10.03.07
Posted in life at 10:22 am by Brandon
Well, a while ago I mentioned something about becoming a dad.
It happened.
Pass the coffee.
Liam Garrett was born last week Wednesday, and after only a short stay in the hospital, Liam, mom, and dad are very good. (Oh and by the way, his cuteness factor goes up immeasurably when I tell you that the above picture is of a yawn and not a scream.)
Upcoming announcement: In the weeks to come, I’m going to be doing some book reviewing. I’ve been getting contacts from a number of publishers asking that I review their books. When the books sound interesting, I’ve been saying yes. So…keep your eyes on your newsreader for more posts here in the future!
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09.18.07
Posted in life at 1:42 pm by Brandon
Okay, so I’m not writing about taxes, but I’m still pissed off about a budget solution. Seems letter writing is getting me no where, perhaps I’ll join the 4th graders from Cedar Springs and start raising money on my own…at least all the money I raise, I can appropriate as I see fit.
Here’s news from Cedar Springs, Michigan:
By Tom Rademacher
The Grand Rapids Press
Maybe what Michigan’s Legislature needs is a little dose of Garret Mactavish.
While state lawmakers bicker over how to resolve a projected $1.7 billion deficit, this take-control fourth-grader is rallying classmates to bail out school needs.
The problem? Too few dollars at Beach Elementary School in Cedar Springs.
The solution? A 9-year-old kid who urged his school chums to bring in empty pop cans and bottles, with proceeds up for grabs by teachers seeking a few bucks to make ends meet for their students.
“I was watching TV, and suddenly, something biblical popped up in my mind,” Garret said. “You know — like a revolution, or maybe it’s a resolution. Um …”
Hey, close enough.
Garret’s revelation was that he might be the instrument to bring in a few bucks to help offset a spending freeze imposed earlier this month by the district.
If Cedar Springs educators want to buy more classroom supplies or embark on a field trip, they won’t find funds in the general budget.
No problem, though, with Garret Mactavish on the job.
“I just had this thought that we could collect pop cans and bottles,” said Garret. “My mom said I better ask my teacher about it first, but then I thought maybe I should go to someone higher.”
“So I went to see the school secretary.”
Eventually, Garret landed an audience with Cedar Springs School Superintendent Andy Booth, who listened to Garret’s proposal and issued a green light.
“What a nice young man,” said Booth, “and he’s out there with a great work ethic and community spirit.”
That was last week, and, already, Garret and his “Mac Attackers” (it’s a take on his surname and a McDonald’s sandwich) have raised more than $100.
That Mac Attackers board of directors include co-director Ellie Colvin and a trio of “creative specialists” in Ashley Vanderhoef, Austin Basso and Nicholas McCarthy — all classmates of Garret’s.
Collectively, it’s up to them to decide which of the dozen teachers at Beach Elementary get what money from the Mac Attackers fund, based on, well, whatever fourth-graders deem appropriate.
“We walked around to the rooms and showed them our (poster) and we put up signs,” said Nicholas, 10.
“I wanted to see how it turned out,” said Ashley, 9. “But we’re getting a lot of stuff now,” a lot of bottles and cans.
Garret’s goal is a lofty one — $5,000 by school year’s end. But even if he draws in hundreds rather than thousands, it will help to buy anything from pencil sharpeners to sticky notes to folders and other supplies, said Lindsay Haveman, a counselor at Beach.
And no matter the amount, it’s the sentiment that counts. “He’s done this all on his own,” she said of Garret. “And he’s done it out of the goodness of his heart.”
Garret’s father, Bob, confirmed that it was his son’s idea: “How he came up with it, I don’t know.
“But I can say that he’s a very thoughtful young man,” he said, “and when he sees things not falling into place, he likes to do things on his own.”
Besides returnables, Garret is also accepting spare change, and plans to add to the total by peddling his Playstation One video game. “You know what?” he asked. “I need to spend less time playing video games anyway. I need to get off my butt.”
So does Lansing, where partisan politics threaten a partial government shutdown if lawmakers can’t devise a plan to erase a projected $1.75 billion deficit for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
Someone ought to spring Garret from classes for a day and whisk him to the Capitol for a brainstorming session before bickering pols.
What the heck, invite the entire Mac Attackers Board of Directors. That way, they could listen to strategies like that of Austin Basso, who not long ago responded to a buddy in need — no questions asked, and no red tape at play.
“I helped a friend,” he said, “sell tomatoes.”
I say we recall ALL our legislators, rewrite the constitution to allow for 9-year olds to serve in the state legislature and let the Elementary schoolers hammer out a budget. Frankly, given the progress currently occurring at the state level, I’m not sure I see a huge problem with this logic.
Tags: michigan budget, politics, michigan politics, michigan, budget crisis, michigan budget crisis
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09.17.07
Posted in politics, life, education at 8:04 pm by Brandon
Okay, this is the last tax post for a while, I promise. But I did a little research and dug up some numbers which seem to really support my hypothesis that Michigan really is a low tax state in comparison with the rest of the country.
In Michigan in 2007, the federally defined level of poverty for a family of four was $20,650. If one lived in any of the 49 other states or Washington D.C., one would pay the following income tax rates based on that salary (please don’t let the lack of alphabetical order throw you):
State Tax Rate
Alabama 5%
Arizona 3.05%
California 4%
Connecticut 5%
Florida 0%
Hawaii 7.6%
Illinois 3%
Iowa 6.48%
Kentucky 5.8%
Maine 8.5%
Massachusetts 5.3%
Mississippi 5%
Montana 6.9%
Nevada 0%
New Jersey 1.75%
New York 6.85%
North Dakota 2.1%
Oklahoma 6.25%
Pennsylvania 3.07%
South Carolina 7%
Tennessee 6% (Taxes only on dividend and interest income)
Utah 6.98%
Virginia 5.75%
Wisconsin 6.5%
Washington D.C. 7%
Alaska 0%
Arkansas 4.5%
Colorado 4.63%
Delaware 5.2%
Georgia 6%
Idaho 7.4%
Indiana 3.4%
Kansas 6.25%
Louisiana 4%
Maryland 4.75%
Minnesota 5.35%
Missouri 6%
Nebraska 5.12%
New Hampshire 5%
New Mexico 5.3%
North Carolina 7%
Ohio 4.083%
Oregon 9%
Rhode Island 3.75%
South Dakota 0%
Texas 0%
Vermont 3.6%
West Virginia 4%
Wyoming 0%
Washington 0%
That’s right, at the poverty level, 34 other states (and Washington D.C.) are charging their residents MORE income taxes than Michigan.
Furthermore, at several states (who have graduated income tax rates) individuals earning median income levels pay more income taxes than we do here in Michigan! For example in Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Arizona one would pay a greater percentage of their income in income tax than in Michigan if one earned a median income for those states.
That makes 38 states and Washington D.C. that expect their residents to pay more than Michigan expects its residents to pay.
We are a low-tax state. It is catching up with us.
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09.15.07
Posted in life at 12:32 pm by Brandon
I really didn’t plan on getting quite this mad about the Michigan budget. Really, I didn’t. Lately, though, I’ve been watching several news outlets and opinion sections wherein people are whining about how new taxes are the bane of the existence of Michigan’s fair citizens. Last I saw, the tax hike on the board currently proposes a graduated income tax hike from 3.9 to 4.6 percent. That translates to a tax increase of $350 dollars for a taxable income of 50,000 dollars per annum.
I could spin a logically compelling, numerically heavy description of why I think this tax increase is a good idea. But, I won’t. There’re some people out there who are so opposed to taxes that they would bitch and moan about the oppressive burden this 350 dollar per year tax increase would cause to Michiganians in this trying economic time. Instead, I suggest that whoever wants to pay this tax increase get to pay it and whoever doesn’t want to pay it…you’re free to just go on contributing the minimum amount of taxes currently required.
Here’s the hitch…those of you who don’t want to pay the tax, you’ll have to continue using only those services which are still around after budget cuts.
Those of us who pay greater taxes, well, we’ll be able to send our kids to schools where kids have books and desks and other extraordinary luxuries of this kind. We’ll have a classroom sized that are around 20-25, we’ll have well paid teachers and school transportation. When there’s an emergency, we’ll know that after we call 911 an emergency service provider will be there in less than, say, 90 minutes. When our house is burning, there’ll be a fire department who cares. We’ll have city parks that are taken care of and public transportation to help those of us who don’t have cars get to their jobs.
Those of you who don’t want to pay taxes will have the incredible fortune of saving their 350 bucks a year. Now, granted, your children will attend schools where classrooms have about 40 students in the room, and of course there’s the minor inconvenience that about 15 of the students in the room will not be able to sit in desks but will be relegated to finding a spot of floor to sit on…but that’s a small price to pay for your saved tax dollars, isn’t it? Oh, sure, you’ll have to wait an hour or so longer for the fire brigade when your house is burning, perhaps you can spend part of the extra money you save on taxes on some buckets in case you have a fire. Your neighborhoods will be flooded with the homeless because they’ll no longer have a place to be cared for in mental health facilities (many homeless have mental health issues)…but what’s a bum or two, right?
Perhaps if those of you who hate taxes so damn much wouldn’t think of paying taxes so much as a tax and more as buying an asset for yourself, you wouldn’t get your panties in such a twist. After all, we all know how much you like to buy things for yourself…if you didn’t care so much about it, you wouldn’t be so wound up over keeping that extra 350 bucks a year.
Tags: michigan tax increase, budget crisis, michigan budget crisis
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09.13.07
Posted in education at 5:11 pm by Brandon
If you hadn’t heard, Michigan’s budget is currently in the crapper. If you live in Michigan, I’d encourage you to write your senator or representative and tell them to fix Michigan’s budget problem. Also, if you’re interested, here’s a countdown clock to the 2007-2008 fiscal year. Below is a letter I’ve written to my state senator. If you find it persuasive, I would encourage you to write in to your representative (if you’re a Michiganian) and ask that they solve the budget crisis without slashing funding to education.
Here’s how you can contact your state representative.
And here’s how you can contact your state senator.
Dear Senator Hardiman,
My name is Brandon. I am writing to you to urge you to do all in your power to ensure the passage of a balanced budget before October 1st.
As you are no doubt aware, the state of Michigan is facing massive budget shortfalls. And, as you are also no doubt aware, the state of Michigan has significantly cut funding to programs such as higher education as well as K-12 spending—even since Governer Granholm has taken office. Some estimates place the projected shortfall of Michigan’s budget at around 1.7 billion dollars for the upcoming fiscal year.
Who is to blame? Frankly, I think this question is pointless. The more pertinent question, now, is what do we do going forward? I am sure that you value education like I do; we cannot continue to cut educational spending and expect a long-term solution to our economic difficulties as a state if we do not set education for our citizens as a priority. The bottom line is this: One way or another we need more revenue.
I like to pay taxes just about as much as the next guy: Not at all. However, we face a crisis. Either we raise revenue in some way, shape, or form or we will face disaster. Unfortunately this disaster is not a nameless, faceless disaster. No, this disaster will be immediate, this disaster will be discriminatory (it will affect our poor and vulnerable with less impunity than it does our wealthy), and most ominous, this disaster is but a few short days in our future.
On September 30th, I will become a father for the first time. The next day, a budget must be in place. If you do not find some way to fund the state of Michigan my life will be impacted in the following ways. My wife is a teacher in the public school system. She teaches English and Journalism. She’s a good teacher and she cares about her students. My wife’s superintendent has already issued a warning that her school may not be able to make their October 21st payroll obligations if you do not pass a budget. This would leave my family (with less than a month-old child) to survive on my salary alone. I am a doctoral student at Michigan State University. I make approximately $17,000 in salary per year. Assuming that Michigan State could still afford to pay me (which is a big assumption given the loss of funding to education after a failure to pass a state budget) this leaves our family to subsist on about 1,300 dollars per month.
I have lived in Michigan for many years. I like it here. To be frank, my wife and I are highly educated and highly trained; I am pursuing a doctorate and my wife holds a Masters degree in education. If Michigan hopes to retain highly educated and highly trained people, it needs to start funding the things highly educated people care about. I find it highly unlikely that my wife and I would choose to raise my child in a state that slashes funding to K-12 education, cuts care to poor and aged populations, and otherwise puts our most vulnerable populations out to twist in the wind.
We have cut too much. The same classroom that my wife taught in 6 years ago which held 25 students now holds 35 students—although, there’s not enough money to get each student a place to sit. I wish I could say that I don’t care how you get a balanced budget, but the fact is I do. We need more taxes, we need them now. We can’t afford the cuts any longer.
Thanks for your time,
Brandon
Tags: michigan budget, letter to representative, politics, michigan politics, michigan, budget crisis, michigan budget crisis
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09.09.07
Posted in life at 11:07 pm by Brandon
Maybe it’s because I’m within a month of becoming a dad. Maybe it’s because I’ve got other things to occupy my ever dwindling mental capacity. Maybe it’s because it’s almost midnight and I read about 300 pages of academic drivel surrounding the advent of new communication technologies from the telegraph to the Internet this afternoon.
But whatever the reason, I feel like I give up. No, not the blog. (Although, if you’re around and reading this, you’re a hardcore badchristian fan… 
)
I’ve been feeling this way for a while now. Maybe it’s the mellowing effect of age, but I’m tired of being a radical Christian. I’ve never been much good at it anyway. I think that over the course of the past few years this blog has occupied this little corner of the Internet, I’ve been consumed with an ideology rather than a specific spiritual conviction.
I suppose I’m guilty of living life as a liberal instead of living life as a Christian. Progressiveness isn’t a good life value. Being Christ-like, well, I’m willing to give that a bit more of a shot.
A note to those of you who think you’ve won: You know who you are. You and I have argued about politics, faith, etc. We’ve pontificated about Bush v. Kerry, and the like. I’ve got news for you…I’m still a liberal. I haven’t particularly changed my mind about things. But I am sick of being dragged into meaningless political arguments for the sake of argument.
Okay, that’s all. Perhaps more fleshing out of this general announcement in the future. Perhaps not.
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06.30.07
Posted in life at 4:02 pm by Brandon
So, I’m barbequeing today. That means I’m in and out of the house at a torrid pace.
Thelma, one of our cats, has been napping on and off. Fortunately for me, she took a minute to educate me on what it means to be a follower of Christ.
As I was waiting for my guests to arrive, I decided to check my email. Thelma took a moment to climb onto our bed while I sat there with my laptop and rub up against me. I said to her, “Thelma, I love you. You keep coming back to me.”
That’s about when I realised that she was totally devoted. She’d given her heart to Jen and I. This, of course, does not mean that she doesn’t have her moments of annoyance or wandering. But the bottom line is that despite her occasional misbehavior, she keeps coming back.
Someday I hope to be as devoted a follower as my cat Thelma.
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05.15.07
Posted in faith, culture, life at 4:22 pm by Brandon
Perusing technorati.com you’d think it was Christmas. Frankly, I was a little shocked over the content of many entries I noted today about how very happy people were that Jerry Falwell had passed on. Even Christians (at least the progressive kind) seemed overjoyed that Rev. Falwell had passed.
I have to say, that sickens me a little.
If grace is true, then grace extends beyond my little political world.
If grace extends beyond my political world, God probably loves those who disagree with me politically, morally, and socially.
If God loves those who disagree with me, then God probably wants me to love them too.
It’s hard to remember sometimes, I think. I’ll admit, my first reaction upon hearing news of Falwell’s death wasn’t to be sad. It should have been, but it wasn’t. Sometimes, I think we all need a reminder that death–no matter whose–is the enemy, not a solution.
Tags: falwell, Jerry Falwell
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04.04.07
Posted in life at 3:10 pm by Brandon
If you’ve read my blog for any period of time, you know that it’s not particularly like me to keep my mouth shut for such a long period of time. Hell, even if you haven’t read my blog for that long, you probably know that about me.
At any rate, you’ve no doubt become aware that I’m not easily “track-downable” here for a variety of reasons. If you regularly visit to argue politics, religion, and science. Keep checking back here from time to time. I’ll keep writing when I have time.
However, over the past years I have made a few internet-friends who know me on a bit more personal level. If you’d like to keep track of my fatherhood exploits, you’ll be best advised to visit Jen and I at our reasonably new internet home.
Again, if you want to argue politics, religion, social issues, etc. Stick around here…this is kind of like the parlor…you talk about those kind of things in the parlor. However, if you want to visit with me or Jen or wish to hear news about Baby Brandon and Jen, please amble on over to the other site.
Once again here’s that link: Brandon and Jen’s new internet home.
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03.27.07
Posted in life at 1:53 pm by Brandon
Not much going on here. Just barely not-drowning in work, etc. Life’s been pretty uneventful, except, of course, for the fact that I’m gonna be a dad in September.
That’s all.
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