Michigan’s Tea Party congressional delegation failed every single Michigander by voting to send the U.S. into default. Why would they do such a thing? Simple: cowardice. Immediately following the deal to avert default and end the senseless government shutdown, FreedomWorks CEO Matt Kibbe promised primary challengers for House Republicans who voted for the plan, saying…
The Republican party is in disarray and their brand is badly damaged, sporting their worst poll numbers in the history of poll numbers. Days after supporting the shutdown, several members of Michigan’s Republican Congressional delegation heeded Progress Michigan’s call to return, donate, or withhold their salaries while federal employees are furloughed. Rep. Dan Benishek is…
Last week on Off the Record, Chad Livengood suggested that plenty of groups, including ones like Progress Michigan, utilize the tax code to shield their donors just like the Governor Rick Snyder’s NERD Fund. He added, “It’s interesting that the governor — and maybe even the Michigan Republican Party — have not gone on the offensive…
Today, the Snyder administration announced they will hear objections raised over the bidding process to privatize Michigan’s food service program. The contract was awarded to Philadelphia-based Aramark. In 2005, the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency settled with Aramark for $2.4 million in a dispute involving the company breaking the law to avoid paying unemployment insurance taxes. Aramark’s…
Governor Rick Snyder sold himself as an outsider: someone who would break through the partisan gridlock that had gripped Michigan, while making government more transparent, responsive and accountable to Michiganders. Snyder’s “simple, fair and efficient” solutions would reinvent Michigan’s economic motor and bring with them “more and better” jobs. As evidence of his nerdiness and…
When Tea Party activists bested their GOP brethren and passed Medicaid expansion without immediate effect – costing Michigan taxpayers up to $630 million – they weren’t saving money in the “classic” sense. No, they were saving money in the modern-we’re actually losing money-sense. Similarly, as One Weak Geek signed the first major tax increase in…
Monday, while working Michiganders struggled to make ends meet, Gov. Snyder was being wined and dined at a luxury steakhouse in Beijing. Meals on Snyder’s China junket have lasted three hours and included everything from eel to white chocolate flower petals that blossomed when marinated in hot chocolate. In the background of this video, you…
When a coalition of state employee unions asked Snyder if they could negotiate everything at once and save Michigan taxpayers money in the process, One Weak Geek said no. Why? Because in Michigan your opinion only matters if you’re incorporated. Think about it: We gut our education budget and started taxing folks living on fixed-income…
Can’t afford to pay for school lunches? Didn’t fill out the proper paperwork? Today, Fox News recommended throwing the meal away as a “teaching moment.” This kind of thinking is popular among those trying to privatize Michigan’s public education system. Aside from embarrassing students in front of their classmates, the only reason to promote such…
When people pride themselves on being fiscally conservative, you expect them to be fiscally conservative. So when Tea Party crackpots bested their establishment brethren and passed Medicaid expansion without immediate effect, costing Michigan taxpayers $630 million in the process, we were shocked. Much like launching missiles into Syria isn’t going to war in the “classic…