Michigan Cremation Services

Editorial: The Silly Season: Legislators pick stupid fights that pull them ...

For the first time in memory, Michigan legislators are beginning their summer break with their most urgent business concluded. Whatever you think of the budget and tax overhaul Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law last month, everyone involved deserves props for getting the job done in a timely way that gives municipalities and schools that depend on state aid the chance to put their own houses in order.

The downside of all that efficiency is that it has left our elected representatives in Lansing with a lot of time on their hands. Already, some lawmakers are busy hatching legislative schemes whose only objective is to advance some narrow ideological agenda or curry favor with fringe special interests.

If there were fewer important matters awaiting legislative action, we'd be tempted to send lawmakers back to their districts for the balance of 2011, and cast Michigan's lot with the 40 other states that get by with part-time legislatures.

As it happens, there is plenty of legitimate work awaiting our own lawmakers when they return from their summer hiatus. Among other things, the Legislature needs to authorize the construction of a new, publicly owned bridge between Detroit and Windsor, approve the intra-governmental partnership Snyder has convened to succor failing public schools, and address serious shortcomings in the state's medical marijuana law.

The danger is that legislators will squander their attention on some of the initiatives described below, all of which are far less deserving of taxpayers' time and money. None should be allowed to divert the Legislature from its real business, and Snyder should not hesitate to use his veto pen if any make their way to his desk:

Michigan's declining share of the nation's immigrant population has made it harder to finger undocumented aliens as plausible scapegoats for the state's economic woes, but that hasn't stopped demagogues such as state Rep. David Agema, R-Grandville, from trying.

A bill Agema introduced earlier this year would mimic a similarly unwieldy (and likely unconstitutional) Arizona law empowering local police officers to demand proof of immigration status from people suspected of being in the state illegally. It would also subject legal immigrants caught without their papers to fines or jail time.

More recently, Agema unveiled a second initiative that would require temporary staffing agencies and government contractors to use an error-ridden database administered by the federal government to verify the immigration status of their employees. Employment agencies complain that meeting the requirement would increase their costs of doing business, and that the screenings Agema seeks to mandate are notorious both for falsely flagging legal immigrants and failing to detect those working in the U.S. illegally.

Unions.Org Blog» Blog Archive » First, Michigan Guts Democracy ...

Like Michigan, nearly every state in the union has lost manufacturing jobs over the last six to eight years… Our economic problems in Michigan are due primarily to the woes in the auto industry, which RTW would not fix. When making location decisions businesses rate factors such as the quality of the regional workforce, the regulatory environment, and tax incentives before ever considering RTW laws.

[U]nions use their collective power to gain a more equitable share from production, and also to negotiate rules that improve the level of justice at work. Under RTW laws, existing unions would direct resources toward internal member mobilizing in an effort to retain this role.

A second recognized role for labor is in the political system. Labor unions have a long history of pursuing legislation that benefits all wage-earners: higher minimum wage laws, universal health care, health and safety protections, to name a few. Union’s leverage to achieve gains in these areas is directly related to their ability to mobilize support during the political cycle. As such, unions operate telephone banks, engage in member education, and canvass communities to inform their members and the public to get out the vote. Under RTW laws we can expect resources for these activities to diminish, resulting in lower voter turnout among the working class and a political system that is less responsive to Michigan’s non-rich.

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