Michigan's defining moment

That would be Gov. Snyder's description of his new budget unveiled over the last week. It would also be my description of Gov. Snyder--for all his posturing, he's just another republican. And guess what? Democrats and Independents are beginning to see the light (i.e., they were hoodwinked). Ah, yes, Snyder's budget--a change is gonna come, that being the chance for Michigan to become the next North Dakota. Who wins? Corporations--to the tune of a $1.2 billion reduction in their taxes which will create zero jobs. Who loses? Everybody--and I mean everybody--else. Retirees will now pay a tax on their pensions. K-12 education loses 4%, universities 15%. State employees will pay more for their health benefits. The poor will lose their earned income tax credit--widely recognized as one of the most successful programs for reducing poverty. This is Snyder's idea of "shared sacrifice": CEOs, corporations, and their shareholders get a free ride; the poor, the middle class, the working people of Michigan--the burden once again falls on their backs. Hey, Gov. Snyder: Fuck you, next idiot please! Sidenote: prouder than ever that I voted for Virg Bernero.... I can't say I'm really surprised--or disappointed--by Snyder's actions. I expected nothing less from a republican, especially one who was once a CEO. I shouldn't be surprised, as Liberal analysis in the Free Press is comparable to the zestiness of rice pudding, but Rochelle Riley's column on Snyder's budget was utterly and completely pathetic. Somehow Riley has bought into the conventional wisdom (a misnomer if ever I've heard one), that somehow this is an "adult" moment, that Dudley Do-Right Snyder is using this as a teaching moment, that somehow the "budget crisis" should take priority over all else, even job creation. What a complete and utter moron--thank fucking God she wasn't around when FDR was bailing out America from the last doomsday crisis created by Wall Street, or we'd still be hovering around 20% unemployment and half the country would be Hoovervilles. Want to fix the budget crisis? PUT PEOPLE TO FUCKING WORK! And the way you do that--because God knows businesses aren't going to do it--is for the government to spend money. Lots of it--on aid to the poor, on education, on infrastructure, on tax credits for new industries, and on more state employees. Here's to Snyder's plan--and the tumbleweeks soon to be tumbling down Michigan's more and more deserted streets, and the little Snydervilles popping up all over the place for those without the resources to get the fuck out. Peace, emaycee