Sometimes it’s good to have a lot of features on “WHTC
Morning News,” and sometimes it’s not.
Today (July 3
rd
) was more of the latter than the
former. There were several stories and editorials pointed out by MIRS News
(of whom we are a subscriber) in its daily “MIRS Statewide Headlines &
Press Releases” email that were worthy enough for lengthy comment, but we just
didn’t have enough time.
-
1)
Editorial:
Fix roads without inflated union perks
.
Road
building contractors in April agreed to require union and non-union
subcontractors to pay into a union fringe benefit fund — which their non-union
peers are barred from receiving. Members of the Republican-controlled
Legislature are now trying to use the budget as a tool to ensure a better deal
for taxpayers.
I believe that such deals in collective
bargaining agreements is part of the reason why there is growing “anti-union”
sentiment. Unions were formed nearly a century ago to combat corporate abuse of
its labor force, and many of the reforms won by labor unions are laudable and
necessary. However, the pendulum continues to swing towards the other extreme,
with many of the costs of gains made now by unions being paid for at the cash
register by consumers, resulting in a continuing spiraling of the cost of
living. -
2)
AG’s
Line 5 move sets state down wrong path
.
We believe Michigan Attorney General Dana
Nessel’s move last week to shut down twin 66-year-old oil pipelines in the
Straits of Mackinac, saying they pose an
“unacceptable risk”
and
the state cannot wait five to 10 years for Enbridge Inc. to build a tunnel to
house replacement pipes, makes no sense to us, given what virtually every
expert in the business has said about the line’s importance.
Perhaps
the campaign ads last year about “Dangerous Dana Nessel” may have some validity
after all, even though the focus of those ads was different. The argument about
preventing an ecological disaster by shutting down the pipelines must be
weighed against the argument about preventing an economic disaster by the loss
of jobs and energy should the pipelines be shut down. We don’t live in a
vacuum, Madame Attorney General, and your actions would have harmful ramifications
for many years after you leave office if you are successful. -
3)
LaFave:
‘Dark store’ legislation blocked
.
Despite bipartisan support from the Upper
Peninsula, a bill to close Michigan’s
“dark store”
tax
loophole remains stalled in the Legislature.
I’m no expert on tax
loopholes (former Ottawa County Treasurer and current state Rep Brad Slagh, the
Zeeland Township Republican, is), but the perfectly legal practice, done by
committee chairmen, majority leaders and speakers from both sides of the political
aisle, to kill any proposal by just putting it in the “circular file” until the
legislative session expires smacks of totalitarian rule. One man’s (or one
woman’s) agenda can dictate what direction a government can go, and that runs
contrary to the democratic beliefs that this nation is based on. No wonder
voter initiatives have been growing in popularity as frustrated groups who can’t
get a hearing because their interests are contrary to those in political power
are going more and more to petition drives to put their proposals on the ballot
instead of having these political “martinets” wield their rods over them. -
4)
Michigan
Bill Would Ban ‘Viewpoint Discrimination’ By Facebook, Google
.
A
Republican state representative has introduced a bill that would make it
illegal in Michigan for social media companies such as Google or Facebook to
“censor, ban, shadow-ban” or use other means to exercise viewpoint
discrimination against users on the basis of the person’s political opinions.’
After
hearing Joe Pags (weeknights 6-10 PM on WHTC) describe how his Facebook Live
efforts had been thwarted, I’m of the opinion that such legislation may be
needed, although it should be more on a federal level than a state level. We
may not like what somebody posts, but we should not have censorship of such
posts by those who operate major social media websites. Such control could get out of hand quickly, especially when it comes to
(and it will come to) content deemed offensive by the LGBTQ+
community that is in Holy Scripture.
Again, kudos to MIRS News for
pointing these articles and editorials out to us.
Thanks!
