Come Heller high water …
- A new report says 20 percent of Michigan’s state-maintained roads are in poor condition. I think I speak for 110 percent of all Michigan drivers when I say “Ha ha ha.” Twenty percent is about 60 percentage points shy of the truth. I’m convinced the people who do these studies either don’t live here or fly to work.
Nasty little truth: We could have better roads if – shocking concept dead ahead – we paid more in taxes. Just saying. Until then, well, don’t gripe. (I can gripe because I am willing to pay more. It’s called the collective good.)- I had one of those “You know you live in Michigan” moments today when I was simultaneously thinking about tuning the mower to cut the grass this weekend and gassing up the snow blower for tomorrow’s snow. The state Legislature should do something useful for a change (rather than, say, making it even easier to walk around armed) and ban winter weather after April 1.
- President Trump’s approval rating dipped to 35 percent this week, the lowest ever for a new U.S. president. Somewhere, George W. Bush is doing a fist pump and saying, “See, I told ya someone worse would come along.”
- Fifty two percent of Americans also say they are embarrassed to have Trump as president, according to the poll. And that’s just after two months. Wait ‘til he really gets cranked up. I’m waiting for the poll that asks, “Should America take a mulligan on the last presidential election?” That’d be about an 80/20 split in favor, I figure.
- Trump is going to donate his first quarter salary to the National Park Service. Unless, of course, he eliminates it altogether. It’s early yet.
- Someone anonymously returned a book to a New Jersey library this week that was 50 years overdue. You can see why they didn’t want to do it in person. “Here’s your book back.” “And here’s your $64 million overdue book fine and four hour stern lecture.”
- Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said yesterday the U.S. will have “no comment” on the latest North Korean missile launch. Of course he might have been stalling until he locates North Korean on a map, North Korea not being a major oil producer. Someone get this guy a copy of “The Interview,” which, by the way, was an underrated comedy that also has one of the best tank scenes (as in Army tanks) ever.
- I’m a big fan of tanks. When I was commuting for a living, I wished for one every single day.
- Some people say The Masters is the true start of spring. Not so. The true start of spring is when I take my first nap of the long season while watching the Tigers on TV. That moment has yet to happen. But it’s coming.
- My lawn’s a wreck this spring, and I’d use a lawn service but the last one I used over-communicated with me to the point where I wanted to pave over the yard. Look, people, I don’t want a relationship. I just want a lawn service, OK?
- Have you ever once read a teaser headline online that lived up to its billing? Me either. And yet I’m frequently drawn in, most recently on one that promised “horrifying” submarine photos the Titanic. There, of course, was nothing even remotely horrifying. Nor interesting. But I clicked through 40 photos anyway. Dummy.
- “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” – George Washington.
Image credit: EsriZA
It amazes me that you Liberals give Donald Trump no credit whatsoever for his six tours of duty in Vietnam, when he led his platoons of American soldiers through the fetid snake-infested jungle swamps, to kill America’s enemies and their grannies and kids.
Lt. Trump and his colleagues Lt. Cheney and Lt. Calley get no credit from you nor from your ilk for their service and sacrifice to preserve sacred South Vietnamese democracy and our American freedoms.
Not to mention Air Force Lt. G.W. Bush’s patriotic service for America!
Your Liberal disparagement of our President is offensive to every red-blooded, empty-headed, wrong-hearted American dipstick knee-jerk “patriot!”
They all paled in comparison to Marine Corps General Barrack Obama.
Barack Obama was a young kid during Vietnam.
He was a seven star general in the first Gulf war.
Enough of the BS liberal “if only we paid more in taxes, everything would be Nirvana” claims. Michigan roads need regular repairs because of the following reasons.
1. Michigan has vicious freeze/thaw cycles which are brutal on roads.
2. Michigan primarily uses salt to treat our winter roads which is corrosive to both blacktop and concrete.
3. Michigan has high traffic volume of heavy semi trucks due to our industrial and manufacturing assets.
Andy Heller – If paying more in taxes is the answer, than you lead by example. Voluntarily pay an extra $20k in MI state income taxes. Post your returns as proof. Nobody is stopping you from walking the liberal walk.
Dumb argument. Michigan is the only state that has these issues? Cross into any border state and its like night and day. Michigan roads suck because Snyder gives our money in the form of tax breaks to all his corporate buddies.
Have you ever driven to Ohio Working Dad? In Michigan before you cross the state line you would swear your axles on your vehicle is going to fall off. Cross the state line and the roads are smooth as silk. None of the points you made pass the test of why are roads are so crappy. If you want good roads you have to pay for them, there is no way around it.
While you’re observations listed in #1 to #3 are absolutely correct, you are wrong to criticize Andrew for being willing to pay more taxes to repair and improve roads because he too is absolutely correct that more road funding is needed and we should share in that cost as it benefits all of us—citizens and businesses. I too would be willing to pay more tax to improve our roads and reduce repair costs to our cars—pay me now or pay me later. After all, what other taxpayer-funded, government-provided service do most people use every single day but roads?
As a 27-year finance director, now retired, for a county road commission in mid-Michigan I can attest to the fact that roads in Michigan have been under-funded for many years, starting with the Engler administration. As our revenues steadily dropped and costs for materials steadily rose over the years, we spent a lot of years struggling to just do routine maintenance and much-needed repairs let alone improvements such as rebuilding and paving roads. We did all the things that private businesses do when their revenues are down—reduce the workforce, temporary layoffs, freeze wages, reduce benefits, require employees to pay more for benefits—the only thing is the public rarely hears about it when local governments do these things.
The last state-required annual financial report that I did was for the year ending 9/30/2012, and it showed that our main source of funding, the Michigan Transportation Fund (MTF), which comes from state gas taxes collected by the state, had dropped to the level we had received 10 years prior in 2002. In addition, Federal Aid funding, which is used for major road improvements, also decreased due to decreasing federal gas tax revenues during the same period. During that same time period, the price of asphalt used to patch potholes and pave roads had doubled, not to mention the increased price of fuel to run trucks, the cost of gravel and signs and everything else to do the jobs that road commissions and MDOT are required to do. And before you say it, we (RCs and MDOT) long ago privatized whatever made financial sense to do so.
Lastly, as one of those nasty liberals that drive conservatives crazy I’ll proudly say that I have no problem paying reasonable taxes, because I look at it as paying dues for the privilege of belonging to and living in this great country.
Thank You for your words. If some would look back a little over 4 months ago when our registrations fees for our vehicles increased by 20% and Snyder’s redoing of the gas tax increase by $.07 per gallon, all this is suppose to go for road repair. So all of us, liberals and conservatives are paying more in taxes for road repair, I just wonder how much of the increases will actually go to the roads.
You’re right to wonder, Jake. You can guarantee it’ll get siphoned off somewhere. The slow drip of road repairs is amazing. Have you seen the I-75 project through Oakland? It’s scheduled to take another 13 years minimum. Thirteen years! I commuted that stretch every day for 3 years. The idea of 13 years of slow-downs is amazing. http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2016/08/15/i-75-rebuild-starts-monday/88638126/
Andy Heller – Will you be providing document proof that you have voluntarily paid extra state taxes?
I am sure he will. Right after trump releases his taxes.
Minnesota roads are great all the way up in Duluth and into the Iron Range. They must not have any thaw freeze issues there.
I have a question for you Andy. If someone spreads a lie, such as fake news, why can’t they be sued?
It seems to me that would clean up this fake news crap. Only the Trumpster could spread manure
because he’s protected by being el presidentee.
Hard to sue sweaty trolls in Russia.
Not all Michigan roads are awful. Go “up north” where giving people jobs repaving roads that don’t need it substitutes for welfare payments. Only roads in the lower half of Michigan suck.
Might be because they get used 24/7 versus the seasonal use of the top of the state.
Not so, Judith.The roads suck the same, there are just fewer of them and they’re not as heavily traveled.
Andrew,
I thought that you did not really believe in polls anymore.
I can agree with you that about 80% of the roads are not in good condition.
They seem to be even worse in areas where the local leaders are democrats.
It does not matter how much in tax money that is sent to Lansing each year,
it will not be enough. Legislators, does not matter which party, always crying that
they do not have enough money.
As to the polls that claim that President Trump has a low approval rating, I would remind you that the same pollsters that claimed the hilliary would easily win the election were wrong.
I am not happy with every thing that President Trump has done.
NEWS FLASH: IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP USES RUSSIAN SALAD DRESSING ON HIS SALADS. That is a sure sign that the Russians are influencing his presidency.
This is a major news item to the mam like abc, cbs, nbc and the other media news outlets.
The following item is being ignored by the about media outfits.
Slick willy, while hilliary was SOS, received $500,000 in speaking fees while in Russia. Plus the
Russians gave a lot more money to the clinton foundation. During hilliary’s tenure as SOS she arranged for the Russians to secure a 20% interest in American uranium assets.
The media response to this act: MEH, that is not a news worthy item.
In a couple of weeks the clinton slush fund will be dissolved and the money will be in the clinton’s pockets.
If any democrat thinks that the Russians influenced the people in flyover country to vote for President Trump and not hilliary, they are very delusional. We flat out looked at hilliary’s political record over the past 44 years or so and we did not like what was in her record.
Anymore? I’ve never believed in polls – who have you been reading? But they’re still fun to talk about. I mostly object to the idea that they’re “scientific.” There’s nothing “scientific” about asking people their opinions. It slays me when they claim a “margin of error” of 3 or 4 percentage points when in fact the potential margin of error in any poll is 100 freaking percent every single time.
Today, Mr. Trump did something huge: He had the US Navy blast the Syrian Air Force. This is a big deal. We need to see where it will lead. This is the real world in real war.
So… I will hold off all my planned snotty comments and jokes about Mr. Trump. We need to see the results and the continuing actions.
One detail occurs to me: The US Navy ships that sent all those cruise missiles, they will have to head back to Virginia or some such place to get more missiles. Do we have backup ships, while they re-arm?
59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from 2 destroyers is about 1/3 of their combined loadout of that particular armament. The fleet strength in that region is not depleted. Further more replacement armament can be done at sea.
Right and in doing so successfully diverted our attention from the many, many controversies surrounding his administration. Come on. Do you really think trump suddenly grew a heart and gave a damn about Arabs?
Neil Gorsuch is officially confirmed to the Supreme Court. This is an awesome move. Thank you President Trump and Senate members who voted YES. You helped make America a better place.
Trump will only make America Great Again when he steps down or is tossed out.
So many of our roads are in desperate repair and nothing is being done. Then they are putting in a new road on E. Mt. Morris rd. and the road was fine to begin with, actually one of our better roads. What a waste of taxpayer’s money! Who decides what road gets fixed cause it sure isn’t the ones that need it.