Stupid Michigan Crook

The Traverse City Record Eagle reports of a man stealing an off-road vehicle and then the gas to keep it running. The man was reported by a gas station attendant in Mesick when he drove off without paying for the gas he put in the ORV. He was picked up by police a short time later.

Note to stupid crooks: When you steal a vehicle either check to make sure it has plenty of gas or pay for gas to avoid further suspicion and get caught because you stole gas in addition to the vehicle.

Make Your Campground Reservations Today

It might already be too late to get into the Michigan State Campground of your choice for this summer. You can only make reservations up to six months in advance. The weekends are already booked up at such popular campgrounds as Grand Haven State Park which opened last week. Call 1-800-447-2757 (which is routed to Kentucky, I believe) or visit www.michigan.gov/dnr to make your reservation online. This year the non-refundable reservation fee is $8 whether you call or place your reservation online. Don't think you can save much by not making reservations.

There is still a $5 charge for those who take a chance on finding available sites and just show up at a campground the day they want a site. I wouldn't recommend doing this at all, but especially on the weekend in the summer. If you make your reservations now, you still have a great shot at finding camping sites available on weekdays and there are still weekend slots available at many of the less popular state campgrounds.

Granholm - Spend Money on Tourism Now

Governor Granholm was in Traverse City on Tuesday pushing for increasing money spent on marketing our state for tourism. Read my related post on this - Increase the State's Marketing Budget? Granholm is claiming that Michigan's legislators (Republicans) are making political statements in this election year by dragging their feet on her proposal. Michigan spends $15 million marketing our state for tourism. Granholm's proposal is to spend the bulk of it now instead of spreading it over the next five years as legislators would want. Supposedly, front-loading the money would generate $3.43 in revenue for the state for each $1 spent on marketing.

There has to be more to it than what is reported in the Traverse City Record Eagle. If it were so simple of an investment that returned over three times what was spent I don't know who would be against front-loading the $15 million. I highly doubt that Republicans are against generating money for the state and it's business owners.

Become an Outdoors-Woman

The annual Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program will be held June 2-4 in Big Bay (just north of Marquette). The Michigan DNR is sponsoring this event at Bay Cliff Health Camp. Over two dozen types of activities will help women learn and further enhance their outdoor skills. A small sampling of the classes shows - rock climbing, kayaking, hiking, fishing, and much more. Registration is $155 (includes lodging, meals, and equipment) and more information can be found through www.michigan.gov/dnr.

Lobbyists and Legislators

Lobbyists have a $51 a month limit per legislator for gifts they can lavish (influence) upon lawmakers. Like all suspect individuals, Michigan's lobbyists and legislators have found a way around this. Lobbyists have been pooling their funds together to go above the $51 monthly limit. I will not point the blame at just the lobbyists. Our state lawmakers do not have to accept these "gifts." I also did not know that lobbyists in Michigan can spend up to $675 per month to pay for legislator's lodging and travel expenses.

I was further unaware that Michigan is one of three states to not require our lawmakers to produce their financial records. Don't you think our state government would be lest costly without all of these shell games and flim flams? In the end, who foots the bill for our elected officials to have this free ride?

Read all about it in the Detroit News.

Increase the State's Marketing Budget?

An interesting editorial in the Detroit Free Press makes the case for Michigan to increase it's marketing budget to gain more tourism dollars. It would be great to see more tourism dollars spent in Michigan as a result of an increased marketing budget. However, I would like to see funding for this to come from cuts elsewhere in the state budget. Michigan tried to rid itself of the Single Business Tax, but Governor Granholm vetoed that. We can't keep increasing our spending while decreasing the state's revenue.

I am not calling for additional taxes or fees (taxes in disguise). I am calling for a more fiscally-minded state government that trims the numerous excesses (too many to list here) and become more lean.

Like I said, you can not just call for an increase in one budget area without a plan for how you will fund it. It is easy to make the statement, but difficult to figure out how to pay for it. Would we see enough money come in as a result in a tourism increase to offset the budget increase?