Michigan Voters Say No To Additional Money To Fix The Roads
Well, well, well for those who keep pointing to polls to validate what they are pushing for, this poll will certainly sting and be ignored. One of the biggest state issues we have in Michigan is “to fix our damn roads” as our Governor was and is so fond of saying. For me, it is the cost of our “damn”, if I may borrow a word from our Governor, auto insurance.
The Detroit News is reporting on a poll commissioned by the Detroit Regional Chamber and conducted by the Lansing based Glengariff Group. The poll was run from January 14th through the 18th and surveyed 600 likely voters.
The bottom line is of those likely voters surveyed 53% of them believe there is enough money/taxes in the state budget currently to fix our roads and bridges. The people who do not want to make the hard decisions to prioritize our spending in Michigan are not going to like this result. That may actually mean they need to move our tax dollars from pet projects that are failing or not living up to expectations to fixing our “damn” roads. As well as using any increased tax revenue flowing into our state treasury to “fixing our damn roads” instead of funding new pet projects or increasing the funding to others.
If increased taxes were forced on the people of Michigan this poll determined that a majority of people do not trust the state to effectively spend our money. The poll found:
Of the 600 individuals polled, they believed that the following would be best trusted to spend any new road taxes:
- approximately 30% said their city or township
- 30% trusted county government
- 23% trusted state government.
I would certainly agree with that assessment. I am wondering why the 23% would believe that the state government in Lansing would better spend those increased road taxes as opposed to the local municipalities.
Sandy Baruah, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber said:
Any kind of statewide legislative action (on roads) would have to be very clear that localities, counties are going to get the money
Richard Czuba, founder of the Lansing-based Glengariff Group said that his groups polling:
reflects the continued inability of state leaders to make a “clear and concise” argument regarding the need for new road revenue
He went on to state:
State leaders on both sides of the aisle are losing the PR campaign with voters in failing to explain why there is not enough money
As Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones once sang:
this town's full of money grabbers…Go ahead, bite the Big Apple, don't mind the maggots
What will our politicians and money grabbers do now?
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