Tag Archives: crazy ideas that just might work

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, class warfare, 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

Operation Foggy Monocle

By Mark | July 8, 2012

In the wake of a global warming-related rant that I posted a few days ago, it occurred to me that nothing is likely to change, at least not in a substantive way, until the men at the top begin to feel the same oppressive, painfully searing heat that the rest of us have been feeling [...]

Posted in Environment, Global Warming, Special Projects, Sustainability, Uncategorized | Also tagged air conditioning, call to action, direct action, global climate change, Global Warming, Mark's art ideas, Mark's big ideas, Operation Foggy Monocle | 10 Comments

How do you convey to people the seriousness of what’s happening to Michigan’s working class?

By Mark | April 23, 2012

Why is it that we allow the Republicans to refer to themselves as the anti-tax party, when they keep demonstrating that they clearly aren’t? Sure, they’re all for the cutting of business taxes, inheritance taxes, and other taxes that would threaten to decrease the wealth of their party’s high-net-worth donors, but, invariably, those shifts in [...]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Ideas, Politics, Special Projects, Uncategorized | Also tagged anti-university, class warfare, Earned Income Tax Credit, 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, tax credits, tax policy, tax the rich, we need a revolution | 58 Comments

In Defense of Ypsi… An idea for a new AnnArbor.com related project

By Mark | March 27, 2012

[I have no idea if something like this is even possible, but I thought that I'd throw the idea out there, just in case someone wanted to take it on. We can debate the content of the message, but I like the idea of having some kind of automated response on behalf of our community, [...]

Posted in Ideas, Ypsilanti | Also tagged AnnArbor.com, AnnArbor.com bot, bots, comparing Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, perception of crime, the shameful state of the American press, Ypsilanti | 69 Comments

A2Awesome, the Awesome Foundation’s local Washtenaw County chapter, announces launch, and promises $1,000 in monthly cash grants for awesome ideas

By Mark | November 16, 2011

For those of you who didn’t catch the announcement on AnnArbor.com today, I’ve got some potentially good news to share. Thanks to the efforts of Neutral Zone founder Lisa Dengiz, and a small but active group of community-minded individuals, Ann Arbor is, as of today, home to a branch of the Boston-based micro-philanthropic organization – [...]