Tag Archives: class warfare

City Manager Ralph Lange indicates that Ypsilanti is moving toward a hybrid police/fire scheme in which public safety officers will be expected to fight fires, save lives, pursue suspects and dispense lethal force

By Mark | March 11, 2013

It would seem that Ralph Lange, our new city manager, has made up his mind that we should merge Ypsilanti’s Police and Fire departments in hopes of further delaying landfall of the category-five fiscal storm gathering on the horizon. He’s admittedly in a tough spot, and I’m sympathetic. He’s trying to radically cut spending, in [...]

Posted in Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Brian Robb, city income tax, city services, consolidation of services, Emergency Financial Manager, Emergency Manager, hypocrisy, Karen Maurer, local income tax, mutual aid, perfect storm, PSO, public safety, public safety officer, Ralph Lange, redistribution of wealth, Rick Snyder, Steve Pierce, Stop City Income Tax, taxes, the concentration of wealth, threats to the middle class, Water Street, wealth inequality, Ypsilanti Fire Department, Ypsilanti police department | 43 Comments

The wealth inequality meme may finally be going viral… Let’s hope it makes a difference

By Mark | March 4, 2013

I’m sure that most of you have seen it already, as it’s been all over the web today, but, just in case you haven’t, I’d highly recommend that you take a few minutes and watch this short animated video on the subject of wealth disparity in America. I suspect that our readers on the far [...]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Economics | Also tagged American aristocracy, Detroit, Emergency Manager, frogs, Harlem Shake, income inequality, memes, Mitt Romney, Rick Snyder, the top 1%, wealth inequality | 30 Comments

Middle class Michiganders to pay considerably more in taxes despite the anti-tax rhetoric of Lansing Republicans

By Mark | February 19, 2013

Reading an article in the Detroit Free Press this evening about how taxes are going up precipitously on working class Michiganders, I’m reminded of something that I wrote about a year ago for this site. Here’s how my post began. Why is it that we allow the Republicans to refer to themselves as the anti-tax [...]

Posted in Economics, Michigan, Observations, Politics | Also tagged anti-university, crazy ideas that just might work, Earned Income Tax Credit, Ed Asner California Association of Teachers, EITC, Emergency Financial Manager, Emergency Financial Manager Act, higher education, income disparity, income tax, Kickstarter, local income tax, Michael Stampfler, Michigan, Michigan Republicans, progressive taxation, public education, revolution, Rick Snyder, tax credits, tax policy, tax the rich, trickle down economics, we need a revolution | 20 Comments

The New Yorker enthusiastically endorses Obama, saying his reelection is “a matter of great urgency”

By Mark | October 26, 2012

God, I love the New Yorker. Their endorsement of Obama is one of the very best things that I’ve read over the course of this past year. It’s thoughtful, comprehensive, and brilliantly written. Following are two brief clips. One pertains to Obama. The other pertains to Romney. I’d highly recommend following the link, though, and [...]

Posted in Media, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged 47%, Affordable Care Act, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, AmeriCorps, Ayn Rand, bipartisanship, Bush, civil rights, Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Elena Kagan, equal pay for equal work, FDR, Freeloading 47, gay rights, Global Warming, Guantánamo, gun control, infrastructure, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, marriage equality, New Deal, Obama, Obama is a Socialist, Obamacare, Pell grants, predator drones, Republican lies, Republican obstructionism, right-wing extremism, Romney, Sonia Sotomayor, stimulus, Supreme Court, women's rights | 17 Comments

On the further downsizing, and possible merging of Ypsilanti’s police and fire departments

By Mark | October 17, 2012

According to AnnArbor.com, our elected leaders are apparently “weighing a plan to combine the city’s police and fire departments” into a single public safety entity, in hopes of cutting costs even further during this unprecedented period of sharply rising costs and falling revenues. Here’s a clip. …The proposal would cross-train police officers and firefighters, cutting [...]