Go Free Yourself

Want to know what happens when you raise taxes in a weak economy? Look no further than Michigan.

My beloved home state was the subject of an excellent Wall Street Journal editorial yesterday, entitled “Granholm’s Tax Warning.” Here’s an excerpt (including a mention of our friend and ally, Leon Drolet of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance):

Michigan is now in the 18th month of a state-wide recession, and the unemployment rate of 6.9% remains far above the national rate of 5%. Ms. Granholm blames the nationwide mortgage meltdown and higher energy prices for the job losses and disappearing revenues, but this Great Lakes state is in its own unique hole. Nearby Illinois (5.4% jobless rate) and even Ohio (5.6%) are doing better.

Leon Drolet, the head of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance, complains that “we are witnessing the Detroit-ification of Michigan.” By that he means that the same high tax and spend policies that have hollowed out the Motor City are now infecting many other areas of the state.

The tax hikes have done nothing but accelerate the departures of families and businesses. Michigan ranks fourth of the 50 states in declining home values, and these days about two families leave for every family that moves in. Making matters worse is that property taxes are continuing to rise by the rate of overall inflation, while home values fall. Michigan natives grumble that the only reason more people aren’t blazing a path out of the state is they can’t sell their homes. Research by former Comerica economist David Littmann finds that about the only industry still growing in Michigan is government. Ms. Granholm’s $44.8 billion budget this year further fattened agency payrolls.

Read the whole thing here.

(Hat Tip: Fark)

I don’t know about you, but a haircut that comes with a complimentary beer sounds like a pretty good deal to me. That’s what Thomas Martin (owner of Jude’s Barbershop in Grand Rapids, Michigan) thought, too—as did his many satisfied customers—until authorities ordered him to stop serving beer since he didn’t have a liquor license.

Martin challenged the case in Lansing, but Attorney General/Senior Government Killjoy Mike Cox ruled yesterday that Martin would have to get a license to continue offering customers free beer.

Puh-lease. It’s one complimentary beer. This is overregulation at its worst. Besides, what happened to Gov. Jennifer Granholm pushing her “Cool Cities” plan to help Michigan retain a “young, hip” workforce? Someone should mention to Jenny that regulating businesses to death is very much the opposite of cool.