In a clip that has been vehemently passed around Facebook this past week, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow is seen weighing in on Gov. Rick Snyder and his new tax proposals and his subseqent efforts to revamp the state’s emergency financial manager law.

The bottom line to take away from that clip: Michigan is indeed screwed and democracy as we know it is being kicked to the curb. (You can watch the full clip below.)

Now, if we could all take a minute to collectively breath and shake off the hysteria, I’d like to share today’s columns from the Freep and Detroit News that address the two issues of business taxes and the financial manager law.

On cutting business taxes

The Detroit News editorial board points out that, in the midst of all the shouting and ballyhoo, a major point has fallen on deaf ears. Cutting business taxes and simplifying the Michigan Business Tax is meant to create jobs and put Michiganders back to work.

Adding jobs to reduce Michigan’s 10.1 percent unemployment rate — that’s the official rate; the real number is likely much higher — is as crucial a priority as providing a quality education, maintaining roads, manning prisons or any other function of state government.

What that means is that the plan shouldn’t be viewed as a tax break for business as much as a bailout for Michigan’s beleaguered workers in the form of more jobs and better pay.

Read the full editorial here.

On the hysteria surrounding financial managers

The Freep’s Stephen Henderson points out the weaknesses of the state’s current “rubric” for dealing with these types of emergencies which explains why cities like Pontiac and school districts like DPS were so far gone by the time emergency financial management stepped in.

For years, local governments and school districts have been able to walk right up to the brink of financial disaster without any intervention from the state. So when state officials do rush in, they face horrific conditions with too few options for balancing the books.

The state’s current rubric for dealing with financial emergencies is weak to the point of flaccidity. Legislators are right to firm up the consequences of inaction.

 Henderson does acknowledge, and rightfully so, the fact that the plan does indeed tread on the democratic process and calls for tweaks to those aspects of the proposal. Henderson also addresses the critics claiming the proposal is an attempt by the right to take over.

That’s not to say the current proposal is perfect. Wiping out elected officials, as both the House and Senate versions call for, is decidedly anti-democracy...But overall, fixing the law makes good sense. And it’s overdue, given the number of jurisdictions in financial trouble.

It’s also worth noting, for the benefit of those who characterize this effort as some right-wing attempt to take over the state’s cities, that most of these ideas come from Dillon, a Democrat, who was talking about them well before he was appointed to Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s cabinet.

Read the full column here.

What say you? Weigh in on the discussion and leave a comment.

In today’s The State News, my friend and colleague Kyle Campbell wrote a great a column on what the future success of Detroit means to the entire state of Michigan.

We heard several times over from the campaign trail, from now Governor-elect Rick Snyder, about how he believed the state would be successful going forward only if Detroit shared a stake in that success. For a gubernatorial candidate, let alone one running as a Republican, to give so much attention to the city of Detroit was unprecedented and definitely caught my attention.

Campbell goes on to address the issue of urban sprawl, an issue that has no doubt been discussed many times over. But it’s worth mentioning again simply due to the sheer magnitude of the problem because, quite frankly, if we can’t get urban sprawl under control and get people relocating back into the city, I don’t see Detroit regaining a solid foothold.

Although it now boasts a bevy of problems — unemployment, failing schools, crime — all these issues stem from the same common trend: unbridled urban sprawl.

If Snyder truly wants to fix Michigan, he must reverse that trend.

The column is a well-written and thoughtful look at some of the major issues facing the city. You can read the entire column here.

Nolan Finley of the Detroit News had great column Sunday discussing the possibilities of an alliance between Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and Michigan’s Governor-elect Rick Snyder in the wake of a congratulatory letter Bing recently sent to Snyder.

Going forward, Finley cites that a partnership between these two men is something that can only help bridge the divisive divide that has, for too long, separated the city of Detroit from the rest of the state.

Bing has said several times over that Michigan will not succeed unless Detroit succeeds. During his gubernatorial campaign Snyder shared similar sentiments about the city and what it’s future success would mean to the entire state.

Bing says of Snyder, “I expect us to be partners in turning around the state. And the state won’t get better without Detroit.”

In the letter, Bing approaches Snyder as a partner, not a supplicant, offering his help in applying “business principles to the operations of city and state government.”

Nowhere in the note does Bing ask for a hand-out.

I’m extremely optimistic (what else is new), but for good reason. Rick Snyder and Dave Bing represent what I truly believe to be post-partisan politics. Snyder, who is a moderate and Bing, who has very little if any ties or loyalties to the Democrats are Michigan and Detroit’s best bet going forward. 

I’ll be anxiously watching and waiting and hoping. Read the entire column here.

Michigan Governor-elect Rick Snyder                          Detroit Mayor Dave Bing