Will The Courser Gamrat Scandal Get In The Way Of A Road Package ? NO.

Nobody cares about them. But this is what WILL keep blocking any progress, as September 2015 ends with no Road Funding Solution in Michigan in sight!

The Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat scandal was such a big deal it even got national news coverage.

What adulterous sex ? What government scandal ? Who Me ?

At first they were innocent - they said. Or just being picked on by the republicans in Lansing who simply did not like them - they said. Well finally they either quit or were thrown out of their jobs. Good - we said.

We screwed up (literally) but give us our jobs back !

Then, surprise surprise, they flip-flopped, turned around (or over) and said to the astonishment of the whole state, that they wanted the voters to decide if they were good enough to be part of Michigan government again and would run for the vacant offices they got canned from or ran out of !


All through this the question has been: 'Will this whole crazy affair get in the way of the legislators in Lansing doing their jobs?' Particularly the job of coming up with and passing a Real Road Funding solution.

All I can say is that here it is, about a month after we thought they were gone from the state capital building and government, and there is NO clear road funding solution in sight. Guess there is more to the problem with the (un)lawmakers than the Gamrat - Courser pantie party (I say pantie only, not pantie & boxer party, because Courser seems to have wanted us to believe he was into that sort of thing). 

So what else can the problem be? What else? I'll tell you what else.

Michigan law states it is the responsibility of Michigan lawmakers to give us Safe Roads.

691.1402 Repairing and maintaining highways...Each governmental agency having jurisdiction over a highway shall maintain the highway in reasonable repair so that it is reasonably safe and convenient for public travel...
- Michigan Compiled Laws, Act 170 of 1964

Yet they do not do that in Lansing. Period.

The people we pay to make laws, don't. The people who swore to uphold the Michigan constitution and Michigan laws, won't. They simply will not. The failure in Lansing over the last decade is my proof, viz Michigan roads.

Let me try to be a little more specific and give a few examples.

First is Michigan senator Mike Kowall, republican 15th Senate District.

In a September, 2013 newspaper article* he stated: 'There are significant differences of opinion regarding the amount of funding necessary to maintain our roads...', and 'I don’t think increasing gas prices is an effective way to raise the money needed to maintain our roads.'**

Well, he apparently was in favor of raising the sales tax instead.

So about June of 2015 he came out in favor of the "Fixing MI Roads initiative", which allowed for an increase in the sales tax AND "New revenue would come from a gradual gas and diesel tax increase..." and "also would implement a fee schedule and additional taxes on alternative fuels."

Talk about your flip-flop.

Now this is not to disparage Senator Kowall. He has done several things in office that I have been very happy with. In one instance his office helped me out personally. Good job.

However the above is meant to make a point. While compromise is necessary to come up with a comprehensive, long term solution, and solve the extremely important issue - how to Fix Our Roads, vacillating on a position regarding how to do it is not conducive to an end to the problem.

Second example is Michigan state representative Jim Runestad, republican 44th district.

Again and again, many if not most of those who make the laws in Michigan have acknowledged that we will need More Revenue to fix our disastrous roads, and get them into the condition they should be in, or at least be "
reasonably safe and convenient for public travel", as the law already REQUIRES.

Mr. Runestad won his seat in the house by running a no new taxes - less taxes campaign.

Then in a July 2015 article in the Spinal Column, Mr. Runestad stated he "will continue to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate during the summer to come up with a plan for Michigan’s future to ensure that we have smooth roads and solid bridges that will enable families and commerce to safely travel across our state."

Good for him. That is what the law requires him to do and why we hired him.

Yet amazingly he goes on to say in that same article... "Transportation has been ignored for too long, and we must make the tough decisions necessary to fix our roads without raising taxes." and "I will not support any tax increase of any kind. We can achieve our goal of sustainable funding without adding to the tax burden of Michiganders."

REALLY!? How does he intend to perform that bit of magic? 

All he has to do is get rid of "all fraud-riddled state funding, the Earned Income Tax Credit to come up with what is needed to fix our roads"

So he will get the working poor to each give up a few hundred dollars a year to fix the roads instead of buying, oh say, FOOD. And he imagines that will make a noticeable contribution to the $1.5 Billion plus needed EACH YEAR to fix and maintain our roads.

So much for people with realistic plans to Fix Our Roads. Idiotic.

Finally, third is a "Guest View" article in the small newspaper The Spinal Column which presents a more realistic plan (not).

The September 16, 2015 issue "Guest View" was written by Michigan Representative Kathy Crawford, R-38th district.

 

She said after an August 2015 12-hour session on the floor of the Michigan State House to vote on a road package that she was "disappointed that we could not move forward, but not surprised since a long-term road funding plan has been debated for decades"

Has she given up? Yes, and here is why: It is 'not efficient for all of us to be involved... we submitted ideas to leadership,...no one will be completely in favor of the final outcome...I will reserve my comments for the road plan agreed upon at the conclusion of these intense negotiations...' she said - just in case you had the stupid idea of asking her opinion now.

Sounds to me like she is a "sit back and wait to see what happens" represenative. News flash. Not getting involved is no way to get things done.

And there you have it. Just three examples as to why we are out of September, 2015 and Still No Road Funding Plan. NONE. Nothing. Zip.

The only thing I can think of to write about from here on out is the lawyers starting to advertise for road damage and injury cases and the websites helping you fill out the forms needed to get the state to pay for damage to yours and my vehicles. Where will that money come from? The road fund of course. Just sayin'.

Drive Careful,
Will








* Articles where quotes were taken from are available on request. Just use the "Contact Will Branning" section of this website. I'm just too tired of typing out all of the different places these rediculous gems are to be found. Call me a bad journalist.

** Italics mine. Probably because what was said really pisses me off.