Two Months In, And He's Already Running Out Of Other People's Money

 Mamdani's grandiose plan of spending an additional 11 billion dollars to New York City's already grossly inflated budget is running into a brush with reality.

He can't fund it without raising taxes, and he'd prefer that other people do the tax raisin' and get other people's money to pay for it.

New York Post: Zohran Mamdani unveils record $127B budget — fueled by proposed NYC property tax hike

So, in searching for other people's money to fund this insane spending spree, he demanded that the New York governor increase everyone's taxes to pay it, which is going as well as can be expected:  IJR: Tax War Erupts Between Mamdani And Hochul.

With this budget, NYC will spend $127 Billion for the government of a single city.

The government for the entire State of Michigan by contrast, has a Budget of $88.1 Billion, even after the budget has been bloated over 50% by Governor Whitmer's increases over the course of her governorship.

Of course, the proposed speeding is chock-full of DEI and make-work jobs for his supporters, while defunding the police, even as the budget grows by 11 Billion.  Fox News: Mamdani plan pours millions into ‘racial equity’ offices and six-figure diversity jobs, cuts 5,000 NYPD jobs

New Yorkers are about to get what they wanted, good and hard. 

I Did Not Know That Michigan's Libraries Are

Heavily, and in some case majorly, funded by traffic tickets and penal fines. 

I had figured that library mileages on property taxes were responsible for the bulk of the funding. Apparently not.

Nor did I know, but I should have guessed, that Wayne County would manage to screw up the accounting and distribution for that funding. Badly.

The Detroit Free Press: Accounting errors have cost Wayne County libraries millions

Over the last decade, 18 libraries in Wayne County have been shorted as much as $1.9 million, while 11 saw an influx in cash, all because of staff turnover at the county level and subsequent accounting errors.

The money at issue flows through the state and comes from penal fines, which are paid to courts in criminal and some civil violations, including most traffic fines. County treasurers collect and distribute the fines to libraries. This funding is baked into state law and it can account for anywhere between 3% to 70% of public libraries' annual budgets, according to the Library of Michigan.

 Wayne County lost the employee who calculated penal fines and the county did not replace that position, according to a report the Library of Michigan prepared for public library directors and boards.

So interesting to know that a goodly amount of the fines from court goes to the state's libraries, hopefully helping the True Crime shelves be well stocked, and that Wayne County can impressively mess up the distribution of those funds.

Detroit's Q-Line Gets A Nice State Taxpayer Bailiout

Democrats do love their toy trains.

I've blogged quite a bit on the Q-Line, a private-public partnership with losses socialized and profits (which don't exist) privatized, producing a train in Detroit that moves at the speed of a walk for 3.3 miles and costs millions to operate.

Now the State of Michigan is stepping in to forgive a 3.5 million dollar loan to keep the Q-Line in the black in return for . . . advertising rights on the side of the Q-Line streetcars.  Oh joy. This is on top of another $85 million in taxpayer subsidies given to the Q-Line courtesy of Governor Whitmer.

This is being done as the non-profit operating the Q Line gets folded into the Regional Transit Authority. So, moving forward, the entire region including Macomb and Oakland Counties and not just Detroit can be on the hook to pay for this streetcar to nowhere.

The Detroit News: State forgives $3.5M loan for Detroit's QLine in exchange for ad rights on street car

Just more choo-choo cronyism at work, paid for with your tax dollars. Note that its the taxpayer and not the users that pay for the Q-Line as the rides are free as people won't pay to ride it.

Michigan Dems' Plan To Bail Out Broke Dem City Proceeds Apace

You never have to say you're sorry, so long as there's still other people's money available.

The Detroit News: Highland Park, GLWA strike deal trying to buy time for final settlement

The tentative deal comes as state lawmakers have attempted to provide bailout money. The Senate Appropriations Committee last month approved a $35.4 billion budget for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services that includes $20.3 million for Highland Park to use to repay the estimated $24 million with interest it owes the Great Lakes Water Authority for years of unpaid drinking water bills.

You see, the City of Highland Park doesn't just owe $24 million in unpaid water bills, they owe tens of millions more in unpaid water bills.  Their current annual property tax revenue - $9.6 million. That's a problem. But now thanks to the Michigan Democrats, it won't be the city's problem and there will be no consequences to it and it's leadeship for this rather bad decision.

After all, there's tax money available from the rest of the state's taxpayers to be diverted.

The fun question is what was the city government of Highland Park doing with all the water payments made by residents there to the City all that time when they weren't paying it to GLWA?

A more pressing question is why should everyone else in the state be bailing them out for their deliberate decision and failure to pay for their water bills?

A Proposal By The Gov For Outright Election Year Bribery

So what do you call it when during an election year a Governor who's been doing a pretty lousy job overall promises a bounty of $2,000+ annually to each of her strongest supporters?

A "retention bonus".

The Detroit News: Whitmer to propose $2,000 annual retention bonuses for teachers, staff

Well, it's only $2.3 Billion of our tax money over 4 years - with per the article most to be spent -- per Whitmer's urging, not surprisingly in this (election) year.

Funny how that works.

Pretty much an outright payoff and bribery to some of her key supporters - the Michigan Educational Association and its members - with other people's money.

Michigan Citizens' Ballot Proposals For Access To Other People's Pockets

Alexis de Tocqueville once wrote:

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money."

We've certainly gotten to that point, and then some.

In a demonstration of direct democracy, some activists have discovered they can push ballot proposals to give them access, through the government, to other people's money.

The Detroit Free Press: 3 citizen initiatives could get OK for signatures today

The initiatives include:

To allow for voting by mail: Read that as "Make vote fraud easier".

To increase the corporate tax rate to 11%: As one wag in the comments noted, it's the "Help businesses move to Ohio" initiative. Hey if you can get corporations to pay for your government largess and you don't understand the economic effect on both business and your economic opportunities as a result, why not right? What could possibly go wrong?

To force small businesses to have up to 40 hours worth of paid sick days and other businesses up to 70. That won't increase employer costs and move small businesses even closer to the edge now will it?

I'm surprised the initiatives didn't just cut out all the games and instead push a ballot proposal demanding the State of Michigan set a minimum wage of $60 per hour to make everyone in the state middle class.

After all if they vote for it, it must be make such a result, right?

Closer To Home Than Greece, The Rich Port Isn't

Puerto Rico has also just announced it has run out of other people's money.

Powerline: Puerto Rico Goes Broke

Puerto Rico has also just retained Judge Rhodes, the judge who took Detroit through its Chapter 9 bankrupty in the matter.

The Detroit News: Rhodes on Puerto Rico: ‘It’s exactly like Detroit’.

I'm not sure if Rhodes means that Puerto Rico did itself in by a corrupt Democrat administration that squandered its funds through waste, fraud, incompetence and by paying the ruling party's cronies for contracts for in excess of the value received and sweet heart deals with Unions in return for political support. To be charitable to Puerto Rico, perhaps he just meant Puerto Rico's government was both borrowing too much and massively overspending beyond its capacity to repay.

It's the same, except of course Puerto Rico's debt is 4 times bigger than Detroit and there is both no surrounding state to bail it out as occurred for Detroit and no Chapter of the Bankruptcy Code to provide for the bankruptcy of a United States Commonwealth.

Perhaps Spain will offer to buy the island back in exchange for paying off the debt. That is of course assuming Spain doesn't join Greece in running out of other people's money, due to its debts, as it's debt loading on a per capita basis actually matches Puerto Rico's.

May you live in interesting times was indeed a curse and not a blessing.

Beware Of Greeks Bearing Debts

Whether you are an individual or a nation, you can only go on borrowing and spending above your means for so long. - and it looks like Greece, failing a further bailout, just hit the so long point.

The Detroit News: Greece to miss IMF debt payment and bailout to expire

More Michigan Democrat-Run Cities Running Out Of Other People's Money

A few more Michigan local governments are running out of other people's money. Now it's Highland Park's and Royal Oak Township's turn to face possible emergency management.

The Detroit News: Two Metro Detroit communities push back against state intervention

I've noted the odd case of Royal Oak Township before. Indeed the township has been in a tailspin since before 2009. A half mile township with some of the highest tax rates in the state that has taxed itself out of existence causing businesses to flee while paying its bureaucrats very well indeed. Of course, having many of the bureaucrats involved in corruption didn't help much either.

Now it seems that the state will take some action but the Royal Oak Township response seems to be a rather unacceptable excuse:

officials from the tiny half-square-mile township nestled along Eight Mile between Oak Park and Ferndale did not dispute their state review team’s findings, but blamed the township’s shrinking tax base and decisions by past officials for its financial woes.

In other words, we're not viable, but its not our fault that even with some ridiculously high tax rates and special assessments for police services, still can't even pay the bill for police protection.

It's long past time that Royal Oak Township closed up and was absorbed by a neighboring city. The problem is, will any city nearby actually want to take on the costs of recovering this wreck and shining example of decades of Democrat one-party misrule?

Counties Reluctant To Take Opaque Detroit Water Deal

Two articles show Oakland and Macomb Counties fail to be taken in by the latest Detroit offer regarding its Water and Sewer Department:

The Detroit Free Press: Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson on Detroit water deal: 'We're probably going to walk'

The Detroit News: Detroit water deal not close, Oakland County says

Since the opening demand from the city for the Counties to pay $200 million a year to lease the system from Detroit, their latest offer is now down to $47 million per year for 40 years. This seems less a reflection of its actual value than an admitted attempt by Detroit's EFM to get a steady flow of cash heading to the bankrupt city.

Unfortunate, the City and EFM have yet to provide the suburban counties current financials or reports on the state of the system. I expect lots of expensive differed maintenance will be revealed as the Water department since the days of Coleman Young has been run as a source of a slush fun and featherbedding for Democrat politicians in the city at the suburbs' expense. Think pig in a poke.

After all, the recent massive water line breaks causing two foot high floods on some main streets in Detroit hardly boost confidence in the state of the system.

Any suburban official crazy enough to enter into a lease on a system without knowledge of its current state and maintenance requirements would be insane. Oh, Wayne County Exec Ficano is all in favor of the deal, which certainly tells you something.

It tells you Oakland and Macomb County should run, not walk from this latest offer before they and their taxpayers get taken for a very expensive ride.

A Supposed Bargain For Detroit's DWSD Pig In A Poke?

Detroit's EFM, Kevyn Orr, has recently come down in his asking price for the suburbs to "lease" the Detroit Water a Sewer Department.

Previously,he was pushing them to pay $9 Billion for a lease on the water department.

He's now down to offering the lease for $1 Billion.

The deal would still keep the city the titular owner of the water department and the suburbs would pay $47 million a year in lease payments and in return get equal spots on the Water Board to oversee operations.

The Detroit Free Press: Suburban leaders cautious on regional water authority proposal

No kidding they're cautious. The EFM a few months back tried to take them for nine times the current offer, and the current offer doesn't disclose all the details of what really needs to be done to fix and maintain the water department after its been used as a political slush fund and featherbedding unit of the corrupt Detroit administrations for years.

Even at a better price, Orr is still trying to offer it as a Pig In a Poke:

Oakland and Macomb counties have been demanding updated financial details from the city on the department’s operations, as well as engineering studies that would outline expected maintenance and repair costs. Without that information, it’s impossible to agree to a lease payment, Hackel said.

In a regular deal, the financials would be provided up front to the prospective buyer would know what they're getting into. That they're not being given this information suggests that Orr wants to sell the DWSD off to them before the reality of the situation is shown and the cat is out of the bag.

The suburban executives are darn right to be cautious and insist on full disclosure before proceeding, especially given Detroit's duplicitous track record.

My bet is the financials reveal a shambles, display there's tons of outstanding required deferred maintenance, and that if the suburbs accept the latest offer, We're going to be hosed.

EFM Trying To Fleece Suburbs To Benefit Detroit

The Emergency Financial Manager of Detroit you must remember is a Democrat, and as a Democrat his first thought is to grab for other people's money to get revenue after decades of squandering of monies in a now broke Detroit due to corruption and mismanagement.

The Detroit Free Press: Suburban leaders blast plan to lease water, sewer assets for $9B

Suburban leaders are blasting a plan by Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr to get customers across the region to pay the city as much as $9 billion over 40 years to lease the assets of the Water and Sewerage Department.

For those not up to speed on the Detroit Water and Sewage Department that EFM Orr is now trying to lease to the Suburbs for $9 billion let's recap: This is the same entity that was used as a political slush fund and source of no-bid contracts by Detroit's politicians, most notoriously Kwame Kilpatrick and friends, This was a department that has been sticking it to the suburbs with rate increases for featherbedding and passing the money to other Detroit departments while critical infrastructure was not properly maintained.

And now he wants to lease it, deferred maintenance obligations and all, to the same suburbs that have been getting the short end of the department's operations this entire time in exchange for the suburbs paying Detroit 9 Billion dollars?

Oh, hell no.

Problem: Detroit's Pension Plans Badly Underfunded. Solution: Send The Trustees To Hawaii!

With pensions underfunded by at least $600 million, two of Detroit's public pension funds sent four trustees to Hawaii.

The Detroit Free Press: Detroit's pension boards pay $22K to send 4 trustees to Hawaii

Four trustees of Detroit’s two public pension funds are heading to a Hawaiian beach resort this weekend with their $22,000 tab paid for by the funds, which are mired in claims of mismanagement and said to be at least $600 million underfunded.

. . . .

Records obtained by the Free Press under the Freedom of Information Act show the expenses cover airfare — including a first-class flight for one trustee — lodging at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort in Honolulu, registration fees, meals and a per diem for miscellaneous expenses.

The Detroit pension plan situation is clearly desperate, but not considered serious by the trustees.

Of course, the trustees are just taking the President's cue about living large with lavish vacations to Hawaii at the public's expense, so can anyone truly blame them?