Rick Albin contradicts himself right in the same paragraph. Amazing.
I knew I shouldn't have clicked on the link, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. But, I did it, and now I have to respond.
This aggression will not stand, man.
But in this commercial DeVos makes a new claim when he talks about one of the hottest political issues in Lansing in the last year, the Single Businesses Tax.
The commercial says "Dick DeVos, the only candidate with a plan to get rid of the Single Business Tax."
It's true. DeVos has advocated doing away with the SBT but has been criticized for not having a replacement. Just last week Gov. Jennifer Granholm said, "The single Business Tax is going to go, there's no question about it, we've proposed to do that. The question is: what replaces it?"
So therefore, when Dick says he is the only candidate with a plan to get rid of the SBT, and in the very next sentence Granholm has stated she has proposed to do that as well, that means that Dick isn't the only candidate with a plan, right? So, how is that statement "true", Rick?
As a matter of fact, Dick doesn't have a plan- and says he won't until later.
The GOP candidate seemed to indicate that he wouldn't be able to offer more specifics until he's elected governor.
"When I have the tools and the ability to utilize the research capability of the government and the implications and make those choices, we'll move forward," he said.
This statement is a bit laughable (and tragic) considering that he is on the "Get It Done" tour. When it comes to actually "getting it done", Dick says.... he can't get it done.
Here is a link to Granholm's plan for the SBT- she is the only candidate that actually has a plan to "eliminate the SBT" as it stands now!
Dick DeVos is the only candidate without a plan to eliminate the SBT!
Want to quibble about the word "eliminate"? Dick even says that some of the SBT will be replaced.
He still declines to say how much of the $1.9 billion in revenue the Single Business Tax brings in should be replaced, although he said businesses should pick up at least half the tab.
"The majority of it needs to come from a proper business tax, a business tax that doesn't punish companies for hiring and for expanding health care benefits for their employees," he said.
And there you have it. Dick is proposing replacing the tax. When he says "eliminate", he isn't telling the truth. But you would never know that from Rick's story, would you?
Very sloppy reporting from Channel 8's "political" reporter. Make him an editorialist and get it over with.
Dick also mumbled something about cutting state spending along with "replacing" the tax- which is very interesting in the face of another story Channel 8 featured last night-
Budget cuts have affected nearly all of us in some way. That's why state workers held a picket Tuesday in downtown Grand Rapids protesting higher caseloads and fewer resources. They say in the end, both put the community's safety in jeopardy.
At the picket, state workers with UAW Local 6000 held signs and pounded the pavement over what they call a severe lack of parole and probation officers.
They say the shortages can be seen from the Secretary of State's office to Child Protective Services. The worst off may be the Department of Corrections. A recent study shows 350 additional parole and probation agents are needed.
The study reveals Michigan has 73,293 probationers and 24,404 parolees on the streets with only 1,041 agents supervising them.
"It's a situation that can not continue, and we have to make the public aware of it," says Greg Stratton, UAW Local 6000 Representative.
So what "spending" is Dick going to cut? He won't tell us, probably because if his true plans were revealed, he couldn't get elected.
I should probably stop going to Channel 8 altogether. They are not going to provide complete coverage, and I need to just get over it before I put my foot through the TV or my computer monitor.