Gov. Snyder has been pursuing the creation of this road funding revenue stream since his 2013 State of the State Address. I simply dont understand why Democrats, Senate or House, would feel they have to vote for a hike in the gas tax because a more generous hike in the minimum wage was passed by majority Republicans in the Legislature than what Sen. Richardville originally proposed, Ballenger said. How could a Democrat not vote for a minimum wage hike, of any kind? And if he or she did, why does that mean they must vote to provide votes for transportation funding to help Gov. Snyder and the business community score a major victory? Ballenger added that he isnt so sure the alleged deal will happen. I simply dont believe Democrats are that stupid, he said. Theyll get nothing out of it. What they should really worry about is how they are going to look if Republicans wind up providing more votes to bailout Detroit in the grand bargain bankruptcy proceedings than do the Democrats. That will really come back to haunt them, among swing voters and their own core constituency, in my opinion. Grebner said it looks to him like Democrats are becoming relevant in the legislative process and garnering some small victories as a result. It appears the Democrats have finally found a role for themselves as a third force in the Legislature where their existence gives the establishment Republicans bargaining power over their right-wing compatriots, Grebner said. As long as the right-wing tries to force the centrist Republicans to adopt a hard-right program, the Democrats can make themselves useful by offering their votes to make up a majority. This only works as long as the right-wingers are incredibly incompetent, Grebner added. By proper horse trading and deal cutting, the right-wing should be able to get 95 percent of what it wants, including freezing the Democrats out of any say at all. But apparently [by] overplaying their hands, and over insisting on rigid ideological conformity, theyve pushed Snyder and the center into cutting deals with the Democrats. Obviously, the Democrats grip on political power is so tenuous they cant really trade for very much. It has to be small changes around the margins. But whether the real cause is incompetence by the right, or very competent dealing by the Democrats, theyve cut themselves back into the game against all odds and reason. Darnoi said if some kind of deal with the Democrats is being pursued to garner enough votes for passage of a gas tax increase, it is likely a deal in the making, not a done deal. There are too many moving parts to conclude that an actual deal — in the truest sense of the word — was formalized, Darnoi said. Certainly any legislation increasing taxes will require votes from the Democrats to ensure that the bill or bills reach the governors desk, but two big questions remain.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 10:47:06 +0000
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