Here’s a pretty simple question? Who does the ground water in Michigan belong to, as well as the water of the Great Lakes and our numerous lakes, rivers and streams?
It seems to me it belong to the people, so why are bottled water companies like for Nestle Waters North America Inc. pulling it out of the ground for free? I guarantee this, Alaska doesn’t give its oil away for free, and every Alaska resident gets an annual check. Try this, go to the local 7-11 or party store and try buying a bottle of water for under $1. You simply can’t do it.
Bottled water is the single largest growth area among all beverages, that includes alcohol, juices and soft drinks. Per capita consumption has more than doubled over the last decade, from 10.5 gallons in 1993 to 22.6 in 2003, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation.
Lt. Gov. John Cherry has proposed a 10-cent per bottle surcharge on bottled water. It will not be a direct tax to the consumer, but to the bottler. The modest proposal will raise $118 million a year, and it will be used to restore the Michigan Promise Scholarship axed last month in the state budget.
“It's time for the big bottlers to pay their water bill, just like you and I do,” Cherry said. “We can use the proceeds from that water bill to fund the education our young people need to compete, as well as the protection of our water resources Michigan desperately needs.”
Education is the number one factor that will help diversify the economy and improve the economy. The $4,000 Promise Scholarship, which impacts higher education funding for 96,000 students, was axed, and parents and students are livid over it. It will cost $100 million to restore the scholarship.
The leftover $18 million would go toward funding the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)'s wetlands protection program, which nearly was transferred to the federal government this fiscal year for lack of funding, and other conservation initiatives.
“We are surrounded by majestic Great Lakes, as well as tens of thousands of inland lakes, rivers, and streams,” Cherry said. “For hundreds of years, water has defined our lives, our livelihoods, and our unique Michigan culture. Today, it is threatened by pollution and depletion.”
Although nothing in the legislation would stop the producer from passing the cost onto the consumer, considering they pay nothing for our water; little of the cost should be passed onto the consumer.
As expected, Nestle, other bottlers and Republicans immediately began running around like Chicken Little telling us the sky was falling and it was a “job killer.” Really, perhaps the bottlers can go to the southwest part of the country and get their free water.
7 comments:
Companies do not pay taxes and fees. I don't know why Socialist Democrats don't understand this.
If you're paying .99 cents for a bottle of water, and the Socialist Democrats add this .10 cent per bottle on to it, your cost at the store will go to $1.09.
All costs needed to pay for a product are paid for by the consumer. Not by the company. So if the Socialist Democrats add another tax by charging .10 cents per bottle of water sold, you'll pay for it when you buy it. The company will only write the check from your money.
Socialist Democrats look at taxes as income because they are so heavily vested in the government taking care of their needs. I'd call it an economy killer, but Blown away Jenny has already killed the economy in Michigan. The only thing Michigan leads in is the number of consecutive months with the highest unemployment rate.
It's hard to know which is worse. The Lions or Jennifer Granholm's running of the state. The good news is that Granholm will be gone in a year. Unfortunately, the Lions will still be here.
First, anonymous, there is no such thing in this country as a “Socialist” Democrat, and that is just a fascist Republican talking point. Second, I never said “companies do not pay taxes and fees.” I said they don’t pay for Michigan’s most abundant natural resource.
First, find a bottle of water for .99 cents. Second, the tax does not go directly to the consumer.
Why you not up arms over the taxes paid by the poor oil companies in Alaska? They levy not one but four taxes on every barrel of oil pumped out of Alaska. In fact, the taxes are high enough to account for 89 percent of the revenue in Alaska's budget. In addition to that, each resident in Alaska gets a $3,200 welfare check every year just for living in the state. I have never heard them say, thanks but no thanks. But their Governor is your hero. I don’t get it. We just want to protect our natural resource and be able to help educate our children, not buy $3,200 worth of junk every year.
Really, the Governor has plunged the country into the worst recession since the Great Depression and forced the auto industry into near bankruptcy? Wow, that would be a lot of power if true, but the reality is that’s just another one of your false talking points, anonymous.
It is too bad the Governor will be gone in a year, but the good news is Gov. Cherry will be here. I don’t consider it unfortunate the Lions will still be here. There a lot of cites that want a pro football franchise.
1. I see you're now using different names to post. How hypocritical of you after whining about other people using different names.
2. Yes there is such a thing as a Socialist Democrat. Anyone that advocates taking from one because they have it and giving to another because they don't, is promoting socialism. Cap and Tax. The non stimulus stimulus bill which nobody read. The latest attempt in all of it's various versions of socialized medicine.
3. I never said that you said that. "I" said companies don't pay taxes. You fools on the left just don't get it. You raise taxes and fees on business, the businesses do not pay it. The consumer does.
4. I paid .99 cents for a bottle of water yesterday in Milford.
5. The people pay for the oil coming through Alaska. It's figured into the price where it's sold. The companies don't pay it. As I said, you socialist Democrats just don't get it.
6. The check Alaskans' get is from the oil produced in Alaska. The state made them a partner in the resources of their state. It's not welfare to receive payment for something you provide. Alaskans get it because they live there and the land is considered the peoples.
7. I don't know who the governor of Alaska is any longer. So designating him my "hero" is more whining on your part.
8. If you want to educate your children, enroll them in private school or homeschool them. If your children want to go to college, let them work and pay for it. It worked for me and it's working for one of my children now.
9. You really need to learn to read. I didn't say the governor plunged the country into a recession. I said "the economy in MIchigan". The rest of the country was doing great until December of 07. Michigan has been a trash heap for nearly six years.
10. Unfortunately, you could be right about Cherry. I swear there are more dumb people in this state than smart people. After all, Granholm was re-elected after failing for four years. But maybe the people of this state have had enough of the tax and spend policies of this governor and throw out the Socialist Democrats next year. It will happen in the US House and Senate, so I'm hoping for it to happen in Michigan as well.
11. Regarding the Lions, you're right. THere are alot of cities that want a pro football franchise. Detroit is one of then.
As you can see, it's a dividend. NOT welfare.
The Alaska Permanent Fund is a constitutionally established permanent fund, managed by a semi-independent corporation, established by Alaska in 1976, primarily by the efforts of then Governor Jay Hammond. Shortly after the oil from Alaska’s North Slope began flowing to market through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, the Permanent Fund was created by an amendment to the Alaska Constitution to be an investment for at least 25% of proceeds from some minerals (such as oil and gas) sale or royalties. The Fund does not include either property taxes on oil company property nor income tax from oil corporations, so the minimum 25% deposit is closer to 11% if those sources were also considered. The Alaska Permanent Fund sets aside a certain share of oil revenues to continue benefiting current and all future generations of Alaskans. Many citizens also believed that the legislature too quickly and too inefficiently spent the $900 million bonus the state got in 1969 after leasing out the oil fields. This belief spurred a desire to put some oil revenues out of direct political control.
The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation manages the assets of both the Permanent Fund and other state investments, but spending Fund income is up to the Legislature. The Corporation is to manage for maximum prudent return, and not—as some Alaskans at first wanted—as a development bank for in-state projects. The Fund grew from an initial investment of $734,000 in 1977 to approximately $28 billion as of March 2008. Some growth was due to good management, some to inflationary re-investment, and some via legislative decisions to deposit extra income during boom years. Each year, the fund's realized earnings are split between inflation-proofing, operating expenses, and the annual Permanent Fund Dividend.
Wrong again, anonymous. That last post was from me. Like most people, I have more than one email with different services. To set the record straight. That last post from kjbas58 was from me. I’m not trying to hide like you, anonymous.
Sorry, anonymous, there is no such thing as a "Socialist" Democrat in this country. Ah, the "nobody read the bill false talking point. Wrong. Are you saying only Democrats levy taxes? I guess your hero Reagan must be a Socialist Republican because the tax rate was higher under him.
Sorry, I don’t believe you paid 99 cents for a bottle of water. The only thing I am sure of is that if you said it, its probably not true.
The water is also the people’s. Why is a company getting it for free? Sorry, I thought your definition of welfare was getting something you didn’t work for. That fits the very definition of the $3,200 people from Alaska get.
Stop playing dumb. Or are you not playing? You don’t know who Sarah Palin is?
Wow. "If you want to educate your children, enroll them in private school or homeschool them." Can you be anymore elitist? I am paid to educate my children, as well as society’s children. See, unlike you, I don’t want something for nothing. I guess your child must be going to Hillsdale College.
I can read fine, anonymous. You blamed the recession on Gov. Granholm. No, the rest of the country was not "doing great until December of 07." Michigan is not in a "trash heap" now, or six years ago.
Unfortunately, you could be right about there being more dumb people in this state than smart people. Look at you, for example. Again, anonymous, there is no such as a Socialist Democrat in this country, and that is just a socialist Republican talking point. Don’t bet on Democrats losing control of the U.S. House and Senate.
The Detroit Lions are a professional franchise.
Your ignorance really shines through on everything you said. Sarah Palin is not Governor of Alaska. You really need to pull your head out of your ass.
Thanks for the complement, anonymous. Coming from the likes of you, it means a lot. You are correct, I should have pointed out that Palin is the former Governor. I assumed everyone knew that because she quit like she did her last elected office.
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