Progress Michigan blog posts.
June is LGBT Pride Month and there is plenty to celebrate. In Michigan, we had a glimpse of the not-so-distant future when, for one weekend, marriage equality was a reality, the business community has finally called for amending the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections for LGBT citizens, and attitudes about marriage equality are…
Seriously, thank you, President Obama. Today is a historic day for our nation. A few hours ago the Obama administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced one of the strongest actions ever to fight climate change: A proposal to cut carbon pollution from the nation’s power plants by 30 percent by 2030. This…
Each year on Mackinac Island, hopeful candidates from around Michigan audition at the Lawmaker Scouting Combine before a veritable Who’s Who of business lobbyists, donors and reporters. Colloquially known as the Mackinac Policy Conference, the Combine lasts for three days, tickets can cost up to $2,575, and is pretty much mandatory for anyone on the…
After this week, I’m feeling somewhat harrowed. Now to progress! This Week in PM Blogging: Shots fired in the War on Women After the House Committee on Government Operations passed a laughable minimum wage substitute bill, the dust settled, the score was tallied and once again, conservatives proved that they’re leading the charge in the…
“How high?” Apparently, that’s the only question Gov. Rick Snyder asks the big business community when they demand something from him. Here’s a list of the jumping Snyder has done so far at the behest of the business lobby: -Gov. Snyder gave big business a $1.8 billion tax giveaway that came at the cost of a…
Today, the world is celebrating the life of Maya Angelou, and at Progress Michigan, we are doing the same. Angelou was an artist whose work couldn’t be separated from her courageous activism. She was major writer in large part because she was able to recognize how the specifics of the struggle against racism and sexism…
Conservatives claim that there isn’t a war on women but, as usual, their actions tell a different story. Over the last three weeks, conservatives in the legislature have been scrambling to push through a bill designed to silence the will of the voters and thwart a citizen-led effort to help hardworking women (and men!) get…
Everyone have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend. The only thing I ask is to remember why we have it. This Week in PM Blogging: A Penny Earned is a Penny Spent Wait, what? The sky won’t fall if we raise the minimum wage? It will actually help create jobs? A new report puts…
This Memorial Day weekend, as you’re hitting potholes on your drive up north, you can share the blame between the Michigan legislature and Terri Lynn Land’s years of government inefficiency for your imminent auto repair bill. Terri Lynn Land likes to talk about the “importance of efficiency” and how she made decisions to save taxpayer…
I was at the House Government Oversight Committee meeting today where lawmakers were taking testimony on SB934, a bill that would scuttle the efforts of the Raise Michigan Coalition to give families a wage that would help lift them out of poverty. This bill is not about raising the wage. It’s about undermining the voice…