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Voters by a wide margin ignored this plea and voted resoundingly "no."

SNYDER FOILED: Presidential Hopes (If Any) Dashed by Failure of Road Vote

May 7, 2015       2 Comments
By: Dave Rogers

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Did you catch the connection?

Hours after the results of the smashing by voters of the constitutional amendment were announced, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder took himself off the list of GOP Presidential hopefuls.

Although Snyder's bona fides as a candidate are at least as good, or better, than any on the laundry list of Republicans seeking the nomination, the road tax defeat no doubt sealed his fate.

The dysfunction in Michigan government exemplified by legislature's inability to made decisions -- tossing the hot potato on road repairs to the people -- is at the root of Snyder's dilemma.

Another thorn in the plan may have been, at least for conservatives, was that it provided about $260 million in tax relief for low income residents.

Or that it would have given $300 million to school districts?

Were those issues factors in the mock outrage buried in the wave of anti road tax advertising? We wouldn't be surprised, given the selfish attitudes that have characterized much political rhetoric lately.

Maybe some conservatives were irked by Snyder's advocacy for the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), helping hundreds of thousands of citizens get health insurance.

One Republican, State Rep. Tom McMillin, of Rochester Hills, said during debate on the bill that spending could have been trimmed in other areas to fund road repairs.

"They couldn't find a dime of the $52 billion (budget) to cut, so they had to go to the taxpayers to pay more," McMillin said. "That not outstanding. That's sad."

There were indications many voters were so angry at the legislature's failure to deal with the road problem that they shot themselves in the foot rather than solve the problem. They must be thinking? Now what do we do?

Back to square one, many opinionators -- yours truly included -- feel legislators must bite the bullet, and, as Tim Skubick urges, don't do anything else until you figure out how to fix the roads. Good call, Tim!

Legislators, including rabidly anti-tax Tea Partiers, no doubt will find it impossible to run a state like Michigan without tax increases. Or that there is plenty of money to run the state if some of the tax preferences for the wealthy and corporations are shaved at little. Not too much to ask, hey voters?

It's called good government!

The proposed constitutional amendment would have:

* Eliminated all sales or use taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel used in motor vehicles operated on public roads or highways beginning on October 1, 2015;

* Allowed an increase in the sales tax rate from 6 percent to 7 percent;

* Activated other laws dedicating additional revenue for transportation purposes, including repair of roads, streets, and bridges;

* Required state funds for school aid to be used exclusively for financial assistance for public school districts, community colleges, and career and technical education and related scholarships; and

* Dedicated a portion of use tax revenue for school aid purposes.

Conservatives and Tea Party activists like Paul Mitchell of Saginaw threw big money against the proposal, their negative ads obviously seriously undermining the governor's efforts to pass the proposal.

A total of 1.4 million Michiganders voted no on Proposal 1 while less than 351,000 voted yes, according to the Michigan Secretary of State's office. The 80-20 rejection was the most one-sided loss ever for a proposed amendment to the state constitution of 1963, The Detroit Free Press reported.



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"The BUZZ" - Read Feedback From Readers!

tennis1960 Says:       On May 12, 2015 at 01:22 AM
Can you say "Bernie Sanders?". Good luck Michigan citizens.
mdoloresbarron Says:       On May 13, 2015 at 03:27 PM
Don't be too sure about Snyder...
Agree? or Disagree?


Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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