When your Michigan tax dollars are spent by your Michigan politicians should you not know who they gave your money to?

I would certainly think so.

Well your elected politicians apparently do not.

The Michigan Capitol Confidential news site is reporting that your elected Michigan state Representatives and Senators spent $38.6 millions dollars in the budget that started on 10-1-17 without identifying in the budget by name whom is to receive your tax dollars.

Why, because by doing this your Michigan state Representatives and Senators can get their pet or some might call pork projects paid for with your tax dollars without naming names. They are basically trying their best to be as non-transparent as possible.

How are they able to not put the name of their pet/pork projects and still receive the cash, well they describe them by census data.
For example the Michigan Capitol Confidential news site explained a project as:

One recipient, for example, is the Sanilac County Fairgrounds in Sandusky. It is getting $35,000 for a “Miracle of Life” birthing barn, but the name of the fairground is nowhere to be found.

Here’s how the payment is described in the Michigan Enhancement Grants section of this year’s budget bill:

“From the one-time fund appropriated in part 1 for Michigan enhancement grants, $35,000 shall be awarded for a birthing barn at a county fairgrounds located in a county with a population of between 43,000 and 43,300, according to the most recent federal decennial census.”

Really are you kidding me, it reminded me of a scene from the movie “The Jerk” when Steve Martin’s character was a carny check it out:

Am I correct with my analogy or am I correct?

How about another example to nail down exactly what they were they attempting to do:

The same device is used to designate the Grand Rapids Civic Theater for a payment of $1 million.

That appropriation reads: “$1,000,000.00 shall be awarded to a civic theater in a county with a population between 600,000 and 610,000 and in a city with a population over 185,000 according to the most recent federal decennial census.”

So now we come down to another possible reason, if they were to name these recipients of our state tax dollars it would be considered a “local act” under the state constitution and low and behold “local acts” need a two-thirds vote to pass.

These politicians appear to do whatever they need to do to spend your money or they have no idea what they are voting on when they vote on the budget. Either answer is not good for the people of Michigan.

 

More From WKMI