Progress Michigan blog posts.

Welcome to Never Never Land

Welcome to the land of nonsensical decisions, where the tyranny of the minority is holding countless people hostage in a logistical standoff. The federal government shutdown has lasted one week, with neither side appearing to back down. When do Republicans want to end this nonsense? Even they’re not sure. This past week, one thing has…

This is what you call working?

On Friday, Progress Michigan made a call to Michigan’s Congressional Delegation to either return or donate their paychecks during the government shutdown. Why? Because if federal employees don’t get a paycheck then it only makes sense for the people who made this happen not to get paid either. However, Rep. Tim Walberg has continued to…

Put your money where your vote is

Progress Michigan is calling on our state’s Congressional Delegation to donate or return their salaries in the wake of the federal government shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees are going without pay while Republican demagogues use the opportunity to advance their political gamesmanship with radical elements of their party. If federal workers aren’t collecting…

Privatizing and prisons don’t mix

After I told one of my friends — who happens to be a corrections officer at a state prison — about Governor Rick Snyder’s plan to privatize prison food services, his response was short, but spoke volumes. He sighed and said, “You don’t mess with prisoners’ food.” Indeed, in the highly-regimented life of a prisoner,…

Forbes on Michigan: 47th out of 50

Governor Rick Snyder’s recent campaign ad brands the former Gateway CEO as “One Successful Nerd” and claims “50th out of 50? No way and never again.” Well, according to Forbes’ “Best States for Business” list, Michigan isn’t 50th out of 50, but it’s pretty darn close. Forbes’ annual rankings had Michigan’s business climate ranked 47th…

One Weak Geek puts profits over people

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…

What the frack is he talking about?

Alex Epstein, a fossil fuel junkie and founder of The Center for Industrial Progress was recently on Fox News where he gave a glowing review of fracking and how it’s actually “incredibly good for the environment.” Yes, you read that correctly. He said it’s “incredibly good” for our natural world. During his short time on…