Emergency Manager Law drops 17.3% state-wide support

The Detroit News & WDIV conducted a survey released August 20 through Glengariff Group which was to represent state-wide voter support for the six Michigan ballot proposals. One month later they are revisiting the poll and the most notable change is a drop of 17.3% for Proposal 12-1, The Emergency Manager Law.

Ballot proposals should have close to 60 percent or more support this close to the election if they hope to pass, Pollster Richard Czuba said. By that criteria, only Proposal 4 to regulate home health care workers and give them limited collective bargaining rights is within range at 56.2 percent, down roughly 6 percentage points since the August survey, he said.

From The Detroit News

We are happy to see the results for proposal 12-1 of the VIP slate in the poll, but feel the Governor, Treasurer, Attorney General, and their supporters will be mounting a heavily financed campaign to sway voter opinion in the six weeks ahead. Even if the law is repealed there is clear intent to create a similar new law by the Governor and Republican legislators.

Proposal 12-1 "Upholds the Emergency Manager Law" which places communities deemed financially at risk under control of either a state appointed emergency manager or under a consent agreement that brings both state and city together in managing a turnaround with assistance. This law strikes at principals that the Declaration of Independence was written, one of these being "taxation without representation". It also superceeds local law by placing new governing bodies over the people whom they did not elect and offers limited if any opportunity for the public to have voice in their governance.

Additional investigation of how well Emergency Managers have worked across the state has brought an understanding that that stabilizing financial commitments is the primary goal and costs will be born for citizens in loss of jobs, loss of services and reduced quality of life. Detroit Public Schools (DPS) has been under the Fiscal Responsibility Act (Public Act 72 of 1990) for the longest period of time. This document (linked) from the State of Michigan describes the power offered through Public Act 72. How permanent is the emergency that an entire generation has passed through DPS and the state still maintains control of a budget deeply in deficit.

 

Reviewing the remaining proposals that were polled shows area where the VIP slate needs to focus in collective bargaining / worker rights, and push for corporate tax reforms.

Proposal 12-2 "Protect Our Jobs" is preventing a rewrite of law that could remove collective bargaining rights for all workers. We can look back 100 years to see the labor conditions as a reminder of what working without labor rights would bring. Many would equate it to forced slave labor.

Proposal 12-4 "Quality Home Care Council and collective bargaining for in-home workers" will offer protection to seniors and disabled by furthering education and information dissemination through a council, and the bill would provide in-home care workers a state-wide platform for collective bargaining.

Proposal 12-5 "Limit enactment of new taxes by state government" creates a requirement for a super majority of both House and Senate for tax laws to be passed. This bill would make it harder to achieve tax reform directed at corporations that are using shelters to avoid taxes. It does not address removal of tax laws which would lead to unbalanced tax reforms in favor of wiping out taxes. Taxes are how infrastructure is maintained and grown for society. Corporations need infrastructure to operate but shifting the burden onto the backs of the working class by using the "creating jobs" position is inappropriate.

Proposals 12-3 and 12-6 are not included in the Vote VIP Slate based on finding as much support in the slate created as possible across the State of Michigan. We want to protect working families and seniors in Michigan. We hope you are a supporter of the slate as well and assist in distributing information. Each one can reach one as our duty as a responsible citizen.