CHUCK MOSS

   ^{State Representative    40th District}

Toll-Free  877-707-MOSS

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APRIL LANSING ROUNDUP

You Gotta Be Kidding!!!

DO WHAT I DO, NOT WHAT I SAY, DEPT. 

We Need A Reality Party!

A QUICK LANSING ROUNDUP

All kinds of stuff going on. Before we broke (2 weeks ago) the House passed budgets that are already in the red according to revenue estimates for this year and next.

 The General Government budget, passed 2 weeks ago from the House, shorted the Supreme Court, but included "earmarks" for court security for several district courts --all in a certain southern Oakland County Rep ’s district. All adults know the Dems are trying to mess with the Supremes because they want Cliff Taylor at least, and maybe even 2 others at most, defeated this year. So tie up the budget and force cutbacks, then slam the Chief for mismanagement, and get some pork while you're at it--a classic Dem win-win anyhow you look at it.

The Blue Cross/Blue Shield bill package is stalled in the Senate, but now that there's been some scrutiny (the whole thing was railroaded through the House in days) it may be failing. Jolly nice that Attorney General Cox has leapt into battle when the pack hit the Senate. We couldn't get a peep out of the AG's office, when my guys called during the House vote: they were examining it, they were analyzing it, they were ruminating upon it. So we voted as best we could. Now, the AG's up front and center fighting for the welfare of the Little Guy--better late than ever. If the package comes back to the House, it'll face more oppo and might even go down, despite the big money that BCBS tosses around come election year, which coincidentally, is now.

The Electric Utility Reorg is proceeding apace. My take is that yes, we need to build more generating capacity (that's  "power plants" to you folks from Melvindale) and these will cost money, and that money has to be paid for by somebody-to wit: customers, and that business doesn't want to pay & will move to India/Indiana if we ask them to...but maybe there ought to be some assurance that the rate jack-ups won't kill the consumer. So far, no such assurances have been forthcoming.

Issue Second is the mandates for AE, alternate energy-- AKA windmills and other "Green Technologies" probably called "green" because the technology is far from ripe. At this point, we would be requiring utilities to produce a certain percentage of their power with technologies that haven't been invented yet.

"But if we require them to," goes the argument "they'll do it! and then Michigan will be the leader in Green Technologies! Which will all be required by law, to combat Global Warming.”
Now, me, I love windmills in Holland, but you're not taking  thirty-story industrial wind turbines and putting them up for miles along Michigan's gorgeous, tourist-friendly coastline and beaches. Not that I can go to my beach yet even though its April, because there are still inches of Global Warming forecast to fall this weekend.

    The 2007 state CAFR "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report" finally shows the GASB 43/45 compliant report on our liability for retiree health care benefits--OPEB (other post-employment benefits--everything but a pension.) The amount is roughly $40 billion in unfunded employee benefits, chiefly health care. 25.7 billion is for teachers.
My arithmetic shows a bit over $4000 per man woman and child for that debt alone. Worse, if we're not funding the ARC ("Annual Required Contribution) the amount goes up. So $40 B is a floor figure and the sky's the limit. So far, the Gov's got absolutely no plan or evidenced interest in having one, on this subject. Bob Emerson-state budget director-- responded to a question for Yours Truly in Appropriations Committee with the "what me worry" line. "No problem; we're paying as you go; everybody knows our liability and still lends us money; everybody else is in the same boat anyhow; not a problem."

I didn't know S&P and Dunn & Bradstreet graded on a curve.

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