Vote No On Proposal 1 - It Will Cost You Less

Know What Proposal 1 Will Really Cost? 

 

Do you hate driving on our lousy Michigan roads? What's more, do you hate having to pay big repair bills caused by our lousy Michigan roads?

I do. Last year I spent hundreds of dollars on each of two vehicles to repair damage directly caused by hitting potholes on my local roads. Passing Prop. 1 is supposed to stop that cost with smooth roads all over the state. Really?

In fact, a well researched report cited by The Michigan Transportation Team (MTT) states that Michigan drivers pay an annual average of $357.00 in bad-road-related repairs. 

Now an AP report has come out saying that the average cost to taxpayers in Michigan if Proposal 1 is approved can be as high as $545.00 per household next year.

If voters approve a measure on Michigan's May 5 ballot to improve roads and bridges, the $2.1 billion tax hike would average $545 per household in 2016 — or $45 a month — according to calculations by The Associated Press.

The number is an average of course, however it is one that can not be ignored. There is going to be a cost to fix our roads. Just seems the lawmakers we hired do not want to be the ones to do it, raise the money themselves. Not good on their resume when they to go be re-elected.

And related to whats real and what's not, A new 60-second ad supporting the Proposal 1 road funding plan has several exaggerated claims, according to a Detroit Free Press analysis.

A proposal to raise the state sales tax and dole out the money where ever is not a solution to the problem we are talking about. Lousy Michigan roads. What is needed is a well thought out solution. Not one thrown together hours before the end of a fruitless legislative session on the important subject. I am still frustrated that there is no REAL talk about a "Plan B". A road plan, not a money grab.

So before you vote on Proposal 1 on May 5th, make sure you get all the facts. I have and I know how I will vote, you know :~) ?

More in a bit. The voluptuous lady has not sung yet.

Drive Careful,
Will

What Will May 5th Mean For Us In Michigan ?

Will Proposal 1 spell the end of the World?

Do you believe in fate? Even if I did, I would not know how to translate this. One of those things that could mean one thing or another.

World Ending? Or Another Session In Lansing?

I recently found out that the lease I have on this website name, "www.potholeparadise.com" ends on, you guessed it, May 5th.

Of course I have made sure to renew it for a few more years, but that is a funny and interesting fact. When I got it, I certainly had no idea that a lame duck legislature would pass the buck of fixing our roads to the people they work for, especially in a complicated proposal with all sorts of special interest goodies added on and for nothing less than a permanent sales tax increase! All to be voted on May 5th.

So then, is May 5th the last day anything needs to be said about fixing Michigan roads? Will all things be as they should be as we drive around our beautiful state, and we'll never have to worry about the issue again? All after May 5th?

Let's face it. There is no Santy Clause, Easter Bunny or Man in the Moon. Get it?

Now it seems that polls are showing that the proposal is doomed. All the while people like Roger Martin with the Safe Roads Yes campaign says, “We’ve never had a May, off-year, single-ballot-issue election ever in the history of Michigan,” and so “For that reason and other reasons, we put absolutely no stock in any of the polls taken so far.”

Yeah, OK. Polls don't mean a thing. Not even several. One after the other. Still it seems like a "Plan B" would be in order about now.

And that is another thing. Even when the proposal was first approved to the dismay of so many, no "Plan B" was discussed. As if the lawmakers just laid the egg and then stuck their heads in a hole. I think that was and is a bad decision.

But some are talking about a Plan B, especially with the probability of defeat of Prop. 1. One web article I read discussed some options: There is no Plan B? Here are four viable options…

Get this. That article is on a web site called 'SayNoToHigherTaxes.org' . Talk about a great web site name. What with all the tax issues in all the states in the U.S.A., and they got that name!? And, it seems to deal mainly with the Michigan Road Issue. They better check and make sure That name doesn't run out on May 5th !! That's all I can say.

Anyway, there is certainly more to come on this subject which we all face every day we drive. How to Fix Our Roads in Michigan. May 5th will not fix anything.

And - don't forget to get your FIX OUR ROADS bumper sticker. I'm sure they will still be good and meaningful after the 5th :~)

Drive Careful,
Will

The More I Know, The More I'll Vote No

It's Not Just A Road Repair Bill

How much do you know about the Michigan May 5 ballot proposal to raise the Michigan sales tax from 6% to 7% ?

If you know as much as I do, than the people that want it passed are probably afraid of you.

That's because in a recent poll commissioned by the political news service MIRS, it stated. “Fifty-five percent of voters say if today the election was held they would vote ‘no’ against it,” said Ed Sarpolus with Target Insyght. And what's more, “When we actually read the ballot language, how it will appear on the ballot, the support drops from 55 percent to 65 percent ‘no,'” Sarpolus said.

For example did you know that the money raised by the increased sales tax will not all go to to future road repairs?:

• The package, as intended, is projected to pay down $865 million in debt in fiscal year 2016 while increasing funding for state and local road agencies by $368 million.
• In fiscal year 2017, $467.5 million would be used for debt payments while $764 million would go to roads.

Not until 2018 will the full intended amount go to new roads and ongoing road repairs.