by Sue Douglas
Proposal 1 Will Cost Average Michigan Household Up to $525 a Year in Extra Taxes
From Capitol Confidential at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy
“…of which $1.3 billion would go to funding public roads.”
NO. $1.3 billion is going to “transportation” after specific allocations are taken off the top. Of the remaining funds, 79% goes to roads and bridges. Of that 79%, 39% stays at M-DOT for State Highways, 39% is divided up between the County Road Commissions and the remaining 22% is divided up between cities.
Also, the Legislature has been making special allocations to M-DOT for the past couple of years. From what I’ve seen, those legislative appropriations will cease.
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I read Act 51 today and guess what? There is a priority list in it on what gets funded and when. You have to get to item “j” before the required required formula kicks in for road and other transportation funding. Beats me what 79% of the amount that is left after the first 10 priorities are met is!
The big falsehood that is floating around out there is that 100% of the money from the gas tax will go to roads. Not. It will go to transportation after the first 10 items are funded. Then 79% of what’s left goes to roads.
“(j) The balance of the Michigan transportation fund as follows, after deduction of the amounts appropriated in subdivisions (a) through (i) and section 11b:
(i) 39.1% to the state trunk line fund for the purposes described in section 11.
(ii) 39.1% to the county road commissions of the state.
(iii) 21.8% to the cities and villages of the state.”
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I sent Ballotpedia an email a few days ago about the new polls. I heard back from them on Monday and they thanked me and said that they were checking out the information. When I went and checked, the new numbers had been added.
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I went through the House analysis of the approved package of eight bills that were tie-barred to Prop 1 as adopted by the House and the Senate and signed by the Governor. There are things here that I hadn’t seen before.
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Michigan Companies Enjoying Snyder Tax Cuts Donate $3.2M To Tell Taxpayers To Vote Against Their Own Interests – from the Up North Progessive
Well, at least this show’s that the NO vote has bi-partisan support – for all the wrong reasons but… he fails to mention the Democrats major roll in causing this mess to land on the voters’ plates.
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Funny. Lansing insists that there is no Plan B but they have no Plan A showing specific road & bridge spending for the new ‘transportation’ money if they get it.
And, if the roads are so dangerous that the governor has to run around with a chunk of concrete, why is the priority for the first two years to pay down M-DOT’s debt and just toss a few dollars at some unidentified roads and bridges? That really doesn’t show that there is any real sense of urgency to fix our dangerous roads and bridges, does it?
Voters’ distrust is killing Proposal 1 by Brian Dickerson The Detroit Free Press
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Great Editorial! I wish that the media on my side of the State had the courage to take your stand.
If all of the money were going to roads and bridges, I’d have no problem supporting it. But, you’re right it amounts to nothing more than extortion topped off with a lot of deception.
I can’t wait to see the yes campaign’s tactics over the next few weeks.
Vote NO on May 5th.
Editorial: Prop 1 a referendum on trust, not our roads The Battle Creek Enquirer
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