Reading a column by Paul Krugman just now on the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in pushing so-called “Stand Your Ground” legislation around the country, I was reminded by a recent article in Mother Jones about how ALEC, working through the Mackinac Center, played a role in passing Michigan’s Public Act 4, […]
Posted in Civil Liberties, Michigan, Politics | Also tagged ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Amway, anti-immigration, Brit Satchwell, Center for Media and Democracy, collective bargaining, conservative legislation, crony capitalism, Dick DeVos, Emergency Financial Manager Act, Emergency Financial Manger, Exxon Mobil, gun laws, Jonathan Williams, Koch brothers, Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act, Louis Schimmel, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Paul Krugman, Pontiac, privatization, Progress Michigan, Public Act 4, Rick Snyder, stand your ground, the growing gap between rich and poor, Trayvon Martin, union busting |
It’s nothing we haven’t discussed here at least a hundred times before, but it’s always nice to happen across a new, persuasive article on the subject of America’s super-rich, and how critical it is that we begin taxing them at a level befitting a first world nation… It would be nice, though, if it wasn’t […]
Posted in Economics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Anne Alstott, Bruce Ackerman, Buffett Rule, food stamps, Heartland Alliance, hunger in America, Mitt Romney, poverty, RIck Santorum, Robert Reich, Sid Mohn, Social Darwinism, the growing gap between rich and poor, Warren Buffett, Yale |
The most recent episode of This American Life is all about “the battle between proponents of small government and those fighting to maintain public services.” I thought that you might want to pop open a can of beer and listen along with me. On the bright side, taxes on the rich are lower now than […]
Posted in Politics | Also tagged Americans for Tax Reform, competing visions for the future of America, Grover Norquist, income disparity, Koch brothers, revolution, stability, the future of America, the growing gap between rich and poor, This American Life, we need a revolution, why don't the rich see the big picture |
By Mark | February 27, 2012
My friend Pete and I eat lunch together a few times a month. Pete, who’s an academic, tells me of his travels to fascinating places like Malawi and Sweden, where he’s either conducting field research on the spread of parasitic diseases, or sharing his findings with leaders in the field of world health, and I […]
Posted in Mark's Life, Observations, Uncategorized | Also tagged American flag lapel pins, back pain, best places to live, Canada, Department of Education, education reform, environmental protection, Gini coefficient, growth, immigration, income inequality, infant mortality, investing in the future, life expectancy, Malawi, Mitt Romney, neo-feudalism, no child left behind, optimism, parasites, Pete Larson, Presidential politics, public education, republican primary, RIck Santorum, Stockholm, Sweden, teaching for the test, the future of American cities, The Greatest Canadian, the state of the world, Tim Hortons, Tommy Douglas, Toronto, urban development, Vancouver, wind power, windmills |
By Mark | February 2, 2012
Republicans like to say they’re for lower taxes, but they’re not. They’re just against taxing the rich. At least that’s what we’re seeing play out in Michigan. The legislature eliminates taxes on the wealthy, knowing full well that other taxes, which disproportionately hit the poor, are eventually going to have to fill the resulting gap. […]
