Weekend Economists Down Under May 23-26, 2014

[Demeter]

10. Koch bros smacked down in Michigan but Republicans can't even do the right thing the right way

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/23/1301423/-Koch-bros-smacked-down-in-Michigan-but-Republicans-can-t-even-do-the-right-thing-the-right-way?detail=email

Efforts by the Koch brothers front group Americans for Prosperity to scuttle the Detroit bankruptcy settlement were shot down in flames as the state legislature overwhelmingly voted yesterday to contribute $194.8 million toward the deal. This was the amount needed to ensure that the deal did not collapse and which saves the Detroit Institute of Arts' priceless art collection while ensuring that retired Detroit pension holders don't see their monthly retirement checks slashed.

The vote on the 11-bill package was bipartisan and, for the most part, lopsided. The main bill passed by a 103-7 margin. It was a harsh rebuke of the meddling of the corporatist Koch brothers and other wealthy funders of AFP. That was a bridge too far even for Republican legislators who were not cowed into submission by threats of AFP spending against them in the upcoming primary election.

Vote on one bill, however, was not so lopsided. House Bill 5571, according to the House Fiscal Agency's analysis, would "amend the Art Institute Authorities Act to prohibit the renewal of the existing voter-approved 10-year millage or the levy of a new millage unless the art institute was owned by a municipality on the date the tax levy or renewal was authorized."

In other words, this particular bill prevents the DIA from raising funds from the communities that currently support it once the current millage runs out. The DIA draws no money whatsoever from the city of Detroit. The millage along with donor contributions and other funding sources allows it to be a net positive for the city, financially speaking.

Annmarie Erickson, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the DIA, explained it this way last November:

The biggest irony of all is that our incredible art museum doesn’t cost the city of Detroit a dime. The museum is managed by a nonprofit, responsible for all operations. Unlike Detroit, the DIA changed its retiree health care plan years ago. We reduced our work force, eliminated an expensive pension plan, and did all this in cooperation with our unionized staff. All this work keeps $31 million off Detroit’s books every year and brings hundreds of thousands of visitors to Midtown.

By passing this bill, the Republicans have essentially hamstrung the DIA and made it far more vulnerable to financial problems in the future.

Much like their position on the minimum wage ballot initiative, Republicans showed with this vote that they are all for democracy right up until people vote for things they don't agree with. Then the will of the people to decide things for themselves is worthy of being taken away by the patriarchal lawmakers in Lansing....

MORE LUNACY IN LANSING...THIS IS WHY I STAY IN ANN ARBOR, OR AS MY UNCLE CALLED IT: THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF ANN ARBOR....