no third solution

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Category Archives: Michigan

Bay City Firefighters Union Steals $284,000 From Taxpayers

March 15th, 2009

Public service employee unions are often presented with a unique opportunity for graft. The scam is relatively simple, and I’m afraid it’s not uncommon among Fire and Police departments. It works like this: Jim calls in sick, which requires Steve to work overtime. Next week, Steve calls in sick which requires Jim to work overtime. Every 8 hour shift costs the taxpayers 8 hours of sick time plus 8 hours at time-and-a-half for the replacement labor, or a total of 20 hours wages. You only ever hear about these scams in Union-dominated occupations, and they are most common in the field of “public service” where mandates exist specifying the number of officers/firefighters who must be active or ready at any given time.

There are a number of ways that private companies handle “sick time”. Some companies don’t maintain a strict policy, having found that if they allocate 5 sick days per employee, that most employees will use (surprise!) 5 sick days in a calendar year. My current employer has no policy, and no set number of days allocated to each employee, however if you’re going to miss more than 3 consecutive days, I think they require a doctor’s note. My previous employer allocated 6 days per year for designated “sick time.” They would pay you your full hourly rate for the unused balance at the end of the year, which successfully discouraged abuse.

The Examiner reports that the Bay City (MI) fire department has been stealing from the taxpaying public, to the tune of $284,000 in sick pay and overtime. In an investigation conducted by the city’s police chief and human resources director, they find that the 51 firefighters in Bay City called in sick “an average of nearly 120 hours each” in 2008.

Firefighters and their union representative say they’ve done nothing wrong and nobody is calling in sick unnecessarily.

I’ve been working at my current job for about two and a half years, and I can count on one hand how many times I’ve called in sick (with a few fingers left over). I was at my previous job for exactly three years, and I could count on one hand how many times I called in sick there, too. Yet the Bay City firefighters are averaging 15 sick days each, per year, and they do not consider this abusive or unnecessary?

At the very least, the city needs to conduct a rigorous physical examination of their firefighters and summarily expel those firefighters who are medically unfit to perform their job-related duties.

Granholm: More Subsidies for Auto Industry, Please

January 16th, 2009

If you want a textbook example of rent-seeking, look no further than your local State government. In Michigan, the governor wants more federal subsidies for the Auto industry to protect us from “harmful” competition, abroad.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm says the federal government needs to invest more in research and development for auto-related alternative energy technologies such as the batteries for electric cars.

…South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. on Monday was named as the lithium-ion battery supplier for General Motors Corp.’s Chevrolet Volt. Granholm says LG has benefited from its government’s commitment to research.

Damn those Asians!

Of course, I don’t believe that the South Korean taxpayers should be financing our fetish for all things “green”, but as long as the South Korean taxpayers are willing to subsidize our Electric Vehicles, let them do it. In a “race to the bottom”, the winner is the loser. It makes absolutely no sense, economically, to participate in such a competition.

Unless you can benefit from it, by forcing others to bear the lions’ share of the burdens.

Protectionism is a prisoner’s dilemma. The ruling class is deciding what move to make, the prisoners—the consumers—are not playing the game. Although open trade benefits people on both sides of the artbitrary borders drawn to secure Statehood, Protectionism serves the interest of the plutocrats in control of the State.

Careful What You Wish For

January 10th, 2009

Almost four years ago, I noted that a Michigan law, the effect of which was to essentially ban mail-order wine to in-state residents from out-of-state vendors, had been struck down. The special interests were, of course, Michigan’s vinyards — heaven forbid they have to compete with California, and Michigan’s alcohol distributors — heaven forbid someone challenge their brontosaur of a business model.

All was well and good, apparently, until yesterday, when in the interest of preserving “fairness”, the Governor signed House Bill 6644, which by amending Section 436.1203 of Public Act 58 of 1998

[P]prohibits stores from sending wine directly to customers.

The wine law comes after a federal court ruling saying Michigan’s old law was unfair to out-of-state stores.

The law was, as are most laws governing commerce between “free” individuals, about protecting vested special interests. In this case, Michigan’s liquor control board, and their three-tiered distribution model.

Now, if your local liquor distributor doesn’t stock that particular label from Napa that you love, you’re out of luck, without recourse. Now, if your local liquor distributor doesn’t stock that particular label from Traverse City (MI) that you love, you’re out of luck. That is, unless a road trip to Napa (CA) or Traverse City (MI) is in your future.

The Supreme Court ruling which struck down the previous law on account of it being “unfair” to out-of-state producers was only half right, and because it was only half right, it was wrong enough to be challenged. Now, the State will prevent Michigan residents from buying any liquor, from any producer, in any State via mail order.

But hey, it’s fair, right?

A correct ruling would’ve also noted that the old law was also “unfair” to consumers, because there was not then, nor is there now, a compelling reason for the government to prevent grown men and women, from purchasing a particular brand of beer or wine merely on the basis of where it happens to have been produced, distilled or bottled.

no third solution

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