Repug/VRWC Authoritarism in Michigan

[boutons_deux]

Michigan Governor Plays Fast and Loose with Democracy, Invokes Radical New Powers

gives the state government the power not only to break up unions, but to dissolve entire local governments and place appointed “Emergency Managers” in their stead. But that’s not all – whole cities could be eliminated if Emergency Managers and the governor choose to do so. And Snyder can fire elected officials unilaterally, without any input from voters. It doesn’t get much more anti-Democratic than that.

Except it does. The governor simply has to declare a financial emergency to invoke these powers – or he can hire a private company to declare financial emergency and take over oversight of the city. That’s right, a private corporation can declare your city in a state of financial emergency and send in its Emergency Manager, fire your elected officials, and reap the benefits of the ensuing state contracts.

If “Emergency Manager” is not dystopian enough a term for you, perhaps the fact that such radical legislation could go almost unnoticed in the national press is.

http://blogs.forbes.com/erikkain/201...al-new-powers/

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Keeping up with the GOP governors

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/1...governors.html

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Disaster Repuglicanism: have your criminal buddies on Wall St destroy the economy, then have Repugs dubya and Paulsen bail them out with taxpayer money, then blame/LIE/lay it all on the Dems, and set out to destroy America by handing public services to corporations and predatory capitalists.

[RandomGuy]

...to permit a declaration of the existence of a local government financial mergency and to prescribe the powers and duties of the governor, other state departments, boards, agencies,officials, and employees, and officials and employees of units of local government, including school districts; to provide for placing units of local government, including school districts, into receivership; to provide for a review and appeal process; to provide for the appointment and to prescribe the powers and duties
of an emergency manager; to require the development of financial and operational plans to regulate expenditures, investments, and the provision of services by units of local government, including school districts, in a state of financial stress or financial emergency; to provide for the modification or termination of contracts under certain cir stances; to set forth the conditions for termination of a local government financial emergency; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.

Wow.

Scanned it. The list of things that might trigger state take over boils down to, in essence, "anything that the state might find even slightly disturbing". Sections "a" through "r" detail the conditions under which this can be done. Most seem reasonable, such as bond defaults, written requests for reviews by appropriate people, but then the section "r" states:

The existence of other facts or cir stances that in the
7 state treasurer's sole discretion for a municipal government are
8 indicative of municipal financial stress, or, that in the
9 superintendent of public instruction's sole discretion for a school
10 district are indicative of school district financial stress.

Basically: "Whatever we determine relevant at our discretion".

That triggers a review, then a corrective plan embodied by a "consent agreement" shall be negotatied with local officials:

In order for the consent agreement to go into effect, it
15 shall be approved, by resolution, by the governing body of the
16 local government and shall be approved and executed by the state
17 financial authority.

So there must be a consent plan voted on by local officials. If local officials decline to approve one that can be one of the four "findings" of the governor's review panel:

(c) A local government financial emergency exists
23 as provided in section 14 and no satisfactory plan exists to
24 resolve the emergency.

The governor can then declare a mandatory receivership, subject to some appeal and judicial review.

The state then goes in and cleans things up.

What it does is essentially puts the backing of the state of behind all of its poltical subdivisions, and provides a mechanism to enforce some discipline.

This is not exactly a power that can be exercised capriciously on a whim for the most part, IMO, mostly due to the appeals/judicial review section that seems to be written to avoid

7 (b) Arbitrary, capricious, or clearly an abuse or unwarranted
8 exercise of discretion.

One then has to put faith that a poltiically sympathetic judge would not stand behind such an action.

[boutons_deux]

Elected/paid-for non-Fed judges are assumed corrupt, and Fed judges appointed by Repugs will certainly wave actions from this authoritarian crap right through.

[RandomGuy]

Elected/paid-for non-Fed judges are assumed corrupt, and Fed judges appointed by Repugs will certainly wave actions from this authoritarian crap right through.

The balance of the law is to provide a framework for the state to support troubled subdivisions in severe financial distress.

It may be abused I guess, but that seems remote, IMO.

Still, given this governor's rather nakedly partisan political actions, I wish I could say I was certain it won't be abused.

[Sec24Row7]

Elected/paid-for non-Fed judges are assumed corrupt, and Fed judges appointed by Repugs will certainly wave actions from this authoritarian crap right through.

"Elections have consequences, and at the end of the day, I won."

-BO

So basically They won...

[boutons_deux]

"shared sacrifice" Michigan style, same style as everywhere else.

Corps/wealthy/capitalists are brutally, remorselessly EXCLUDED from the sharing.

Michigan’s GOP Gov. Slashes Corporate Tax Rate by 86 Percent, Hikes Taxes for Working Poor

Business taxes would be cut by 86 percent from an estimated $2.1 billion in FY 2011 to $292.7 million in FY 2013, the first full year of the proposed tax changes…Taxes on individuals from the state income tax would rise by $1.7 billion or nearly 31 percent, from an estimated $5.75 billion in FY 2011 to $7.5 billion in FY 2013, the first full year of the tax changes.

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/14/...rporate-taxes/