Michigan legislative action thread
Posted on 07/13/2015 2:33:13 PM PDT by george76
Illinois and Michigan have traded places on two key metrics for measuring prosperity and opportunity, and both changes are embarrassing for the Land of Lincoln. The first major change came in October 2014, when Michigan surpassed Illinois for total factory jobs. Michigan now has 25,000 more factory jobs than Illinois even though the Wolverine State’s economy is only three-quarters the size of Illinois’.
Now, new data from the Department of Human Services shows the embarrassing role reversal has come full turn. In March of this year, Illinois bumped off Michigan to become the Midwest’s No. 1 user of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. For the past several years, Michigan had a higher percentage of its residents on food stamps than any other Midwest state. But not anymore. Illinois now has a higher portion of its population on food stamps than any state in the Midwest.
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This change was a long time in the making. Back in January 2010, near the bottom of the Great Recession, Illinois had only 12.5 percent of its population on food stamps, while 17.5 percent of Michiganders depended on the federal program to put food on the table. In the meantime, the number of Illinoisans on food stamps has climbed by 435,000, while the number of Michiganders dependent on food stamps has fallen by 170,000.
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many of the reforms that were so effective in Michigan are included in Gov. Bruce Rauner’s legislative agenda for Illinois. Michigan enacted collective-bargaining reforms along with Right to Work, and is currently working on repealing its prevailing-wage law. Michigan’s workers’ compensation system is in line with Indiana’s and far more competitive than Illinois’. And Michigan property taxes are, on average, $750 per year lower than Illinois’.
(Excerpt) Read more at illinoispolicy.org ...
Something to hold your head a little higher about, Illini!
Hey Illinois got room for more? We’ll just ship you Muskegon and Flint.
Illinois - where we gots what it takes to take what you got.
How bout we keep Muskegon and send them Flint and Ann Arbor. I’ll even throw in Michael Moore to sweeten the pot.
We’re number 1! We’re number 1!
Doesn’t surprise me a bit. I’d say at least half the people I see at the grocery store are paying with some form of food stamps. Lots of younger millenial types too.
I do think the grocery stores should put in a “food stamps aisle”, because it is infuriating standing in line behind a bunch of dawdlers who have no jobs and are in no hurry, when you have stuff to get done.
NO more “Second City” eh?
It pisses me off even more when the stampies try to sneak through something not covered by stamps. Of course the scanner refuses to accept their EBT card. Then they get to go through all that they bought, looking for the illegal item. Sometimes the stampies will raise hell and get the CS manager involved.
Meanwhile the line behind the stampies, which I’m standing in, grows longer and my frozen stuff slowly melts.
AARRGGHH!!!!!!!
Because Great Community Organizer improved Illinois so much, he was elected twice to improve the US.
Food stamps only cover cold food items. Paper towels, bath tissue, etc., are NOT covered. Aren’t these people aware of that? I think it rings up everything, and then when one swipes the food card - it then rings up the food items, and what’s left are to be paid for by the buyer out of their own pocket. I don’t understand what you mean they have to go through everything to find out what the illegal item is.
The good folks of Illinois should just keep voting Democrat. It has worked out so well for them for so long.
Sounds like those tricky EBT cards are discriminating....
...against non-food items.
As long as they can get their filets and lobster tails, they should be (fat) and happy, right? I just read that we have a double epidemic .... poverty AND obesity.
In the instance I wrote of, it happened that way I wrote it. Apparently the computer isn’t smart enough to determine which item is illegal, just that there is one.
Perhaps the protocol could be changed so if you have an EBT card, you declare that first and the cashier records your declaration. Then any item that did not qualify for food stamps could be sensed and rejected instantly.
I would assume Caliph Baraq is taking “credit” for this progressive breakthrough in his adopted home state.
Yeah, that’s always fun.
Well, while I am stuck behind them, I can always keep busy by counting how many different flavors of soda and potato chips they are buying.
Ok, I assumed that they would run their EBT card first and the remained not covered would be what they owed out of pocket.
I take issue with people who look into other people’s carts. I worked many years and helped pay for other’s food stamps, but, didn’t care because I felt blessed that I was able to purchase my own. And, who knows? There might come a day when one has to go on food stamps themselves. Never say never! I call this food policing - a tactic of the left.
If my money is helping to pay for it, then I have every right to see if it is being well spent. Besides, I am stuck behind them in line every time I go to the store. I cannot help but noticing the crap they are piling on the conveyor belt in front of me. Sorry, I’m not really interested in the tabloids, and I don’t diddle around on a smart phone, so I’m going to notice.
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