Rent Seekers

The Michigan Film Subsidies goes a long way to explain the condition of OUR highways and Byways here in the lands of the Wolverine.

OUR private wealth redistributed by legislative decree to "crony capitalists" was defined in the Economist’s March 15, 2014 article as "Rent Seeking". “Rent-seeking” is what economists call a special type of money-making: the sort made possible by political connections.”

The direct result here in Michigan is that Lobbyists pursing "Rent Seeking" for their client base dole out tens of millions of dollars to their targeted elected public officer’s favorite charity, the Political Action Committee to perfect the legislative plundering of OUR State's General Fund of Billions for their "Rent Seekers".

We see the result every spring as poorly built and maintained highways and byways here in the lands of the Wolverine become pitted with Pot Holes.

Metropolitan authorities such as Grand Rapids prey upon the Pothole season to cover up their legislative plunder by claiming the extension of a five year temporary income tax that was terminating this August 1st, 2014, to a fifteen year program will be used to "fill the potholes."

Well for the past two five year extensions of the City’s “Temporary Income Tax” the potholes in Grand Rapids grew every spring.

The same example sits across our Interstate Highway System here in Michigan. Where for the past eight years, the Michigan Department of Transportation has had to issue reconstruction contracts for Overpasses erected in the 1980’s which were built with inferior product. It was the Michigan Department of Transportation Engineers that signed off on these bridge projects in the 1980s that are now crumbling within less than 25 years.

Now as did Grand Rapids last Winter, stands the Lame Duck Session of the 97th Legislature claiming the State needs billions of OUR private wealth exacted from the Fuel Pump to fix what they have knowingly neglected since the enactment of Public Act 231 of 1987.

Public Act 231 of 1987 should be titled "Rent Seeking". The result of this enactment is to this day is the State Transportation Commission is redistributing OUR private wealth exacted at the fuel pump to “Rent Seekers”.

The Crumbling Bridges that spans our Highways built less than 25 years ago is soaking up hundreds of millions of our Current Private Wealth to fix these failed road projects.

Meanwhile whilst the Michigan Department of Transportation was authorizing Bridge Projects in the 1980s, the State Transportation Commission was busy doling out OUR Private Wealth under the legislative plundering authority enacted as Public Act 231 of 1987 to their favorite "Rent Seekers".

Now, in the lame Duck Session of the 97th Legislature, there stands the Majority Leadership doling out millions of OUR Private Wealth to Hollywood Producers who fly into town, for they know our roads are cratered like the surface of the Moon.

Reflect upon those facts whilst cruising our potholed failing roadways herein the lands of the Wolverine as rocks and other debris bounces off your windshield while on the Radio you hear reports that the Lame Duck Session in Lansing attempting to cobble together a "Road Tax Bill” to fix OUR “ROADS”.