Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed legislation that will end retiree healthcare benefits for most current and all future lawmakers. The governor says the move is long overdue as the benefit was exceedingly generous and out of step with the private sector.

The bill eliminates the benefit for any lawmaker who was not already vested by January 1, 2013. It means 97 out of the 147 lawmakers currently serving lose the benefit, as will all future lawmakers.

But the language in the bill also allows about 50 of the senior members to keep the benefit, which the governor also called exceedingly generous and out of step with the private sector.

Certainly cutting the benefit was a good move, but why not immediately cut it for everyone in the Legislature? We’ve certainly seen many in the private sector lose their pension benefits and many, many others not ever having a pension plan.

If they have trouble coming up with the votes, maybe the State can appoint an emergency manager to come in and tear up the pension plan for all lawmakers.

And while they’re at it, why not look into cutting the pensions that are sent to those still working at high-paying jobs?

The Detroit News recently revealed a list of what many might refer to as “double dippers.”

I thought pensions were for retirement.

. . .

Those who want to add to the 20-plus gambling casinos we already have in the Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula are trying again. Their proposal would allow seven new non-Native American casinos.

We’re hearing from some who say they’ve gotten phone calls pushing the idea, and that former Detroit Lion Billy Sims is trying to bring on some “name” types to give the movement gravitas and money.

The idea is to direct some revenue to things like film credits and roads, in the hope that other powerful groups not related to gambling can get behind the effort. An effort to put a similar question on the ballot last year fell short.

If this one is successful, new casinos will be in places like Grand Rapids, Detroit, Lansing, Romulus, Benton Harbor, Saginaw and Port Huron.

. . .

I’ve been wondering recently about which direction we’ll be going in regarding marijuana policy in the United States and in Michigan. On one hand, there’s clearly a move to crack down on certain medical marijuana outlets, leading to the closing of many of them.

The highest profile opponent of most of the new facilities is Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who says the dispensaries often sell to people who don’t have a legitimate medical condition.

Still others support the voter-approved medical marijuana law, and criticize moves to over regulate the law and harass medical marijuana users. Then there are the supporters of recreational marijuana, who predict that it will be legalized in just a matter of a few years or so.

Thirdly, there are at least two of the Republican presidential hopefuls who have called for wiping out the federal prohibition on marijuana, notably Herman Cain and Ron Paul.

And of course don’t forget about Gary Johnson (although Republicans might already have), former New Mexico governor (as of this printing he’s not been allowed in the debates by the GOP bigwigs), who predicts pot will eventually be legalized in the United States. He also reportedly says if elected he would issue a full presidential pardon for anyone serving a prison sentence for marijuana. Other candidates stand fully against legalizing recreational marijuana.

Finally, there’s the public, and the polling which has shown about 50 percent support legal pot, and support runs as high as 62 percent among those under the age of 30.

As for how business would react, many small entrepreneurs would certainly want to jump into the recreational pot biz (we’ve already seen that with medicinal pot).

But larger business has not seemed as interested and many have opposed legalizing recreational cannabis. Maybe because it’s not clear how much money you could make in that sector?

After all, it’s a product that also can be grown at home, unlike liquor (unless you like rotgut), or home-brewed beer, which is a much more complex process.

Because of that, claims that legal pot will generate much tax revenue for the State would be debatable. For the record, the traditional business community has not entirely ignored the (now dwindling) medical marijuana dispensary business.

The National Federation of Independent Business has actually sought and signed up medical marijuana dispensaries, telling them they’ll push for policies promoting a better business climate and so on.

But the group notably makes it clear that it won’t represent the dispensaries in any dispute with the attorney general regarding regulation or interpretation of the medical marijuana law.

. . .

We just made it through another holiday shopping season and all indications are that online shopping continued to take a bigger piece of the shopping pie in Michigan. Retailers are turning up the volume of their complaints that online retailers too often are let off the hook when it comes to paying sales tax on what they sell online, while brick and mortar retailers have to pay the six cents on the dollar.

One retailer recently told a legislative committee that lawmakers have to do something because current policy has meant fewer retail workers due to the “unfair competition” with the online operators.

He told them, “We’re losing employees and you are losing tax revenue.” This continues to be a tough egg to crack. First of all, there already is a state policy, as consumers are required to report their purchases via their income tax form. But the policy doesn’t work because taxpayers rarely report the purchases.

And the elephant in the room is the consumer, who does not want to change the law, because he or she wants the best shopping deal possible.

While lawmakers are sympathetic to the retailers, they also don’t seem interested in upsetting consumers. Some are looking at states like Illinois, which has a new law to expand its sales tax to items bought online from retailers who have sales affiliates in the state. But that does not speak to the behemoth online retailers not based in Illinois that do a huge amount of business there.

		Rob Baykian is director of news and operations at the 67-station Michigan Radio Network and has been covering the Capitol since 1981.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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