Cocktails & Popcorn: Michigan May Sell Its International Bridge For A Foreign Corporate Invasion

Ok, my military experts out there, now tell the Celestial Goddess of the Woodshed the first thing you do when launching a foreign invasion through civil insurrection?

That is absolutely correct, you lock down the border by selling it to foreign corporations.

I got my money on Qatar but, who knows, the Vatican may do one of those Hail Mary bids.

Treason much, daaarlings?

House GOP considering selling Blue Water Bridge to pay for roads

(FOX 2) - House Republicans are considering a proposal to sell the Blue Water Bridge that spans the St. Clair River in order to pay to fix the state's roads, per FOX 2's Tim Skubick.

Officials say the sale could raise between $500-800 million in one-time money.

"We're going to explore the option of perhaps selling ... It's clear on the table," said Oakland County GOP lawmaker Rep. Matt Maddock.

The Democratic vice chair of the House budget committee, Rep. Jon Headily, dismisses the idea as a "piece meal solution" that does not raise the $2.5 billion the state needs every year for the next 10 years to fix the roads.

The Blue Water Bridge links the U.S. and Canada, carrying international traffic between Port Huron and Point Edward and Sarnia in Ontario. It crosses the St. Clair River at the southern end of Lake Huron and connects both I-94 and I-69 with Highway 402.

The original Blue Water Bridge opened in 1938 and carries three lanes of traffic westbound, and the second Blue Water Bridge opened in 1997 and carries three lanes of traffic eastbound.

In U.S. currency, toll rates for drivers crossing from U.S. into Canada are $3 for cars, $3 for each extra axle, and $3.25 per axle for trucks and buses. Rates for those traveling from the Canada into the U.S. are $3.25 for cars/RVs, $3.25 for extra axles and $3.50 for commercial vehicles per axles.

According to the Michigan Department of Transportation's latest numbers, about 4.9 million vehicles utilized the bridge in 2008. They project that 14.5 million vehicles will use the bridge by 2021. According to the Federal Bridge Corporation, an average 14,000 vehicles cross the bridge per day -- 20,000 of a busy day with at least 6,000 being trucks.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer ran on a campaign to fix the state's crumbling roads. In March, she proposed a 45-cents-a-gallon fuel tax increase, which has been rejected by GOP lawmakers. Whitmer's plan would have allotted $2.35 billion in net revenue for Michigan roads which included a 45-cents-a-gallon increase on the state's gas tax. The $2 billion plan would increase the 26-cent fuel tax by 45 cents by October 2020.

In late April, a transportation budget advanced in Michigan's Legislature that would boost road spending but far short of the $1.9 billion net increase proposed by Whitmer. The Senate plan would fully implement 2015 road-funding laws a year earlier, so $132 million more is spent in the next fiscal year.

In late May, Whitmer said that talks with Michigan's Republican-led Legislature on her proposed fuel tax increase can "start in earnest" following the enactment of a bipartisan auto insurance overhaul, and there is no reason why a road-funding deal cannot be struck within a month. Her tax hike, the centerpiece of her budget proposal, has languished in the Capitol for three months. She said she expects to see legislative movement soon.

Whitmer again signaled that she will not sign the next state budget without a road-funding deal, due to how her $2.5 billion proposal would free up general funds that have been shifted to address deteriorating roads but which could be used for other priorities such as schools and her proposed scholarship program for college students. Budget legislation, she said, can be finished by the end of July.

Although GOP legislative leaders have rejected a 45-cent increase that would make Michigan's gasoline and diesel the highest in the country, they have not laid out their own plans except to support spending an additional $132 million a year earlier than planned and potentially ensuring that sales tax paid at the pump funds roads. The revenue mostly goes to schools and local governments under the state constitution.

House Speaker Lee Chatfield of Levering said he will not box himself in with an "artificial" deadline to complete the budget, noting that the next fiscal year does not start until Oct. 1.

"I think the first priority needs to be (to) have a responsible budget, and that's going to be our focus," he said.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey of Clarklake was reluctant to say how much additional road spending is necessary but agreed that "substantially more" is needed. He suggested working to finish the budget by July 1 and passing supplemental spending legislation in September if a broader roads agreement is reached.

"It's got to balance between the appetite of taxpayers and the capacity to deploy assets," he said, referring to concerns about how quickly road-construction projects could be ramped up at a time that a 2015 transportation-revenue plan is still being phased in.

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Michigan Proposal 1 Is Going To Fail at the Ballot: It is a Political Bait and Switch

Michigan's Proposal 1 is off and running.

MI 14th Democratic Congressional District Meeting 4.11.2015

Unfortunately, it does not look like it is going very far.

Yesterday, thee Policy and Resolution Committee held an extremely spirited discussion on the pros and cons of voting for Michigan Proposal 1, which is suppose to raise thee sales tax by 1%, the first time in many, many years.

Michigan Proposal 1 of 2015

Description and preliminary analysis of Senate and Bolger Proposals:

No bills have been introduced but the Bolger plan has been described in the press as a six-year phase-out of the sales tax on gasoline and a six-year phase-in of a six-percent tax collected on the wholesale price of gasoline.

He also proposed converting the current 19-cents-per-gallon gas tax to a percentage-based tax at the wholesale level of 7 percent, the 6 percent tax could be added on over six years. That would raise the overall fuel tax to 13 percent and raise an estimated $1 billion more annually for roads. It is not clear what if any changes would be made to the diesel tax.

The Senate plan, HB 5477 (S-13) and HB 5493 (S-1), would change the current 19 cent per gallon gas tax and the current 15 cents per gallon diesel tax to a single rate that would change annually. The rate would be determined by MI Department of Treasury by multiplying the average wholesale price as defined in the bill by the applicable percentage as defined in the bill.

The applicable percentage would be 9.5% beginning 5/1/2015; 11.5% beginning 1/1/2016; 13.5% beginning 1/1/ 2017; and 15.5% beginning 1/1/2018 and thereafter. The average wholesale price would vary within limits established in the Bill.

The additional transportation revenue generated is estimated to be $182.8 million in 2015 and increase each year, and be an additional $1,768.6 million by 2023.

In addition, HB 4630 (S-3) would make numerous changes to ad valorem registration taxes. These changes would increase transportation revenue by $14.6 million in 2016 and increase revenues each year until additional revenue reached $103.7 million by 2020.

The Senate proposal does not affect SAF, GF, or constitutional revenue sharing, whereas the Bolger proposal reduces available revenue for all three.

A 10-year analysis of the Bolger plan: Indicates that if the plan had taken effect in 2004, the growth in the School Aid Fund (SAF) would have been only 0.8% from 2004 to 2013. This compares with actual growth of 6.2%. (See attached table)

The General Fund (GF) growth rate would have been reduced from 6.6% to 5.6%. The change in constitutional revenue sharing revenue would have been reduced from a 7% increase to a 4.5% decline.

In 2013, the total loss to the SAF, GF and constitutional revenue sharing would have been $849 million. The additional gas tax revenue would have been about the same amount, $846 million.

It should be noted that the results would be much worse if the program started during a recession. For example, if the plan had started in 2008, the SAF loss would have increased from a decline of 2.1% to a decline of 7.6%, and the total revenue loss would have been about $1 billion compared with an $846 million increase in the gas tax.

The loss to the SAF would have been $739 million (or about $500 per pupil) in 2013 (10-year analysis), which is a significant enough loss, but even more so in light of recent history. From 2000 to 2013, SAF revenue declined by 15.5% adjusted for inflation.

As a consequence many school districts have serious financial problems. In 2013, more than 50 districts ran budget deficits.

A 10-year projection of the Bolger plan, based on 2015-2024, estimates a SAF revenue loss of about $800 million per year when the proposal is fully phased-in in 2020. A loss of $800 million equates to a per-pupil loss of about $500 per pupil by 2020 and thereafter.

The analysis assumes a 1% annual decline in gasoline consumption, a 5.0% annual increase in gas prices, and a 3.5% annual increase in SAF revenue. The Bolger plan would reduce the growth rate of SAF revenues from 2015 to 2024 by about 10%.

Growth Comparisons

From 1995 to 2013, the sales (and use) tax increased at an annual rate of 2.15%.

From 2000 to 2013, the sales and use tax increased at an annual rate of 0.8%. Over the same period the sales tax on gas increased at an annual rate of 6.96%. This rapid increase was due to a 129% increase in gas prices. Gas consumption fell about 10%. The sales and use tax excluding gas increased at a rate of 0.26% from 2000 to 2013.

A 1.0 % increase in the sales tax (excl. gas) would raise $1.24B (based upon 2013 data).  The sales tax on gas (and diesel) generated $1.01 Billion in 2013.

Stability of the Bolger proposal:

The overall sales tax is more stable than the sales tax on gasoline. The gas tax tends to be volatile. For example the sales tax on gasoline increased 10.6% in 2005 and fell 29% in 2009, and increased18.9% in 2010. In comparison sales tax collections less gas increased 1.7% in 2008, fell 6.9% in 2009, and increased 3.7% in 2010.

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