Here's a Novel Idea: Let's Raise Taxes!

[MCP-001]

Reread my post.

The poor are concentrated in communities with city income taxes. The wealthy are concentrated in communities without city income taxes.

A Bloomfield Hills resident pays 4.35% in state & local

A Pontiac resident pays about 7% in state & local

True, but I was basing it on this:

What I don't understand is why we have a flat income tax. It's really horribly anti-working class.

Why should someone making $20,000 pay the same proportion of their income on taxes as someone making $1,000,000? Terribly regressive.

And you are absolutely correct about local income taxes being regressive.

But my question here is why did local voters approve them in the first place?

[MCP-001]

Has anyone taken a line-by-line look at what state government funds?

Are my taxes going for cops, fire, roads, bridges, education and the basic safety nets?

Or is there a hornet's nest of waste that could be trimmed?

I haven't looked; curious if someone else has?

I know taxes are the price of civilization, but that assumes the government collecting them is spending them wisely ...

Cops, yes.

Fire, no.

Roads & Bridges, yes.

Education, yes.

Basic "safety net", unfortunately.

Is there waste that can be trimmed, see above.

Much of that info can be found here:

http://www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa/

[ThaFuzz]

Has anyone taken a line-by-line look at what state government funds?

Hmm, sounds like a great story idea for a particular business-themed publication!

Are my taxes going for cops, fire, roads, bridges, education and the basic safety nets?

Unicorns.

Or is there a hornet's nest of waste that could be trimmed?

It's only waste when it's a pet project from the other side of the aisle.

I haven't looked; curious if someone else has?

Uh, shouldn't you have a basic overview knowledge of this? Since you're overseeing the publication of articles that often discuss the impact of taxes on business entities?

[Novine]

All of the state budget numbers are online but most of the spending is in broad categories and much of it isn't even spent by the state. School aid is one example. The state collects billions in taxes for local schools. But most of that money is spent by the local school boards. It could be well-spent or wasted but the state has little control over that spending.

What the state does control often has many pet projects that lawmakers love to fund for their constituencies. But while tax activists love to complain about funding for Bee Hive studies or 4-H fairs, you could gut all of that stuff out of the budget and it would have little impact on the bottom line. Running through the budget numbers will give you a general idea of how it's spent but a line item of $500 million for State Police services tells you nothing about whether it's fluff or essential.

Ones view about the state budget is going to be based largely on how you perceive government spending. If you're a conservative Republican, you're going to oppose most spending for things like public health services for poor people, pensions for teachers and you'll want to see more spending on prisons. If you're a bleeding heart liberal, you may see the state spending too little on health care for kids and engaging in corporate welfare in the form of tax abatements and business tax breaks.

[Detroitnerd]

Uh, shouldn't you have a basic overview knowledge of this? Since you're overseeing the publication of articles that often discuss the impact of taxes on business entities?

An amusing retort. As much as I like it when people tweak Bill's nose, I do have a point to raise.

Journalists are in the business of asking questions. Even if they think they know the answer. It's a way of getting somebody else to say something instead of them. Sometimes it's a tough position to be in. If they write what they know, they're often decried for not asking questions. If they ask questions, some people say they should already know. I'm just sayin'.

[ThaFuzz]

An amusing retort. As much as I like it when people tweak Bill's nose, I do have a point to raise.

Journalists are in the business of asking questions. Even if they think they know the answer. It's a way of getting somebody else to say something instead of them. Sometimes it's a tough position to be in. If they write what they know, they're often decried for not asking questions. If they ask questions, some people say they should already know. I'm just sayin'.

Very true, but we all know his questions will generally elicit more "fiscally conservative" wharrgarrrbll than factual information. I think he can provide us with some pro-business insight without totally giving away the farm.

Besides, it's not as if he's trolling this site for the man-on-the-street angle. At least I hope he's not.

[Detroitnerd]

Very true, but we all know his questions will generally elicit more "fiscally conservative" wharrgarrrbll than factual information. I think he can provide us with some pro-business insight without totally giving away the farm.

Besides, it's not as if he's trolling this site for the man-on-the-street angle. At least I hope he's not.

Oh, I know. I get the sense that this whole searching about for the answers is a cynical ploy to get the old wingnuts going as much as you do. But not all reporters are as cynical or transparent, and they do have a duty to ask questions. That said ...

[noggin]

"State spending has increased [[faster than the rate of inflation in some cases) during that time between Engler and Granholm."

Almost all of the increase in state spending has been from federal funds. Of the increases, almost all of it has been in corrections and health care. Most state departments have seen their funding drop. Take away those federal dollars and state funding has been flat or gone down in most areas.

"Under Engler, the state income tax went from 4.5 percent down to 4.0 percent [[the sales tax did go from four to six cents on the dollar)."

Not true. The tax cuts started under Engler. They didn't go to 4% until after Granholm had been in office for a couple of years. The sales tax went up in 1994 when Proposal A was approved.

"The problem with too much proportionate tax is that the quality of life for a doctor would soon be no better than the quality of life for a fast food worker."

That's a joke. The person making $200,000 a year could have their tax rate doubled and their quality of life would still be 100 times better than that of the fast food worker.

You are right. That person will move to Florida and still not pay it. Good thinking.

[Danny]

RAISE TAXES!!!

Wait a minute! This is America. NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!