Sound Off! Make your voice heard
Update: Keep the comments coming – your voices need to be heard in Lansing!
You may have noticed that we’ve just launched a brand new website – LowerMItuition.com. It’s a way for Michigan citizens to get involved in the campaign against rising tuition costs in Michigan. I say “citizens” and not just “students” because these tuition hikes affect everyone in Michigan. A well-educated workforce is essential if our state is going to emerge as a leader in the 21st Century economy. Of course, for students and their families, the effect is especially real and especially sudden. Many students were hit with double-digit tuition increases with little warning. What is especially frustrating about these rate hikes is that they could have been avoided if the legislature had worked to pass a comprehensive budget solution of revenues, cuts, and reforms that solves our fiscal crisis and invests in things like higher education.
But, what’s done is done. Unfortunately, though, the budget is still left undone. That’s why we all need to rally together and urge the legislature to pass a comprehensive solution to the budget crisis. Forget the partisan politics or political positioning – let’s do what we have to do to get our fiscal house in order and poise Michigan to become an economic powerhouse. It can be done. Governor Granholm has laid out the blueprints for success with her comprehensive economic plan, now we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Here’s what you can do… Visit JenniferGranholm.com/SoundOff and record a video response to the state legislature. Don’t worry about making it look good or sounding like you know exactly what to say. Just be honest about your thoughts on the budget crisis and how the legislature’s delay in resolving the fiscal crisis has affected you. Whether you’re a student feeling the hit from big tuition hikes or a parent worried about cuts to public safety, it is your voice that matters most in Lansing. If you’re worried about looking goofy on camera, relax – you can’t look any goofier than me. 
If you don’t have a camera to record a video (that’s the only excuse I’ll accept), you can leave your comments on this blog post instead. And don’t forget to call your elected officials directly, too. They need to hear from their constituents that we support a comprehensive mix of revenues, cuts, and reforms to solve this urgent budget crisis. You can use this form to find the contact information for your legislators.
We may not have expensive lobbyists or powerful special interests to get our message to Lansing, but we don’t need them. If we work together, we have a collective voice that will reach all the way to the state capitol. It’s time to make our voice heard!
August 30th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Of all the ideas thrown around since February, I still favor Gov. Granholm’s 2-cent tax on services. It raises revenue with the least amount of pain possible to Michigan’s citizens. We’ve all been forking over pennies here and pennies there for gasoline, milk, insurance, utilities, etc., because these items are all necessities.
Well, guess what? Michigan is a necessity too. The 2-cent plan would cost on average only $65 dollar per year for the average family, (sorry, don’t remember the income level that figure is based on), but in return we would be taking care of our schools, needy citizens, law enforcement needs, environment, tourism and so and so on.
There have been times in my life when I had to cut back on my household budget and eliminate everything but the essentials, but there have also been times when I’ve had to ask for help from family or friends in order to pay for roof repairs or a new furnace. I’m fortunate because help was always there for me; however, I’m not really surprised because I’ve been there for people when they’ve needed help too. That’s what families and friends do for each other.
This is one of those times when Lansing has to ask the citizens of Michigan for help. So, ask, but only for what you absolutely need, and then use whatever funds we give you wisely and well. Don’t abuse our trust.
August 30th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
I sent an email to my state senator, Jason Allen, to please do what needed to be done and raise revenues . . . doubt it will make much difference in how he votes but at least he knows I’m paying attention.
September 1st, 2007 at 10:17 am
Okay– I’m kinda new at this. I have two suggestions that may or may not help the Michigan budget crisis. The first regards the children who are starting back to school. Michigan needs to change the birthdate cut off for children starting Kindergarten. The current cut off date is December 1st. Meaning if your child turns 5 by December 1, 2007 they may enter kindergarten on the September 1, 2007. Not only is this a bad idea, as if you talk to kindergarten teachers around the state they will tell you that some children in their class have a 9 MONTH AGE SPAN. At that early age, 9 months is a long time and leads to many challenges in the classroom for the teacher and for the younger students trying to keep up. This could all be eliminated if a law passed making it mandatory for a child to be 5 by the September start date. Also, this may eliminate the the need for early 5’s program throughout the state along with the testing and the funding that goes along with it. Early 5’s is a good idea for kindergartens that have higher academic expectations that a regular kindergarten. What teachers are saying now is, “Kindergarten is the new 1st grade”…. Also–Has anyone from the legislature or the Governor’s office had a conversation with our school teachers lately?? Has anyone really HEARD what they are saying??? I suggest putting out some type of comment card or suggestion form to ALL TEACHERS in Michigan to hear what they are saying. We all know public schools have problems and these teachers who are”on the front line” if you will, have valuable suggestions for making Michigan’s educational system a better place to be.
My second recommendation– is to get the Senate to pass the $7.50 tipping fee for trash coming into michigan. I live 3 miles from Carleton Farms landfill and I am “ON the front Line”. I battle the trucks, the garbage on the road, the environmental damage of tipped trucks, the bad roads, and the horrible, horrible stench that reaks from that dump EVERYDAY. I live three miles from the landfill and our county doesn’t even have a recycling program in place. A $7.50 tipping fee would put recycling programs in place for counties like mine and curb the out of state garbage coming in. We (our citizens organization, R.A.L.F. Residents for an accountable landfill) met with our Senator Randy Richardville and he has done nothing but smile in our face and shake our hands. Bruce Patterson was no different. I have wriitten editorials, met with our elected officials, attended public hearings, I am part of the class action lawsuit against the landfill and have worked with the lawyers overseeing that lawsuit, and I am currently working on getting a weather station installed( by the citizens) to monitor the landfill because the DEQ doesn’t the manpower, equipment or funding to do so. Something needs to be done. And I need more help from officials in doing something. A $7.50 tipping fee would be a great place to start.
September 4th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
1. Raise income taxes
2. Establish reasonable tipping fee to keep other trash from Michigan
3. Protect the Great Lakes
4. Do not delay the EIC credit for the poor.
5. Put sales taxes on servies, Remove sales taxes on clothing.
6. Do something about gas prices.
7. Make meaningful changes to get health insurance for all Michigan residents.
8. Leave the catastrophic vehicle insurance alone.
9. Pass no more laws, resolutions, bills until the budget is fixed, and NOT with smoke and mirrors and has been the case for years. Work together
10. Get rid of the obstructionists……..guess who I’m referring to?
I expect no action on any of this, just as has been happining all year.
September 14th, 2007 at 11:52 am
1. Convert Michigan’s unused industrial facilities into manufacturing alternative energy hardware, such as windmills, solar panels, etc. Closed paper mills can be used to create cellulosic ethanol.
2. If holding an early Primary will cost the state more money, DON’T DO IT!
3. Increase the tax on services, but do NOT increase sales taxes! The first is progressive; the latter, regressive.
September 25th, 2007 at 11:13 am
What is the hold up?!?!?? The Governor Granholm has been telling them they need to increase taxes since february!!?! Now even GOP folks are saying it, too. Mike Bishop needs to wake up and get his act together before Michigna suffers anymore. WE ELECTED YOU TO SERVE US SO STOP WORRYING ABOUT YOUR OWN HIDES AND RAISE TAXES ALREADY!!!
September 26th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
People need to remember that John Engler started this mess by slashing funding to our state and rolling back taxes. Look where that got us. Anyone who says Michigan is a high tax state is forgetting that. My message to the Legislature is to quit stalling and raise taxes. Of course there are reforms and cuts to be made but we need new revenues. You have stalled and stalled and stalled while the Governor proposed her plan. Now because of your stalling we are headed to a shutdown!!!! STOP stalling!!!!!