What ‘shared sacrifice’ will Snyder make

We have heard very little details from new Gov. Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder, and that’s what we got from him in his inaugural speech where he said, “ It will require shared sacrifice from all of us.”

We’re still waiting for both details on how he plans to balance the state budget and "reinvent" Michigan, as well as what sacrifice he plans to share. The only details we have heard is that state employees, again, are going to have to make a sacrifice and it appears the budget will be balanced on their backs.
The fact is state employees earn less than their private-sector counterparts with comparable educational attainment, and state government is smaller now than it was in 1973.

My friend Judy over at Living Blue pointed out a Detroit Free Press article that Snyder appointed Michael Finney as president and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Finney will be paid $250,000 a year, and he will also will receive deferred compensation equal to 18 percent of his salary in lieu of a retirement plan. The person who held the job under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm and was only paid $200,000 a year.

So much for sacrifice.

Like all Republicans the only one Snyder wants to see make a sacrifice are the working and the middle class. The richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income, up from almost 9 percent in 1976. That means the United States now arguably has a more unequal distribution of wealth than traditional banana republics like Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guyana. In 1965 the average CEO was earning 24 times what the average worker was making. But by 2001 the C.E.O.’s of the largest American companies earned an average of 531 times as much as the average worker.

We already know Snyder is the first Michigan governor to refuse to live in the Governor’s residence since the Lansing residence was donated to the state in 1969, and the Chicago Tribune, of all people, is reporting why. His stated reason is he has a daughter in a private high school in the Ann Arbor area and does not want her to move, but the Tribune pointed out that by refusing to move he gets the side benefit of keeping the indoor pool, wine cellar and movie theater that are part of his 10,600-square-foot home.

So much for sacrifice.

The Governor’s residence is no slum. It was renovated and expanded in 2003 and 2004 with $2.5 million in private funds. The 8,700-square-foot residence has five bedrooms, a private family room that includes a kitchenette, a fully commercial kitchen and an exercise room with two treadmills, a weight machine and a weight bench.

As for sacrifice, the Tribune is reporting that “during the early part of the renovation, Granholm lived in a small room above the garage. When her family of five moved in, they ate meals in the garage for months until the construction was done. Granholm recently moved into a rented condominium in the Lansing suburbs so her 13-year-old son, Jack, can finish 8th grade at his East Lansing middle school. “

There’s some sacrifice.

Snyder also promised to establish a blind trust for his personal assets during the campaign to avoid a conflict of interest, but he has not done that. So much for sacrifice.

“This is an important matter of personal integrity and ethics, especially for someone like Snyder who has promised to change ‘business as usual’ in Lansing,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer. “As a multi-millionaire, Snyder could make decisions as governor which benefit him financially.”

UPDATE: The Outsourcer did put his investments into a blind trust. According to the Detroit Free Press,”The Republican signed the paperwork amending his trust two days before he was sworn in as governor Jan. 1.” His spokesperson said she doesn't know how much money the he has in the trust, and a trustee will make all investment decisions now.

Moroun cash kills DRIC

LANSING -- The thousands of dollars Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun gave to the Senate Republicans paid off on Thursday when the entire GOP caucus voted no on discharging House Bill 4961 from committee; a bill that would authorize Michigan to enter into a public-private partnership with Canada to build the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) bridge.

The 11-23 vote was just to discharge the bill from the Transportation Committee that has had it for more than 7 months and has been in the works for a decade, and a majority would just have allowed it too have an up or down vote. Thursday was the last day of the 2010 Legislative session, despite it’s only the second day of December, and the bill is now dead and must be re-introduced by the new Legislature in January.

To keep their monopoly of the busiest border crossing in North America, the Moroun family has contributed nearly $400,000 this year to political action committees (PAC) and candidates controlled by Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, that helped Senate Republicans, to Bishop's unsuccessful attorney general campaign or directly to Senate Republican candidate committees to keep their monopoly.

Governor Jennifer Granholm said the move to kill 10,000 to 35,000 jobs and a project that is supported by more then 80 business and labor organizations from Grand Rapids to Detroit and Ohio to Texas representing thousands of business of all sizes and hundreds of thousands of workers who count on free flowing trade with Canada is a prime example of why Michigan needs campaign finance reform.

“Senate Republicans have bowed to special interests,” she said “They are irresponsible, discarding 10,000 jobs for Michigan workers and ignoring the needs of job providers.”

Rarely does a project have the support of both labor and the chamber of commerce, but the DRIC project does.

“It's simply incredible that they turned down a no-risk project which had support from business, labor, former Governors Engler and Blanchard and the U.S. and Canadian governments,” Granholm said.

Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, who introduced the discharge motion, said he will continue to advocate for the DRIC project.

“While I am disappointed, this certainly isn’t the end of DRIC,” Basham said. “There are incoming legislators from both sides of the aisle and in both legislative chambers already preparing to pick up where we left off. I urge Governor-elect Rick Snyder to make this a top priority because this new border crossing is critical for Michigan’s future, creating more than 10,000 much-needed jobs now while providing the necessary infrastructure to support the continued growth of our international commerce and trade.”

The Canadian government, that has offered Michigan up to $550 million to help pay for the new border crossing, is becoming very impatient, and they may ask Washington to step in; either that or a new bridge will be built in Buffalo.

Michigan has one of the best climates for business in the country

Maybe now teabagger Republicans and Rick “The Chief Outsourcer” Snyder will be busted for crying wolf on the alleged high and job-killing taxes in Michigan, but I doubt it.

For the second consecutive year, the economically conservative Tax Foundation of Washington, D.C. has ranked Michigan the 17th best in the nation for business climate for 2011, and the ranking had Michigan with the second-best business climate in the Great Lakes region, according to subscription only Gongwer.

Republicans like to throw up neighboring Ohio and Minnesota as great examples of low tax and business friendly states, claiming businesses are not just moving to China but there, too. However, those two states in the region were both listed as having one of the 10 worst business climates, according to the annual report.

Not only has Gov. Jennifer Granhom managed to accomplish what no other governor has done and actually diversify the state economy from the auto industry only, but she has improved the business climate with the help of the Democratically-controlled House. In 2006 when Republicans controlled both the House and Senate, the state was ranked 28th in terms of business climate. I also doubt she will get credit for either of those accomplishments.

Indiana is another state Republicans like to claim where Michigan jobs are going, and they did do slightly better than us at 10th. However, “one analyst not related to the study pointed out that in the Great Lakes region Indiana has the lowest per capita income.”

South Dakota was ranked 1st in terms of total business climate, while New York was ranked last. It was the second consecutive year South Dakota topped the list.

Newspaper that sponsors political debates says they are useless

The Republican editorial board of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus is twisting itself into pretzels in it’s ongoing battle to bash Democratic candidates and promote Republican candidates.

In today’s edition it editorialized that it’s OK for Republican Gubernatorial candidate Rick “Chief Executive Outsourcer” Snyder to continue to duck debates with Democratic nominee Virg Bernero because “Debates are of questionable value.”

Say what?

Is this the same newspaper that sponsores and moderates local debates? Is this the same newspaper that sponsored and moderated a debate between the Republican candidates for the 22nd State Senate seat in July? Why, yes it is. So I guess the paper will no longer sponsor those useless debates where a candidate has to defend his positions, record and actions in front of a neutral audience.

It’s just astonishing what this Republican editorial board will do to promote Republican candidates. Liberal media my butt.

Of course this bastion of the “liberal media” uses the editorial to take its standard cheap shots at Gov. Jennifer Granholm, saying “Voters are likely looking for a change after eight years of an ineffective Democrat in the governor's office,” and ending with this gem:

“Granholm likely would have won the election anyway, but as a challenger, DeVos lost any chance he had to gain ground. So for the next four years, we got the better debater.
But did we get a better governor?”

The answer is yes. Perhaps the newspaper missed the Bush recession, the worst since the Great Depression that led to two of Michigan’s largest employers going into bankruptcy? Perhaps they missed this report that Michigan is leading the nation in job growth, with a gain of 27,800 jobs in July or that every single Michigan governor has tried to diversify the states’ economy away from just auto manufacturing so we don’t feel every economic downturn so hard, but only Granholm has managed to do that?

But back to the debates. The good news is that Detroit TV station WXYZ YV 7 cares more about informing voters then the newspaper does, and they are going to broadcast a 'live' debate on Tuesday, October 21, from 8:00 - 9:00 pm whether the wimp shows up or not.

But the biggest news is that Bernero showed up at one of the wimp’s invitation only townhall meetings held at country clubs, this one held at the Hawthorne Country Club in Westland on Monday with the hope of persuading him to hold the three televised debates the wimp chickened out of. Apparently, Bernero shamed Snyder into meeting “with him personally over coffee to hammer out a gentlemen’s agreement on debates,” according to the Detroit Free Press.

Senate Republicans would rather bash the President than stop the Asian Carp

LANSING – The massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has reaffirmed a few things about Republicans: that it will criticize President Obama just for waking up in the morning, and they hate government and say the private sector can do everything better until the private sector causes a disaster and they call for government help.

A pair of resolutions introduced and approved in the Senate on Thursday reinforced those two principals. They attacked the President and tried to blame him for the BP oil spill.

On Wednesday researchers confirmed that at least one Asian carp had been discovered in Lake Calumet, above the locks at the Chicago River, and that led Republicans to introduce and approve Senate Resolution 166 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 47 on Thursday.

Senate Democrats objected to the partisan language in the resolution that said,

“A resolution to call the Obama Administration to task for its failed leadership on preventing Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes and call again for immediate actions to prevent further carp movement into the Great Lakes.”

Last February, the Senate unanimously passed two similar resolutions that urged the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take immediate actions to prevent the Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes and to develop long-term strategies to address this problem. But this time the Republicans thought it more important to take shots at the President than address the problem.

Last winter the federal government launched a new $78.5 million plan to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. However, Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm deemed the proposed measures insufficient, and she directed Republican Attorney General "Manoogian" Mike Cox to seek a legal solution. He filed a motion to the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency order to close the locks connecting the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal to Lake Michigan. However, the conservative court rejected the motion. I guess we need a better AG if he can’t even win in a friendly court.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming, introduced an amendment to strike out the partisan language, but the Republicans would have not of that, and it failed along party lines. Prusi said the President was taking the recommendation of the Army Corps of Engineers, and the resolutions should single out them and not the president. At the very least there is no reason to make it a partisan attack.

“They have been the ones who have been delaying and studying and perhaps giving the President some bad advice on how to resolve this issue,” he said. “But I don’t think that it will serve us well if we just point the finger at the President, making this into a partisan issue.”

It makes no sense to ask some to do something, and then attack them at the same time. The resolution also attacks the President for the BP oil spill, despite the fact that the oil-friendly Bush Administration stripped out regulations and allowed BP the permit to drill when they did not have adequate safety measures in place or a real plan to address an oil leak.

“Whereas, The Obama Administration already has one ecological disaster on its watch. The administration should not allow another disaster with longer-term consequences and within its power to prevent from coming to fruition.”

Sen. Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor, noted the irony of the Republicans scramming for government help now.

“I would like to welcome my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to the belief that the government needs to be strong and vigorous in its mission to protect the people from harm and to help us address harms in the environment that we cannot address on an individual basis,” she said. “I think it is wonderful that we have bipartisan agreement on that issue today. I hope that we remember it when we have other environmental issues come up in the near future.”

Brater also said she hopes the Republicans sudden concern for the environment continues. She said Republicans can’t continue to call for smaller government, refuse to pay the true costs of environmental protection to keep invasive species out of our ecosystem and prevent other harms to the environment, refuse to regulate industries that cause environmental harm and then blame the person who happens to be in the White House when a disaster that has been brewing for decades finally comes to a head.

She called on the Republicans to start moving bills in the Legislature to protect Michigan from ecological disaster that they have been blocking.

“Sitting in the natural resources committee right now are bills to prevent mercury from circulating in our bloodstream; bills to prevent bottles which contain petroleum plastics from being wasted and instead have a deposit and to be recycled; and bills to protect our water and air,” Brater said. “Most interestingly, a bill that would prevent the spread of invasive species in our ecosystem, introduced by the good Senator from the 32nd District (Prusi), is languishing in that committee.”

In the end, the majority of Democrats, unlike Republicans, put partnership aside, and the resolutions passed by a vote of 31-3.

“We should work with the federal government to provide the resources to prevent more of these invasive species from entering our ecosystem at our ports and through our ships that are circulating, and many other ways that we should be working together to prevent Asian carp and other invasive species from destroying our ecosystem,” Brater said.

Blame Canada for going to bat for Michigan taxpayers

We know representatives of the Detroit International Bridge Co. will say anything and do anything to keep their monopoly and one of only two international border crossings in private hands, and company president Dan Stamper proved that when he heard the news Thursday that Michigan taxpayers will not pay anything for the planned DRIC bridge, (Detroit River International Crossing).

The Canadian government announced they would pay up to $550 million for the project's expenses on the Michigan side of the bridge. That led Stamper to this insulating quote: “Michigan Gov. (Jennifer) Granholm, who is both a Canadian and an American citizen, has offered to sell the Michigan border.” The word that comes to mind to describe that attack is bullshit. Besides, the bridge company already owns the border.

Grosse Pointe billionaire and Republican benefactor Matty Moroun wants to build a second span, but he has been thwarted because he cannot get permits from either the Canadian or U.S. government, but that has not stopped him. The U.S. and Canadian governments want to go forward with a public-private DRIC bridge between Detroit and Windsor a few miles downriver, and it has widespread support.

In fact, Moroun is already building a second bridge span right next to the current Ambassador Bridge, and they do not have one single permit; not from the City of Detroit, the state of Michigan, the federal government or the Canadian government.

Moroun and company have tried everything to stop DRIC, including attempting a recall against a state House member who opposed him, offering the state money to stop and spreading money around to politicians.

Granholm made the announcement of the Canadian offer in a surprise appearance at the House Transportation Committee on Thursday, which later reported out favorably House Bill 4961 that would authorize Michigan to enter into a public-private partnership with Canada and a private sector developer/financier and create and save 10,000 Michigan jobs.

Senate Republicans have pulled out all the stops to help Moroun keep his monopoly, going so far as to threaten arrest and to hold up the Transportation Budget to get their way, and the person out front has been Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt. His anti-Canadian rants and attacks have been embarrassing and damaging, almost to the point of declaring war on our biggest trading partner and closest ally.

According to subscription only Gongwer, “When asked about the generous offer from the Canadian offer, Cropsey laughed. He said Canada never delivered on its promise to put $300 million into addressing traffic issues at the Ambassador after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.”

The Ambassador Bridge crossing is the busiest border crossing in North America. More than $200 billion in trade went between the U.S. and Canada through Michigan in 2008.Canada will not want to grant permit to land the new Ambassador Bridge on the Canadian side because traffic on the Canadian side of the Ambassador empties into a city street in downtown Windsor, and trucks must go through 17 stop lights to reach the freeway. Backups can be as long as 5 miles, and Canadian officials do not want to see more traffic dumped onto city streets.

Michael Reagan is the latest racist rightwing hatemonger to speak in Livingston County

Cleary University’s Economic Club Speakers Luncheon Series has brought in some of the most vile, racist rightwing tools to speak, and they did not disappoint with hatemonger Michael Reagan set to speak next month for a cool 20 grand plus expenses.

The stated mission of the series is to “enrich the Livingston County community by hosting speakers who can share a broad spectrum of social, political, intellectual and cultural experiences,” but the bigots they have brought in do nothing but bring the political discussion to the gutter. They are also almost all right-wingers. We have seen the likes of Ann Coulter, Steve Emerson and Dick Morris. Non-right-wingers have been few and far between.

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards, will be a speaker on Oct. 7, but her appearance was timed more to embarrass her husband after the news of his infidelity broke.

Like Emerson - who is a self-proclaimed “terrorism expert” simply for narrating a Richard Mellon Scaife-funded documentary called “Jihad in America” - Reagan is making a name for himself and getting rich for his racist, anti-Arab views, and he is following the Coulter business model of the more outrageous things you say the more you are in demand in right wing circles and the more money you make.

We can expect that lack of diversity and divisiveness to continue at Cleary. The speakers the steering committee is seeking to appear in 2011 include former Republican Arkansas Governor and Faux “news“ host Mike Huckabee; conservative hatemonger and Ann Coulter wannabe Michelle Malkin and former Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn. The balance? U.S. Winter Olympians Apolo Ohno, Julia Mancuso and Hannah Kearney. Please.

Reagan has called one of Michigan’s most successful cites, Dearborn, “Dearbornistan.” The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus took the easy way out and called Reagan “a recognized conservative firebrand” instead of the bigot that he is.

Reagan told the paper that “ the highly Muslim-populated city of Dearborn is home to many people connected to the terrorist organization Hamas, as well as actual terrorists.” He went on to say that he has no proof, but that’s his story, and he’s sticking to it.

What is even funnier - but not as funny as Reagan’s take on Gov. Jennifer Granholm - is the comments of Cleary University President Tom Sullivan, who has to be the most misinformed person in the county. He claims, “he's never heard Reagan speak.” His comments were similar to what he said when the controversy over Coulter broke when he blamed bloggers for the community being upset and a board member resiging over the decision to pay her $30,000 to spread hate.

Sullivan said “he's not "particularly bothered" by Reagan's comments because the speaker series strives to attract diverse voices that engage thought on social, political and economic issues.” Aghain, what diversity?

Reagan’s take on the Michigan economy shows he is as misinformed as Sullivan. Reagan said the “country's economic downfall started in Michigan, and that the other 49 states followed suit and "became Michigan."
"You people elected the wrong governor. It's like, 'Why don't we get the captain of the Titanic to come back and sail ships across the ocean?' " Reagan said.

So, it was the Governor who stopped buying U.S. autos and sent two of the Big 3 into bankruptcy, and it was the Governor who caused the subprime mortgage crisis that almost killed the U.S. economic system and caused the worst recession since the Great Depression? Give me a break.

Not only is Reagan a bigot, he’s an idiot.

Reagan, 65, is the adopted son of conservative hero Ronald Reagan and his first wife, actress Jane Wyman. Reagan claims “his anti-tax message is rooted in his childhood, when his father told him he couldn't get a raise in his allowance until the former president got a cut in taxes.”

Wow. What a skin flint. That was when saint Ronnie was a liberal Democrat and the head of a labor union, and it was also the year he divorced his wife.

Senate Republicans get outplayed in political game

LANSING -- Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop’s attempt to unilaterally reject appointments Gov. Jennifer Granholm made to six university boards for terms that begin the day she leaves office with no hearings failed Thursday with a procedure move by Democrats and some desertions by a GOP caucus that usually marches in lockstep.

Granholm made the bipartisan appointments on April 7, and she followed previous precedent set by former Republican Gov. John Engler in making the same type of appointments. The attempt to reject the appointments without the normal advise and consent hearings upset Democrats and touched off a long debate.

“Article I, Section 17 of our Constitution allows these people the right to a hearing in front of a committee to determine whether or not they are qualified to serve the appointments that the Governor has sought to make,” said Senate Minority Leader Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming. “The Michigan Constitution does not limit the time period to which the Governor may make an appointment to the office. Because the appointment power is vested in the Governor, the timing of these appointments is within the Governor’s discretion; not just this Governor but every single Governor of the state of Michigan since we approved this Constitution back in 1964.”

The normally organized Republicans were simply outmaneuvered by the minority Democrats.

After all of the agenda had taken care of, the Senate discharged the 14 university appointments in question from the Government Operations Committee, bringing them to the floor. Then the wheels fell off the Republicans‘ bus and their carefully laid plans.

Democrats sought to vote separately on each appointment instead of voting them up or down with just one vote. Normally, those types procedural motions usually go along strictly party lines, but two Republicans sided with the Democrats while another Republican did not vote. The effort failed 18-19.

“I ask you either approve these appointments, or remove this item of business, and let’s get on with what we are supposed to be here doing, not playing partisan, political games,” Prusi said.

As the debate continued and about a dozen senators having requested to speak, Republicans tried to end the debate, but that motion failed with five Republicans breaking ranks to oppose ending debate.

Right after that vote ended, Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, made a motion to adjourn and Lt. Governor John Cherry Jr., the Senate's presiding officer, granted it - in accordance with Senate rules - over the objection of Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt.

“We can debate the process of gubernatorial appointments and equity all day, and the fairness of this action is definitely questionable, but this is not what the Senate should be focused on in the first place,” Whitmer said. “As leader of the Senate and someone vying to be the top lawyer in the state, you would think that Mike Bishop would have more respect for the state constitution, but his latest emphasis on politics over progress only continues to show how out of touch he is with the people of Michigan.”

Subscription only Gongwer reported that “ Bishop was livid at the Thursday defection,” and “Mr. Bishop left the Senate chamber without speaking to reporters.”

It’s unclear if the issue will be taken up on Tuesday, but clearly some Republicans are impressed with some of the nominees.

Here are the nominees:

FERRIS STATE
Edward Haynor
Larry Leatherwood

CENTERAL MICHIGAN
Ronald Edmonds
Kevin Kelley

WESTERN MICHIGAN
John Cakmakci
George Franklin

MICHIGAN TECH
Russell Gronevelt
Terry Woychowski

GRAND VALLEY STATE
Douglas Crim
Matthew Tomasiewicz

EASTERN MICHIGAN
Michael Hawks
Erane Washington-Kendrick

NORTHERN MICHIGAN
Larry Inman
Douglas Roberts

Republican hypocrisy is confirmed

With the news that Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, will unilaterally reject appointments Gov. Jennifer Granholm made to six university boards for terms that begin the day she leaves office you get an idea of the unprecedented crap she has had to put up with from the Senate.

Granholm made the appointments on April 7, and she followed previous precedent set by former Republican Gov. John Engler in making the same type of appointments. Engler made a number of appointments for board positions, including a number of cronies – including current and former department directors and closest advisers such as Community Health Director James Haveman, former Corrections Director Bill Martin, Treasurer Doug Roberts and legal counsel Lucille Taylor - right before he left office.

But the Senate Republicans completely neglected their duty of advise and consent during the Engler administration, and any Engler appointment was automatic. Not so with Granholm appointees, and each appointee had to go before the appropriate committee and then the full Senate for a vote.

Bishop said back on April 7 that he did not “really like the idea of this governor making appointments for the next governor,” but on Wednesday he officially affirmed that ridiculous position, and he wrote Granholm a letter to inform her of the “Republican caucus' decision to reject those appointments,” according to subscription only Gongwer. It's unclear when a vote will be held. That’s a vote, not the normal advise and consent hearings.

Not only that, but Bishop took it even farther and said that the Senate would reject any gubernatorial appointments made after September 3, as well as any appointments made prior to that date for terms that begin after September 3. Her term does not end until noon on Jan. 1. They will be rejected without a hearing.

Many of the appointees are Republicans, including Roberts, who Engler appointed to the Northern Michigan University board in the same procedure Bishop is rejecting out of hand.

The hypocrisy is just overwhelming, and Granholm press secretary Liz Boyd called them out on it.

“The governor's appointees are qualified, they have bipartisan support and they are entitled to a fair hearing on the merits that the Senate Republicans have promised from the beginning of the Granholm administration," Boyd told Gongwer. "They have assured us that they would not reject qualified candidates. ... This is about Senator Bishop using qualified appointees as partisan political pawns."

Hoyer is optimistic about Democratic chances in November

DETROIT -- House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland had a simple message for Michigan Democrats at the annual 2010 Jefferson Jackson Dinner Saturday night: if voters get the fact that the economy the Republicans ran into a ditch is slowly recovering and finally headed in the right direction, Democrats will do well in November.

"We need to ask them, do you want to elect a party that is turning the economy around, or do you want to vote in a party that created the worst recession since the Great Depression," Hoyer said. "Don’t let them forget that."

Hoyer said in the last month of the Bush Administration in January 2009, 779,000 jobs were lost, but the economy grew by 162,000 jobs last month. He also said don’t let voters forget Bush took a $5.6 trillion budget surplus and turned it into record deficit.

"The worst recession since the Great Depression; that’s what was on the plate for Barrack Obama and the Congress," he said. "The Republicans presided over the largest redistribution of wealth in history."

Michigan always feels any downturn in the economy first, feels it the hardest and comes out of it the slowest. Hoyer praised Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm for her work under such trying circumstances.

"Globalization hits us harder than any other state because we have so many manufacturing jobs," Granholm said. "The next person elected to this office, who ever they many be, does not have a magic wand either."

U.S. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, spoke about the pending financial reform legislation currently in the Senate that would try to prevent future economic crises by tightening government oversight of financial firms, regulate the complex derivatives market for the first time, create a new agency to protect consumers in the financial marketplace and grant the government broad new powers to seize and dismantle huge financial firms on the brink of failure if their collapse would threaten the economy.

Like the Republicans siding with insurance companies and trying to block health insurance reform, they are now protecting Wall Street, and in fact, we are hearing the same old crap from them, like "scrap the bill and start over.

"We’re going to put a cop back on the beat in Wall Street,” Levin said. “That disgusting greed put so many people out of their jobs and their homes and almost wrecked the economy, but we’re going to hold people accountable.”

Everybody on the panel had praise for U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, who has received obscene and threatening phone calls and faxes for his vote on the historic health insurance reform bill, and he has chosen not to run for reelection.

“He stood up for his principals, but he also did the right thing at a very angry time in this country,” Hoyer said. “I called him many times to ask him to run again. We need him and the country needs him, but I respect his decision.”

Fieger Time fires up the troops at MDP convention

DETROIT -- One important function of any political convention is to energize and fire up the troops, and super attorney Geoffrey Fieger did just that on Saturday at the first ever Michigan Democratic Party Endorsement Convention in Cobo Hall.

The 1998 Democratic Michigan Gubernatorial candidate spoke to a standing room only crowd at the Justice Caucus, and he hit on everything from the current budget situation to the Republican majority on the Michigan Supreme Court once known as the “Gang of Four.”

Fieger lost to former Governor John Engler in 1998, and the only candidate who won on the Democratic slate was current Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who won as Michigan Attorney General. Fieger said he was proud to have had a hand in selecting her as the AG candidate.

He pointed out Republicans have blamed her for all of the state’s economic troubles, despite it was the Bush Administration that ran the country into the worst recession since the Great Depression. Because Michigan has so many manufacturing jobs, Michigan feels any economic downturn, first hurts the worst and is the last state to come out of it. He asked how Granholm can be blamed for General Motors and Chrysler declaring bankruptcy.

“As you know, she walked into a deficit of $500 million that was left to her by Mr. Engler intentionally, intentionally,” he said. “She has never been able to get out from under that.”

Fieger said when the voters know the facts they will never vote for a Republican,and it’s up to the Democrats to get the facts out.

“Why anyone would vote for a Republican in this election cycle is beyond me,” he said. “It’s only possible by the complacency of the Democrats, and it’s only by the Democrats sitting on their keisters.”

He said he was amazed by the Republican gubernatorial field. He said “Twitter” Pete Hoekstra thinks the biggest issue facing Michigan is terrorism. He said Republicans always have to have a boogyman. The current one is terrorists, yet the country was not shut down and freedoms were not taken away after the Oklahoma City bombing, which occurred 15 years ago today.

“When I was a kid it was the communists; like the communists were going to invade Iowa or Montana, but the communists in China are OK,” Fieger said. “They will still take you into a stadium and shoot you in the back of the head in front of 10,000 people, but that’s OK.

“The communists in Cuba are evil, but they can’t hurt a fly, and they don’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

He took on the Michigan Supreme Court and especially Justice Bob “Sleepy” Young, who is up for reelection in November. He said Young was the former general counsel for AAA Insurance Co. and a friend of the Michigan chamber, and that’s why he rules for insurance companies more than 80 percent of the time.

“I, and other trial lawyers, represent the victims,” Fieger said. “We are the people’s warriors. Being a trial lawyer is more than my profession to me, I care about my clients.”

Fieger’s distaste for the Supreme Court is personal. On a radio appearance a few years ago he referred to the Michigan appellate judges as "jackasses" for overturning a $15 million medical malpractice judgment he had won. A lower court reprimand based on these comments was eventually upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court.

He also talked about his selective prosecution on campaign finance charges. In 2007, Fieger was indicted on federal charges of funneling illegal contributions to the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, and he was acquitted of all charges on June 2, 2008. He said Goldman Sachs employees were awarded for doing the same thing he was charged for, yet the Bush Administration went after him alone.

“All it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing,” he said.

Michigan can’t afford eight more years of the same old sleepy judge. Young was voted the worst justice on the Supreme Court by the magazine Michigan Lawyers Weekly, he supported drug company immunity when their drugs harm or kill and his decisions have protected polluters who despoil our waters.

“Those four justices never overturned a verdict in favor of an insurance company, and they never overturned a verdict against a criminal defendant,” Fieger said.

GOP hypocrisy trickles down to Michigan Senate Republicans

The hypocrisy of Republicans on display during the health insurance reform debate was stunning, and it now appears it is trickling down to the Michigan Senate Republicans.

Republicans were horrified that the Democrats were going to use reconciliation to get a bill passed that will reduce the budget deficit $130 billion in the first 10 years, but it was OK that former President Bush used reconciliation numerous times, including to give tax cuts to the richest 1 percent that helped create the current budget deficit. Republicans are also upset that President Obama recently bypassed the vacationing Senate and directly appointed 15 nominees that have been held up, but they forgot that Bush had already made 10 recess appointments by this point in his presidency and he made another five over the spring recess, including the disaster John Bolton.

Now, Senate Republicans are getting into the act, and they are upset that Gov. Jennifer Granholm recently made appointments to six public university boards that will take effect the day she leaves office, according to subscription only Gongwer.

"I don't really like the idea of this governor making appointments for the next governor," Gongwer reported Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop as saying. "It's not fair to the next administration, whoever that might be. I'm sure that our members are going to have that same concern about fairness."

Granholm press secretary Liz Boyd told Gongwer that the Governor has followed previous precedent in making the appointments and wants to ensure the university boards don't lack members after a new governor takes office. And what exactly is that previous precedent?

Former Republican Gov. John Engler made a number of appointments for board positions, including a number of cronies – including current and former department directors and closest advisers such as Community Health Director James Haveman, former Corrections Director Bill Martin, Treasurer Doug Roberts and legal counsel Lucille Taylor - right before he left office.

Understandably, Senate Democrats were upset, but being in the minority there was little they could do about it. According to a 2002 edition of Gongwer they called the appointments “inappropriate and said the subject was being researched.”

Engler claimed that the appointments were legal because under the constitution his term expires at noon January 1 while under statute the university board terms expire December 31, giving him a 12-hour window.

The Senate Democrats could not even speak out about it during the confirmation hearings or on the Senate floor because the Senate Republican had given up on its duty of "advise and consent" over gubernatorial appointments under Engler. In fact, the Republican-led body did not take a vote on appointees during the 12 years Engler was in office. Appointments are effective if not rejected by the Senate within 60 days.

Only after Granhom took office did the Senate resume its duty of advise and consent. The hypocrisy of Senate Republicans is stunning.

The 60 day clock is running, and it appears the Senate has until late May to decide whether to reject the appointments. Bishop told Gongwer he would refer the appointments to the Senate Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee.

Cox is called out on his attempt to gain political points

Michigan Attorney General and Republican Gubernatorial Candidate ‘Manoogian’ Mike Cox is being called out by the Governor on his blatant political move to join the lawsuit with 12 other Republican AG’s to challenge the constitutionally of the health care insurance reform bill signed into law by the President on Tuesday.

I’m not an attorney, but the Michigan Constitution does not say much abut the AG’s duties, other than its part of the executive branch of government. And, as such, the AG represents the governor and the people.

He’s certainly not speaking for the governor who supports the law, and he’s certainly not acting fro the citizens of Michigan who overwhelmingly voted for the President who was clear about his plan to reform the broken health care insurance system.

The Governor – a former AG - sent Cox a letter that specifically directs him to "intervene in the Florida litigation on behalf of the governor, the state of Michigan, and the Michigan Department of Community Health to uphold the recently enacted federal health care legislation and to protect and preserve the important protections afforded to our state and its citizens by the new law."

The letter went on further to say, "Your statutory authority does not, however, override the superior constitutional authority vested in the governor to determine the position to be taken by the executive branch of state government and certainly does not authorize you, as attorney general, to unilaterally, and without consultation, to determine and declare the policy position of the state of Michigan.”

The simple fact is the move was just to curry favor with the extreme teaqbaggers who control the Republican Party as Cox tries to win the primary election for Governor and has to play to the extreme base to get elected. The law is clearly constitutional.

Multiple provisions of the Constitution permit Congress to enact this reform legislation. As long ago as 1944, the Supreme Court held that the business of insurance fell within Congress’ regulatory authority under the Commerce Clause, as well as Congress’ authority to tax and spend for the general welfare. Nothing since undercuts the authority of Congress to legislate in this area. No provision of the Bill of Rights, or text found elsewhere in the Constitution, acts to prohibit Congress from enacting the healthcare reform legislation.

And legal commentators, including conservative scholars, are therefore uniformly saying that any lawsuit to stop it will undoubtedly fail. And in any event, the legislation only "compels" coverage in the sense that it places a tax on non-insured individuals. Is the federal government "compelling" me to buy a house, since as a renter I don't get the mortgage tax breaks? Is it "preventing" me from buying alcohol because it has a tax on alcohol? The conservatives are asking the judiciary to interfere in the political process, which they constantly claim to be against.

Business leaders back ‘two penny Jenny’ plan

Remember back in 2007 when Gov. Granholm proposed 2-percent sales tax on services as part of a plan to make-up a $3 billon shortfall, and Republicans went berserk and tagged her with the derogatory nickname, “Two-Penny Jenny?”

Well, it turns out she was right, and it was the best thing to do. Does that mean we can expect an apology from Republicans? Not likely.

Since September a group of so-called business leaders that tend to be the Republicans constituency known as “Business Leaders for Michigan” have been shopping around Lansing something known as the “Michigan Turnaround Plan.”

Business Leaders for Michigan is an organization “dedicated to making Michigan a "Top Ten" state for job and economic growth. The organization is composed exclusively of the chairpersons, chief executives or most senior executives of the state’s largest job providers.”

Part of their three-step 2010 Legislative Agenda includes adopting a 5.5 percent sales tax on services, reduce the sales tax we already pay on goods to the same 5.5 percent, eliminate the Michigan Business Tax surcharge (MBT) and reduce MBT gross receipts tax rate from .8 percent to .5 percent.

The Governor released her 2011 Executive Budget today, and one of the proposals is very similar to the CEO plan. This is directly from the press release:

“The proposal, which modernizes the tax structure to more adequately align with a 21st century economy, lowers the existing sales and use tax rates from 6 percent to 5.5 percent, expands the base of the sales and use taxes to include other services, eliminates the Michigan Business Tax (MBT) surcharge over two years, and reduces the gross receipts portion of the MBT over two years.”

That should be easy for the Republicans to get behind, as well as eliminate the “Two-Penny Jenny” references. Somehow, I doubt neither will happen.

The Governor wants the budget passed that takes effect on Oct. 1 done by July 1.

The Business Leaders for Michigan plan has some good stuff, but almost all of it benefits them at the cost of public employees. There is, of course, no sacrifice on their part.

Governor conspires to steal spotlight from L. Brooks

Those of us who follow Michigan politics are aware of the ego of Republican Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson, but the flap over the State of the State Address is surprising.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced last week that she will give the annual State of the State address on Feb. 3, but apparently, Patterson had also scheduled his state of the county in Pontiac on the same date.

The same thing occurred last year, and both speeches were held on Feb. 3. Granholm chose that date last year to ensure it did not conflict with the President’s State of the Union. It appears that date may have been chosen again this year for that reason. The State of the State is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 2.

But Patterson’s response is really outrageous. He is accusing the Governor of trying to upstage him. He told the Detroit News she did it on purpose. After all, the world revolves around Patterson.

“I’m not going to accuse the governor of picking the same date, but to quote Bogart ‘of all the gin joints in town.’ ” Patterson said the Detroit News.

I, and the Governor's scheduler, were unaware they had to run her schedule through Patterson’s staff.

You will also recall last year that the state’s most powerful radio station, WJR in Detroit, declined to carry the State of the State address in favor of Patterson’s speech. It could be forgiven if the great conservative voice of the Great Lakes had chosen to air the Wayne County State of the County speech over the Governor because the station is actually located in Wayne County, and it’s the largest county in Michigan. The problem there and the reason why that will never happen are because Wayne County Executive Bob Ficano is a Democrat.

It makes no sense that WJR does not have a single non-conservative voice on air despite broadcasting in one of the most Democratic cities in America from a state that has been blue since 1992.

It’s unclear if they will carry Patterson’s speech instead of the Governor’s State of the State this year. Last year they had an extra incentive to carry Patterson’s speech. Less than a month earlier in January 2009, Patterson announced he was a Republican gubernatorial candidate. He has since dropped out of the race, so we shall see if they air Patterson’s speech again over the State of the State.

Popular smoking ban bill signed into law

LANSING -- At an emotional and celebratory ceremony at the Michigan Brewery Co. Pub, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed House Bill 4377 into law making Michigan the 38th state to go smokefree.

HB 4377 will make all Michigan bars and restaurants smoke-free, including those within casinos, protecting the health of patrons and employees alike. The legislation will exempt the Detroit casino floors, cigar bars and tobacco specialty businesses. It will go into effect on May 1, though many bars and restaurants are expected to start the transition sooner than that.

It was a packed house at the ceremony, and many lawmakers were joined by health care advocates, as well as supporters and some parents who just wanted their children to see the historic event. The act is called the Dr. Ron M. Davis Law, and his widow, Nadine Davis, was also on hand at the ceremony.

“I have long supported a smoking ban that will protect employees, patrons and citizens from the dangers of secondhand smoke,” Granholm said. “This laws shows that the health of Michigan citizens is a top priority. We will create more smoke-free environments with this law, which will lead to a healthier state.”

Also speaking to the boisterous and happy crowd was Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, who has led a more than decade-long crusade in the Legislature to protect Michigan workers from dangerous secondhand smoke exposure.

“With the Governor’s signature today, workers around the state will soon be able to breathe a little easier,” he said. “A lot of people have been waiting for this day for a long time, and I am pleased that we were able to pass this law during my time here. While this finally moves Michigan in line with a majority of states around the country.”

Basham also said the first bill he introduces in 2010 will be a bill to make the Detroit casinos smokefree.

“There are still some employees who will have to work in smoke-laden environments, and I will keep fighting for them as well,” he said.

Studies have shown that nearly two-thirds of Michigan voters support a workplace ban that includes bars and restaurants. Data from the New York City Department of Finance shows that tax receipts increased by 8.7 percent, or approximately $1.4 million, after the city went smoke-free. Between March 2003, when the city went smoke-free, and December 2003 there were 10,600 new jobs in its bars and restaurants. Florida saw similar results, and reported that retail receipts for taverns and bars that served food remain unaffected by its smoke-free law.

Push poll ignores the fact that the Governor was sent a school aid budget bill that was not properly funded

The rightwing noise machine went into high gear after Gov. Jennifer Granholm vetoed $54 million from House Bill 4447, the School aid funding bill.

The money was cut for the 40, 20J or “hold harmless districts” that have higher funding levels than other school districts. The Governor also cut $127 cut per student as part of a proration that was dictated by shrinking revenues.

One example was a push poll on rightwing radio station WBCK in Battle Creek. It asks: “Why did Governor Granholm cut funding to schools more than the budget required?”

It seems like a reasonable question, until you look at the answers the poll provided. The real answer is that the Governor was sent a bill that was not properly funded. According to subscription only Gongwers:

“State officials have estimated that, including the $100 million in new revenue not yet enacted, the School Aid Fund budget as passed will be short $264 million for the current fiscal year.”

Instead of having that as one of the possible answers, it has three answers that attempts to influence the reader; the very definition of a push poll. Here are the false answers they provided:

She believes the schools are over funded.

She is playing politics with our children’s lives.

She feels the money is more needed for social programs (i.e. welfare programs).

Obviously, none of those things are true, but one has to get the most votes; leading people to believe the top answer is true.

I used the station’s email contact to ask them to include a legitimate choice in the poll. I got an email from some guy named Rink. Apparently, he is a local host that goes on before the usual lineup of rightwing hatemongers like Limbaugh, Hannity, Neal Boortz and Dennis Miller.

After some seven emails from him, he ignored the request. He said he “double checked and triple checked the poll and it is correct,” and then he made the false claim that he provide a source.

Livingston County’s state Legislative delegation spews GOP talking points in response to budget crisis

It was no surprise that Livingston County’s state Legislative delegation is against any new tax revenues to save essential programs, but the comments coming from them are still a little surprising.

The comments from freshman Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Brighton, were a little surprising. Rogers is a genuinely good guy in person, but his earlier pretense of being a bipartisan leader went quickly out the window following the budget process last month. Rogers was elected as the co-chair of the Freshman Caucus with the mission to foster friendship and cooperation that would address the problems facing Michigan. They even signed a pledge to cooperate even when they disagree.

Rogers told the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus on Sunday that it would be better if state government shut down. I’m not sure how putting some 50,000 people out of work would help the budget situation. He then said Gov. Jennifer Granholm “entered the budget debate at the zero hour, and that legislators on both sides of the aisle are enraged.”

That is simply not true. The Legislature Rogers is a member of approves budgets, not the Governor. She sent a recommended budget to the Legislature and they can accept or reject it. She was involved in the negotiations with the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader, but she did not agree with the agreement reached between the two to balance the budget with all cuts. Neither did many in Speaker Andy Dillon’s caucus.

Then he takes a ridiculous shot at the Governor: “Now she gets engaged? Maybe she should go back to Japan," Rogers added, referring to the governor's recent overseas business trip.” Maybe the Republicans should have stayed at the party in Mackinac just three days before the budget deadline.

The Governor has created a lot more jobs on mission trips than Bill Rogers has, and that includes his family business. The auto industry has shed jobs at an unprecedented rate because of the national recession, and the Governor has traveled far and wide with success to diversify the economy and bring new jobs to the state.

The fact is the economy is changing, but our tax structure has not. We are a service economy, yet there is no tax on services. That means every level of government has had to do more with less, yet the demand has increased.

Rogers and the Republicans continue to push the false argument that lower taxes equal economic growth, but we have cut taxes every year in Michigan for the past 15 years. They also buy into the false argument that Michigan is a high tax state. Simply not true.

The conservative Tax Foundation found Michigan has the 17th best business tax climate in the nation, up from 28th in 2006.

Bishop condones and encourages angry mobs

If there was any doubt that the disruptive, rude and intimidating behavior at townhall meetings is being caused by the lies and scripts provided by rightwing lobbying groups and Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop just confirmed it.

Bishop appeared on righting talk show host Frank Beckman’s show last week and condoned the angry mobs who have been disrupting and hijacking the townhall meetings of Democratic members of Congress, spurred on the lies and scripts provided by the health insurance lobby, rightwing lobbying groups and Republicans. Bishop went even farther by suggesting the angry mobs go after Gov. Granholm if the solution to the estiamnted $2.8 billon budget shortfall includes any sin tax increases.

With this Bishop involved, you know why budget negotiations are going so slow. The Governor, the Speaker of the House and Bishop are currently in closed door negotiations over the state budget. Part of the negotiations includes a number of rumored proposals to raise revenue to close some of that gap.

It’s obvious that bullying and intimidation is a favorite Bishop tactic. Just last week he officially justified the assault by Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw, on 72-year-old Sen. Irma Clark-Coleman, D-Detroit.

Michigan Democratic Chair Mark Brewer called Bishop out of those tactics, and pointed out that mob mentality and brawling are common themes with Bishop, recalling the brawl he was involved in on Mackinac Island a few years ago.

“We need to be having civil discussions on health care as we move toward reform,” Brewer said. “Condoning this mob behavior is despicable, but then again it’s coming from Mike Bishop, a practitioner of such tactics.”

You may recall that back in 2003 Bishop suffered a concussion, a chipped tooth, a facial cut requiring stitches and a battered nose after Bishop climbed into a horse-drawn taxi and told Aaron Kirk’s companion that she was too good to be with Kirk. Bishop admitted to telling Kirk’s companion, "You ladies ought to think twice about who you go out with at night. Police said that both combatants had been drinking, and that Bishop refused a breath test and that he declined to press charges.

Kirk got a year's probation after his no-contest plea to assault and a guilty plea to possession of marijuana and ecstasy.

This guy wants to be the chief law enforcement officer of Michigan?

Granholm announces more than14,900 jobs created and retained in michigan

LANSING – It’s rather quiet in Michigan’s Capitol with most lawmakers attending the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Summit in Philadelphia, but they are getting some good information.

On the heels of a budget proposal by the House Republicans that is nothing more than a PR move they can roll out for next year’s campaign that eliminates state spending on college scholarships, cuts welfare payments and cuts K-12 education funding by $100 per pupil, an economic panel on Wednesday said cutting state spending and pink-slipping employees could make the recession worse.

According to subscription only MIRS, David Wyss of Standard and Poor's, said the country is in the longest recession since the Great Depression. David Cohen of Comcast Corp. said that the recession's pressure on state and local governments means big budget cuts, which can worsen the downturn.

The Bush recession has led to people simply not buying new cars and other large purchases causing huge jobs losses for the auto industry - Michigan’s' largest employer by far - that has caused as huge ripple effect in the state. It is against that back drop of bad news that Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced on Tuesday that the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is helping seven companies grow in Michigan and is backing one alternative energy brownfield redevelopment project. Combined, the eight projects are expected to create 6,372 new jobs, retain 8,586 jobs and generate over $349.5 million in new investment in the state.

“Our aggressive economic strategy – combined with our competitive business climate and outstanding workforce – continues to generate new corporate investment and new expansion projects in Michigan despite a national recession,” Granholm said. “The projects announced today are the types of projects that will transform our economy and create good-paying jobs for our workers.”

The Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) board today approved state tax credits to win the following projects for Michigan over competing states and countries:

• Magna Seating – The automotive supplier of complete seat solutions and seat mechanisms plans to invest $18 million in a multi-product facility in Highland Park. The project will create 1,414 new jobs, including 420 directly by the company. The MEDC estimates increased economic activity created by the project will create an additional 994 indirect jobs. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the MEGA board today approved a state tax credit valued at $4.5 million over seven years to help convince the company to locate in Michigan. The city of Highland Park is considering abatement valued at $1.5 million in support of the project.
http://www.magnasteyr.com/xchg/complete_vehicle/XSL/standard.xsl/-/content/903_905.html

• Attwood Corporation – The marine parts and accessories supplier plans to consolidate the MotorGuide operations based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to its headquarters in Lowell. Both companies are divisions of Mercury Marine. This will be the second business consolidation in as many years for Attwood, with the previous consolidation of its Lancaster, Texas, operations to Lowell after the company received a MEGA credit in July 2008. The company plans to invest $2 million in the project, which will create 92 new jobs, including 51 directly by the company. The MEDC estimates increased economic activity created by the project will create an additional 41 indirect jobs. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the MEGA board today approved a state tax credit valued at $483,026 over seven years to help convince the company to expand in Michigan over competing sites in Georgia, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Mexico. The city of Lowell is considering a 12-year abatement to support the project.http://www.attwoodmarine.com/

• AVL Powertrain Engineering Inc. – The powertrain research and development company plans to invest $2.6 million to create a hybrid and alternative fuel development center in Ann Arbor to develop powertrains for electric vehicles. The project will create 76 total jobs, including 40 directly by the company. The MEDC estimates the increased economic activity created by the project will create an additional 36 indirect jobs. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the MEGA board today approved a state tax credit valued at $298,559 over five years to encourage the company to expand in Michigan over a competing site in California. The city of Ann Arbor is considering an abatement to support the project. http://www.avl.com/wo/webobsession.servlet.go?app=bcms&page=view&nodeid=400012976

• Molded Materials Inc. – The 40-year-old Michigan company that designs and manufactures tooling and molded composite components for the automotive, life sciences, defense and heavy truck industries plans to invest $2.9 million to consolidate its Plymouth operations to a new facility in Saline. The project is expected to create 69 new jobs, including 29 directly by the company. The MEDC estimates the increased economic activity created by the project could also create an additional 40 indirect jobs. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the MEGA board today approved a state tax credit valued at $420,388 over seven years to help convince the company to expand in Michigan over a competing site in Ohio. A tax abatement is also expected from the city of Saline to help this industry grow in Michigan. http://moldedmaterials.com/home.html

• Ventral Ionia – The producer of plastics, metals and mechanical assemblies for the automotive industry plans to invest $42 million to acquire four former Meridian Automotive facilities located in Ionia, Fowlerville and two in Kentwood. The project is expected to retain 3,126 jobs, including 934 directly by the company. The MEDC estimates the increased economic activity created by the project will retain an additional 2,192 indirect jobs. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the MEGA board today approved a state tax credit valued at $4.6 million over six years. The cities of Ionia, Fowlerville and Kentwood plan to support the project. http://www.flex-n-gate.com/

• Quicken Loans Inc. – The nation’s largest online lender and fifth largest retail mortgage lender in the United States plans to relocate its headquarters to Detroit, consolidating its executive, management, loan production, title production and administrative functions. The company plans to invest $240 million in the project, which will create 4,019 jobs, including 1,800 directly by the company. The MEDC estimates the increased economic activity created by the project will create an additional 2,219 indirect jobs. The project also is expected to retain 4,967 jobs, including 2,200 directly at the company and an additional 2,767 indirect jobs. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the MEGA board today approved a state tax credit valued at $18.1 million over 12 years to help win the project for Michigan over a competing site in Ohio. The MEGA board also approved a $29.1 million retention credit over 12 years to keep jobs in Michigan. The city of Detroit is considering local incentives to support the project. https://www.quickenloans.com/

• Continental Automotive Systems Holding US Inc. – State incentives have been approved to encourage the company to expand operations in Auburn Hills. The proposed $26.9 million project, pending company approval, is expected to create up to 230 new direct jobs. The MEDC estimates the increased economic activity created by the project will create an additional 322 indirect jobs. Based on the MEDC’s recommendation, the MEGA board today approved a 10-year state tax credit valued at $14.1 million to help convince the company to create new jobs in Michigan. In addition, the MEGA board approved a 10-year state tax credit valued at $10.3 million to encourage the company to retain approximately 225 Continental jobs and 268 indirect jobs in Michigan. The city of Auburn Hills is considering an abatement to support the project.http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/cas/cas/general/home/index_en.html

• Whitehall Township – State and local tax capture valued at $491,767 will support the redevelopment of the former Muskegon County Whitehall-Montague wastewater treatment plant. The developer will incorporate a number of activities, ranging from agriculture feedstock to cellulosic ethanol production to a recycling center and recreation areas. The energy produced at the site will be used to power the ethanol operations and other facilities on the property. The project will generate $13.3 million in new capital investment and is expected to create up to 150 new jobs.