Yes, Michigan!

I remember an old theme song from my youth, "Yes, Michigan! The feeling's forever." God's Country, I call it, for the riveting beauty that is (in particular) Michigan's upper and northern lower peninsulas. Mountains, waterfalls, rock formations, vast tracts of forests and picturesque lakes and rivers, each sight and scene is breathtakingly beautiful. I have lived here my entire life, and here I shall remain until I pass from this existence. If someone wants me out of here, they will have to drag my cold, dead carcass out with a John Deere tractor.

Unfortunately, lately it seems a lot has been sucked out of the place.

Continuing the trend of the past several years, Michigan leads the nation in one statistic that carries no pride of ownership: The highest unemployment rate in the nation. As of December 2008, Michigan has toppled the scale at an astounding 10.6% statewide, 11.1% in the Detroit/Livonia area. You know Detroit - home of The Big Three. Just over a year ago in November 2007, our statewide unemployment rate was 7.7% - a 2.9% increase in 13 months' time. Our "governor" projects that the February data will be worse. Historically, the state's highest unemployment rate in November 1982 at 16.9% comes in second only to West Virginia's March 1983 18.2% (table does not indicate date range of data collected). I was but 10 years old and really do not remember much from back then, other than my dad being laid off for a really long time.

Of late, we have been blazing trails through the history books. Being the laughingstock of the nation during the Presidential primary elections was not enough humiliation for this state's residents to endure. Shortly after that spectacle arising out of gross stupidity, we were treated to Congressman John Dingell pushing for an additional 50-cent tax hike per gallon of gas - at a time when most of us already could not afford to fill up our vehicles. Last summer, I asked what was next, after an expanded state sales tax and a retroactive increase in state income tax. I did not have to wait long to find out the answer to a question I knew better than to ask.

Now, our governor wants to change the state gas tax. In addition to the 6% state sales tax, she wishes to implement a (likely) 16% tax per gallon instead of the flat 19-cents-per-gallon tax we pay currently. However, Governor Granholm "insists that the plan is not a tax hike." Looking at the comments left on the article, I found this and was rather stunned:

Today = .19 per gallon flat At the 16%, $2 per gallon = .32 per gallon added on... Last year, $4.50 per gallon = .72 per gallon. so if gas prices rise back to 4.50, like they did in the fall of 2008, we will actually pay $5.22 per gallon when we actually did pay $4.69 per gallon. On an average 18 gallon tank, that difference would be $9.54 more per fill-up. How is that not a tax hike. The only time her plan makes sense and is in our favor is when the price drops below $1.20 per gallon. When is the last time that has happened? This will KILL the already smothered Michigan economy. Jenny, YOU are the weakest link...

Late last September, we took an overnight camping trip down to southwest lower Michigan to take the kids trick-or-treating at one of the state parks. We stopped for gas on the way home, and this was what the pump read when the guy who filled up before us pulled out - and this was even before gas hit almost $5 a gallon:


Using this example, this man's 24.685 gallons of gas cost him $92.85 (yeah, I know the numbers are blurry - sorry): $3.76 per gallon. Had the tax been 16% rather than the flat $0.19 per gallon, his tank of gas would have cost $102.20 - a difference of $9.35.

Surely there is no tax hike there, right Jenny?

On top of that, despite President Obama's recent "challenge" with regards to higher education, Granholm "proposes to cut need-based funding," which helps students pay college tuition - while asking colleges and universities to freeze tuition rates. Along with a 5.8% funding cut ($18.8 million), more students would be able to participate in these programs - more students competing for fewer funds. I fail to see the logic in that move; as more students become unable to pay their tuition bills with fewer dollars available, does it not seem likely more would end up dropping out due to inability to pay - especially when considered in conjunction with the unemployment rate and those students, therefore, unable to work their way through school?

Barack Obama has it right - while Granholm truly is proving herself to be "the weakest link": (emphasis mine)

"Right now, three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require more than a high school diploma," Obama said. "And yet, just over half of our citizens have that level of education. We have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized nation. And half of the students who begin college never finish."

"This is a prescription for economic decline, because we know the countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow. That is why it will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education—from the day they are born to the day they begin a career."

Perhaps even scarier is the realization that our education system's decline has worsened since 2003 - the year she entered office: (emphasis mine)

University officials lay much of the blame for higher prices on the penny-wise, pound-foolish attitude in Lansing — with good reason. Michigan has the dubious distinction of being the only state in the country to spend less on higher education in 2008 than it did in 2003, a per-student cut of $2,852, according to state universities. That says a lot to us about the priorities and the foresight of Michigan’s political leaders.

The cherry on top is Obama C&T, which will have the effect of "sinking" Michigan. I fear it will not be long before we suffer what I had expressed concern about previously:

The future of Michigan is a large question mark. With few jobs, sky-high unemployment rate, increases in state income and sales tax this past year, and state leaders pointing fingers at the Bush administration while taking no responsibility for ANYTHING, she has entered dark times. An Obama Presidency would surely push us into crisis, our economy beyond salvage. What happens to an unsalvageable limb compromising the overall health of the body? It is amputated, sacrificed to save the life. Sit here in my seat for a moment, and imagine the terror felt at the image of a financial or political "amputation" of the Great Lakes State.

I am afraid. Very afraid.

Upper Tahquamenon Falls - Michigan's upper peninsula