Varsity, Down the Field...The University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library has a wonderful collection of old Wolverine football game program cover art.
Showing posts with label Michigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michigan. Show all posts
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Artes, Scientia, Veritas.
The Ann Arbor News reports that a University of Michigan professor is under investigation for hiring a female UM law student to...well, to...you know...and it got a bit out of hand. Our hallowed alma mater has reassured us, however, that there are strict rules in place to govern faculty-student romantic relationships, such as the requirement to file a "Conflict of Interest" working plan with the appropriate departments. We are much reassured.
The Ann Arbor News reports that a University of Michigan professor is under investigation for hiring a female UM law student to...well, to...you know...and it got a bit out of hand. Our hallowed alma mater has reassured us, however, that there are strict rules in place to govern faculty-student romantic relationships, such as the requirement to file a "Conflict of Interest" working plan with the appropriate departments. We are much reassured.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Were So Sorry, Guvna' Granholm...
Jennifer Granholm did not make the cut as Secretary of Energy for the Obama Administration, and alas, she must trudge back the Great Lakes State and complete her second term as our governor. It's too bad she was so busy auditioning for Team O; the Detroit Three really could have used her up on The Hill to provide political cover for them as they were pilloried by the many Moronic Congresscritters. In fact, she seems to have been nearly invisible during most of the recent Big Three Crisis.
Jennifer Granholm did not make the cut as Secretary of Energy for the Obama Administration, and alas, she must trudge back the Great Lakes State and complete her second term as our governor. It's too bad she was so busy auditioning for Team O; the Detroit Three really could have used her up on The Hill to provide political cover for them as they were pilloried by the many Moronic Congresscritters. In fact, she seems to have been nearly invisible during most of the recent Big Three Crisis.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Whither Michigan?
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth has released the state's unemployment rate for May, and it was grim: 8.5%, a 1.6% increase from April. As Rick Haglund of the Grand Rapids News observes, the state government really can do little to stem the loss of unskilled and semi-skilled manufacturing jobs. Certainly not with emergency programs to stimulate one industry or another. It could choose to bring some sanity to the state business and fuel tax structure, perhaps reduce the business tax rate (our fair state chose to add a 22% surcharge to the new Single Business tax, shafted some businesses with tax increases and favored others with reductions, and raised state income taxes in the teeth of our own state's severe recession...so Hooveresque!). Governor Granholm has hawked a miriad of "Cool Jobs" schemes (a reference to her "Cool Cities" program"), from IT to medicine to alternative energies to movies. Nothing has really stuck, and for state policy makers there is a very important message in that fact. Perhaps a change of strategy is needed: cut business regulation and taxes, make it brain-dead simple for people with a good ideas to start up a business...and then just stay out of their way.
PS - Tom Shields' column makes the same case for the "State of the Morass".
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth has released the state's unemployment rate for May, and it was grim: 8.5%, a 1.6% increase from April. As Rick Haglund of the Grand Rapids News observes, the state government really can do little to stem the loss of unskilled and semi-skilled manufacturing jobs. Certainly not with emergency programs to stimulate one industry or another. It could choose to bring some sanity to the state business and fuel tax structure, perhaps reduce the business tax rate (our fair state chose to add a 22% surcharge to the new Single Business tax, shafted some businesses with tax increases and favored others with reductions, and raised state income taxes in the teeth of our own state's severe recession...so Hooveresque!). Governor Granholm has hawked a miriad of "Cool Jobs" schemes (a reference to her "Cool Cities" program"), from IT to medicine to alternative energies to movies. Nothing has really stuck, and for state policy makers there is a very important message in that fact. Perhaps a change of strategy is needed: cut business regulation and taxes, make it brain-dead simple for people with a good ideas to start up a business...and then just stay out of their way.
PS - Tom Shields' column makes the same case for the "State of the Morass".
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Whither Tuition?
University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman heads of to Africa to promote "research and academic ties" with the countries of Ghana and South Africa. The press release makes the goals sound very noble and worthy. Just over breakfast one could dream up a hundred noble and worthy projects that the University could start or expand. Given the dire economic circumstances of the state, perhaps some focus on programs that assist Michigan's economic competitiveness may be a higher priority. Or perhaps spending less, asking the state for a smaller increase in assistance, or saddling the students and families with a smaller increase in tuition might be a priority, too.
University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman heads of to Africa to promote "research and academic ties" with the countries of Ghana and South Africa. The press release makes the goals sound very noble and worthy. Just over breakfast one could dream up a hundred noble and worthy projects that the University could start or expand. Given the dire economic circumstances of the state, perhaps some focus on programs that assist Michigan's economic competitiveness may be a higher priority. Or perhaps spending less, asking the state for a smaller increase in assistance, or saddling the students and families with a smaller increase in tuition might be a priority, too.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Endowment Hoarding.
Today's Ann Arbor News features a story on the University of Michigan's whopping $7.1B endowment, which has doubled since 2003 (a return of 14.9% per annum). UM keeps raising tuition (7% last year) and begging for more state funding, while spending only $200M of the endowment toward operation of the school.
What is an $7.1B endowment for? How about decreasing the onerous costs borne by students and their families? For example, if the green eyeshades at the U can average a return of half of that for the previous five years, then after budgeting inflation (about 3%) they could still apply the net $320M toward school operations and - gasp! - rollback tuition for 40,000 students by $3000 per student. This would be a decrease of the present tuition and fees by 30%!
Today's Ann Arbor News features a story on the University of Michigan's whopping $7.1B endowment, which has doubled since 2003 (a return of 14.9% per annum). UM keeps raising tuition (7% last year) and begging for more state funding, while spending only $200M of the endowment toward operation of the school.
What is an $7.1B endowment for? How about decreasing the onerous costs borne by students and their families? For example, if the green eyeshades at the U can average a return of half of that for the previous five years, then after budgeting inflation (about 3%) they could still apply the net $320M toward school operations and - gasp! - rollback tuition for 40,000 students by $3000 per student. This would be a decrease of the present tuition and fees by 30%!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Monday, October 15, 2007
Homecoming 2007.A great day: tailgating with fellows from the dorm floor in '76 (Fire Up, Van Tyne!), and then off to the game! (You can find more great Michigan songs at the UM Glee Club)
Thursday, October 04, 2007
A Pinch of Reform.
Kudos to Governor Granholm for approving S418, which will reform MESSA. Now let's face the unpleasant fact that we're likely to face another shortfall for the 2008-2009 state budget. Will there be another round of tax hikes to shore it up?
Kudos to Governor Granholm for approving S418, which will reform MESSA. Now let's face the unpleasant fact that we're likely to face another shortfall for the 2008-2009 state budget. Will there be another round of tax hikes to shore it up?
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Monday, October 01, 2007
The Reforms are in the Mail.
Yeah, right: Governor Granholm and Her Flying Democrats are pledging to now make the tough choices in cuts and reforms to save $440M. Well, a big one would be cleaning up the MESSA, the MEA-controlled organization that supervises teacher's health care. Michgan Senate Bill 418, which allows competitive bidding and more pooling for educator's medical insurance is now on the Governor's desk (delivered at 2:18 am this morning) for signing. She had all day to do so, with much fanfare for reform. But the Governor's office hasn't trumpeted its signing yet. Governor - sign S418 and demonstrate that your commitment to reform is genuine. But it means crossing the MEA, who have already launched their first salvos against it.
Yeah, right: Governor Granholm and Her Flying Democrats are pledging to now make the tough choices in cuts and reforms to save $440M. Well, a big one would be cleaning up the MESSA, the MEA-controlled organization that supervises teacher's health care. Michgan Senate Bill 418, which allows competitive bidding and more pooling for educator's medical insurance is now on the Governor's desk (delivered at 2:18 am this morning) for signing. She had all day to do so, with much fanfare for reform. But the Governor's office hasn't trumpeted its signing yet. Governor - sign S418 and demonstrate that your commitment to reform is genuine. But it means crossing the MEA, who have already launched their first salvos against it.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Granholm 1, Michigan 0.
It looks like Governor Granholm and her Flying Democrats will get most of their income tax increase (probably 4.35%), as well as a 6% service tax on such luxuries as carpet cleaning. In return the GOP will get...uh....well, its not quite clear if they'll get anything. The big ticket item for reform is opening competition up for teachers health care. Unfortunately teacher health care is currently provided by a monopoly affliated with the MEA, and they will not tolerate such a notion as competition. The other tremendous GOP victory will be stopping the Dems from getting the rate all the way back to 4.4%.
Remember this: when the good people of Michigan asked for the same sacrifice from its state government that it asked from their families, that government told them to go to Hell.
It looks like Governor Granholm and her Flying Democrats will get most of their income tax increase (probably 4.35%), as well as a 6% service tax on such luxuries as carpet cleaning. In return the GOP will get...uh....well, its not quite clear if they'll get anything. The big ticket item for reform is opening competition up for teachers health care. Unfortunately teacher health care is currently provided by a monopoly affliated with the MEA, and they will not tolerate such a notion as competition. The other tremendous GOP victory will be stopping the Dems from getting the rate all the way back to 4.4%.
Remember this: when the good people of Michigan asked for the same sacrifice from its state government that it asked from their families, that government told them to go to Hell.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Pure Michigan Pork.
Detroit's WXYZ-TV has been exposing some pork-barrel spending by the Michigan government: a new $117M State Police HQ that the troopers did not request, but does benefit a Governor Granholm supporter with a no-bid contract, replacing a dollar-a-year lease on the present HQ campus. Recall that Jennie-G touted an end on no-bid contracts in the 2007 State of the State speech.
Detroit's WXYZ-TV has been exposing some pork-barrel spending by the Michigan government: a new $117M State Police HQ that the troopers did not request, but does benefit a Governor Granholm supporter with a no-bid contract, replacing a dollar-a-year lease on the present HQ campus. Recall that Jennie-G touted an end on no-bid contracts in the 2007 State of the State speech.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
The Phony Crisis in Lansing.
The state government of Michigan is facing a "shutdown" of services, caused by the budget impasse. This is the total failure of vision and leadership by Governor Granholm. The state is caught in a confluence of economic torrents: the loss of both manufacturing and high-tech jobs (in a state considered to be one of the most hostile to business), the preciptous decline of home prices (one of the worst markets in the U.S.), and the loss of tourism dollars caused by higher fuel prices. In the midst of this mess the state government finds itself $1.7B short in its budget - less than 4% of the total. Yet the Governor cannot find the discipline to eliminate this excess spending and instead cynically creates a phony crisis that threatens a shutdown of state services that could hurt many citizens and ruin the state credit rating. She chooses politics and infantile theatrics over leadership - refusing to force the state government to provide services more efficiently, declaring that any attempt to do so is an attack on children, the elderly, and the poor. Instead she decides to cause high-profile inconvience by closing state services to all Michiganders. If we can't find a way to cut state spending in this kind of financial crisis and instead insist on raising income taxes, then God help us - the Leviathan has swallowed us up.
The state government of Michigan is facing a "shutdown" of services, caused by the budget impasse. This is the total failure of vision and leadership by Governor Granholm. The state is caught in a confluence of economic torrents: the loss of both manufacturing and high-tech jobs (in a state considered to be one of the most hostile to business), the preciptous decline of home prices (one of the worst markets in the U.S.), and the loss of tourism dollars caused by higher fuel prices. In the midst of this mess the state government finds itself $1.7B short in its budget - less than 4% of the total. Yet the Governor cannot find the discipline to eliminate this excess spending and instead cynically creates a phony crisis that threatens a shutdown of state services that could hurt many citizens and ruin the state credit rating. She chooses politics and infantile theatrics over leadership - refusing to force the state government to provide services more efficiently, declaring that any attempt to do so is an attack on children, the elderly, and the poor. Instead she decides to cause high-profile inconvience by closing state services to all Michiganders. If we can't find a way to cut state spending in this kind of financial crisis and instead insist on raising income taxes, then God help us - the Leviathan has swallowed us up.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Cutting Michigan's Throat.
The Democrat-controlled Michigan House of Representatives, along with Democrat Governor Jennifer Granholm, are insisting on an 18% increase in the state income tax in order to close the $1.7B budget deficit by $1.1B. The State Senate, headed by Republican Mike Bishop, proposed a cuts-only solution that was DOA. The Senate may now retune this proposal with a mix of cuts and a smaller income tax hike.
The total Michigan state budget is $45.2B, so the $1.7B shortfall is about 3.8% of the total. Here is the breakdown of the 2006 budget:
Education should not take a disproportionate hit, only its share, which would be 35% of the total shortfall, or about $550M. It also may be true that inefficiency is even worse in other spending areas, but the education portion of the budget is so huge that it has to be part of the budget balancing equation. Businesses routinely face the challenge of cutting overhead while maintaining the ability to grow value. Why can't it be so for the state government?
But it is truly economic suicide to hike income and other taxes while the state reels from job losses and possesses a nation-leading unemployment rate.
The Democrat-controlled Michigan House of Representatives, along with Democrat Governor Jennifer Granholm, are insisting on an 18% increase in the state income tax in order to close the $1.7B budget deficit by $1.1B. The State Senate, headed by Republican Mike Bishop, proposed a cuts-only solution that was DOA. The Senate may now retune this proposal with a mix of cuts and a smaller income tax hike.
The total Michigan state budget is $45.2B, so the $1.7B shortfall is about 3.8% of the total. Here is the breakdown of the 2006 budget:
- Education $14.7 (Billions)
- Health Services $10.0
- Human Services $4.4
- Transportation $3.2
- Police & Prisons $2.5
- Government $2.3
- Unemployment $2.0
- Lottery Admin $1.6
- Revenue Sharing $1.1
- Regulatory $0.9
- Tax Credits $0.9
- DNR & Ag $0.7
- Business Funds $0.6
- Debt Service $0.3
Education should not take a disproportionate hit, only its share, which would be 35% of the total shortfall, or about $550M. It also may be true that inefficiency is even worse in other spending areas, but the education portion of the budget is so huge that it has to be part of the budget balancing equation. Businesses routinely face the challenge of cutting overhead while maintaining the ability to grow value. Why can't it be so for the state government?
But it is truly economic suicide to hike income and other taxes while the state reels from job losses and possesses a nation-leading unemployment rate.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Auf Wiedersehen.
Volkswagen announced today it was moving its headquarters out of Michigan to Virginia:
The message that VW sent was that being Michigan-based would not help provide VW the imagination and creativity to compete in the automobile industry. VW's exit and the shuttering of Pfizer's R&D facility in Ann Arbor suggest that the Governor's dream to make Michigan the vertex for high-valued added jobs is floundering.
Volkswagen announced today it was moving its headquarters out of Michigan to Virginia:
A message from Stefan Jacoby to Volkswagen of America employees: Dear Colleagues:Good morning. Today we are announcing a new strategic direction for our Company that will allow us to grow our U.S. business by fostering a culture of fresh ideas and bold thinking — and connecting better with our customers...
The message that VW sent was that being Michigan-based would not help provide VW the imagination and creativity to compete in the automobile industry. VW's exit and the shuttering of Pfizer's R&D facility in Ann Arbor suggest that the Governor's dream to make Michigan the vertex for high-valued added jobs is floundering.
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