Author Archives: chadphillips

Republican Mailing Uses Fake Michigan Family to Claim They Support Education

Posted on June 29, 2014 by chadphillips

ShareState Representative Phil Potvin’s mailer arrived in my mailbox today.  Potvin’s letter touts the Republicans’ commitment to education.  It was a bit like getting a mailer from PETA saying they support the meat packing industry!  I’ve seen firsthand the Republicans’ commitment to education when I saw … Continue reading →

Posted in Phil Potvin, Schools | 9 Comments

Looking out for #1. Legislators Spending an Additional 4.7 Million at the Capitol in 2014

Posted on June 29, 2014 by chadphillips

ShareMichigan Republicans are once again taking care of #1.  In March they increased spending on Capitol Police by 1.7 million dollars despite the fact that the Capitol Building is one of the safest places in the state.  This month they passed a … Continue reading →

Posted in Law Enforcement, Schools | 1 Comment

Part-time Legislature Ballot Initiative is Dead

Posted on June 9, 2014 by chadphillips

ShareThe part-time legislature ballot initiative is dead.  The following message is now posted on the committee’s website: The Committee to Restore Michigan’s Part-time Legislature regrets to announce the suspension of its campaign to restore Michigan’s citizen-driven, part-time legislature.  It is now apparent … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 Election | Leave a comment

The Most Abusurd Thing About the EAA Spending Spree

Posted on May 19, 2014 by chadphillips

ShareThe Education Achievement Authority (EAA) hasn’t had much good press lately.  The district, made of Detroit’s worst performing schools, got its test results back and the vast majority of students “failed to show even marginal progress.”  Then the district made national news when a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Forget Roads or Schools, Michigan’s Surplus is Going to Businesses According to State Rep.

Posted on May 1, 2014 by chadphillips

ShareRepresentative Phil Potvin, of the 102nd district, appeared earlier this month on the WCMU program Capitol Report.  When host David Nichols asked where Michigan’s 975 million dollar surplus was going to be spent, Potvin might have shared something Republicans don’t want you to know. … Continue reading →

Posted in Phil Potvin, Taxes | 7 Comments

A Quick Look Back at Michigan Populist’s First Three Years

Posted on April 21, 2014 by chadphillips

ShareEaster Sunday was the third birthday for the Michigan Populist Blog.  Here is a quick look back. The first post:  The first post, entitled Snyder Uses Poor and Politicized Data to Judge Public Schools, was actually an adaptation from a letter written to … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging | Leave a comment

Why You Should Support the Part-Time Legislature Ballot Initiative

Posted on April 16, 2014 by chadphillips

ShareMichigan’s legislators had enough time last year to pass a law to make sure that one guy in the U.P. could make money by letting people pet bear cubs.  That was just one of 367 laws passed since January 1st, 2013.  Laws are … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 Election, Government Reform | 8 Comments

Capitol Police to Legislators will be 1 to 6 While Flint Police to Residents is 1 to 833

Posted on March 20, 2014 by chadphillips

ShareAccording the FBI, Flint and Detroit are two of the top five most violent cities in America.  Yet, Flint has just 1.2 police officers for every 1,000 residents, and Detroit has just 3 police officer for every 1,000 residents.  It is clear that neither of those … Continue reading →

Posted in Law Enforcement | 2 Comments

Snyder’s Graphs Show he is not Responsible for Michigan’s Comeback

Posted on March 14, 2014 by chadphillips

ShareGovernor Snyder has labeled himself the “comeback kid.”  Two solid indicators of a comeback would be unemployment trending down and people’s incomes trending up.  As you can see in the two graphs below from Governor Snyder’s dashboard, we are slowly improving in … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 Election, Economy, Richard Snyder | Tagged | Leave a comment

Republican Legislator Admits Targeting Teachers Which Could Violate the U.S. Constitution

Posted on March 12, 2014 by chadphillips

ShareIn 2011, Republicans dealt a serious blow to the collective bargaining process by passing a law (Public Act 4152 of 2011) that said state employees cannot get retroactive pay when a contract is settled.  This law essentially created an incentive … Continue reading →

Posted in Chamber of Commerce, Collective Bargaining, Right-to-Work, Schools | 1 Comment