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[Duuvian]

Admittedly, when I heard that the average price of a house in Detroit is like $17,000, I thought it'd be worth a shot to buy up huge swaths of semi-developed Michigan, to wait a couple decades for the economy to come back (haa haa hee hee hoo hoo) and rake in the cash Lex Luthor style.

Or better yet, have a giant private post-apocalyptic playground.  You could throw the world's biggest and best paintball tourney.

I had these ideas as well. Mostly the first, but the second is unavoidable on the very rare occasions I visit Detroit. Also, Michigan is the state I live in, and I didn't even hear of this. That will teach my family for canceling everything but our local newspaper, like a lot of people around here. It's no wonder the local paper became more and more conservative leaning since Obama's election. It means I don't hear about things like this.

EDIT: I'm also getting a bad feeling that this won't end well once they start trying to use it. I think they may be trying to throw a match on a haystack. The most worrisome part is the ability to remove elected local officials, for obvious reasons. If you take control of local government from the rural people, you will find it a cold welcome when you visit. Local officials aren't perfect and could use more public oversight, but from past experience I believe that's the opposite of the goal of this bill, which would be some sort of mutant corporate and non-local political interest oversight.

[mainiac]

Well, obviously it has been manipulated, but the actual philosophy wanted to protect the rights of the individual.

I'm going to go to bed before we derail and have this thread degenerate into arguing over Objectivism.

Know what a fantastic philosophy is that aims to protect the rights of the individual?  Liberalism.

Yes, we liberals have to actually make compromises in order to protect the rights of the individual.  But we actually try to do it in a real world, not a fantasy one where people can act selfishly forever without consequences.

[Duuvian]

The lack of balances in place reeks of potential for all manner of political abuses, so here's hoping that the bill gets a decent measure of revision before it hits the state (Huh, passed already, did it?)... but if this may lead to getting the state back on its feet, I would not be opposed. I only hope they keep things ethical, and minimize their going over the heads of others in cases where it's not needed.

The thing is that it's much more difficult to organize local movements than it is National. Each local movement is done by people who would likely have no interest in politics except they need to change things. If they are changing how local government works, and they control state, then the only way to change it back if necessary is through local people having to go out to every meeting that the assholes get paid to go to, to discuss the legitimacy of their issues while the people running the meeting are the ones making the problem. Then, after being ignored, it requires these people to take time out of their lives to go door to door in whatever sized district they live in, collecting signatures to even place an issue upon the ballot. From what I've read, I would not be surprised that they now have such sweeping powers that district size and shape will be subject to change at whim if opposition is organized in a district, so goodluck with that effort.

EDIT: Goddammit, I think I may have been talking to myself a year from now, or whenever they really start screwing things up and affecting my future.

EDIT2: Also, if this somehow ends up with Michigan seceding or some other nonsense, fuck it, I'm staying loyal to Canada. <-- joke

[Flaede]

EDIT2: Also, if this somehow ends up with Michigan seceding or some other nonsense, fuck it, I'm staying loyal to Canada. <-- joke

What's wrong with Canada?
okok, lots of things, but really, in this instance, what's wrong with Canada?

[IronyOwl]

Dear god. "Hello your town no longer exists" from an accrediting firm? How the hell does this even happen?

On the other hand... it is Michigan, so it doesn't strike me as particularly absurd that everything's gone to hell and extremely severe measures are needed to save it. This just seems like the obviously doomed-to-failure gambit in a dystopia's backstory, though. I'm envisioning the now-decrepit spacecraft they hoped would save them all now.

[Duuvian]

EDIT2: Also, if this somehow ends up with Michigan seceding or some other nonsense, fuck it, I'm staying loyal to Canada. <-- joke

What's wrong with Canada?
okok, lots of things, but really, in this instance, what's wrong with Canada?

Well, all I meant by that joke was that if Michigan seceded, I and others might relocate due to impending trouble. It was actually a compliment. I'm sure that won't happen though.

[Lord Shonus]

I am so glad Ohio won that "war" years ago.

[Aqizzar]

As long as I've already got a live thread for talking about jaw-dropping developments in state politics, Michigan is in good company.

Pennsylvania just finished passing its own state budget.  The 1200 page document included a tiny little rider buried somewhere in the bottom third with some interesting language involving the state's Energy Department.  To wit: The Energy Executive is granted authorial power to “expedite any permit or action pending in any agency where the creation of jobs may be impacted.”  In other words, the Energy Executive can overrule any delay or review of pending development contracts, including drilling contracts, and immediately declare a contract valid, irrespective of the authority of any local or state regulatory agency, and would almost certainly try to fly past the authority of the EPA too, citing both "states' rights" and the EPA's continually eroding enforcement power.  All in the magical name of "job creation", which I have never before heard of given actual legal weight.

And if you read even the first three paragraphs of that article, and Google the name "C. Alan Walker", you'll see who holds the Energy Executive office - a multi-millionaire Republican campaign bankroller, and CEO/Boardman of a baker's dozen of coal mining, oil/gas drilling, and trucking companies.  Yeah that's right, Pennsylvania has given (all together now) unilateral authority to hand out state drilling contracts like candy to Montgomery Burns himself.  And, if you've watched Gas Land, they have every indication of giving the Clean Water Act the finger with the full support of the Republican Congress if anyone raises a federal complaint.

This has been your irregular depressing news link from Aqizzar, signing off.

[Zrk2]

Well fuck, this is crazy.

How about we disband the USA and have the individual states each merge into Canada? It took us 80 years to pull of confederation, and that was with all the land already under friendly control.

[RedWarrior0]

I am so glad Ohio won that "war" years ago.

Only because we got South Canada the Upper Peninsula from it.

[white_darkness]

Not surprised in the slightest.  Unfortunately, I doubt the Canadians would want the US. 

Really, it's remarkable how things seem to be marching toward those worlds depicted in so many "cyberpunk" novels.  With only two types of life, a possibly comfortable one in corporate controlled and owned environments, and another in the crumbling wastelands of the non-corporate world, with ineffectual governments who toady to their corporate masters.

[Flaede]

Not surprised in the slightest.  Unfortunately, I doubt the Canadians would want the US. 

Really, it's remarkable how things seem to be marching toward those worlds depicted in so many "cyberpunk" novels.  With only two types of life, a possibly comfortable one in corporate controlled and owned environments, and another in the crumbling wastelands of the non-corporate world, with ineffectual governments who toady to their corporate masters.

The problem is, places like the Dakotas that are close to us, also have a bunch of stuff "assets" the US at large wouldn't want us having. And what, exactly, would we do with Michigan? Give us the Alaskan panhandle in the bargain, then we'll talk.

[white_darkness]

Not surprised in the slightest.  Unfortunately, I doubt the Canadians would want the US. 

Really, it's remarkable how things seem to be marching toward those worlds depicted in so many "cyberpunk" novels.  With only two types of life, a possibly comfortable one in corporate controlled and owned environments, and another in the crumbling wastelands of the non-corporate world, with ineffectual governments who toady to their corporate masters.

The problem is, places like the Dakotas that are close to us, also have a bunch of stuff "assets" the US at large wouldn't want us having. And what, exactly, would we do with Michigan? Give us the Alaskan panhandle in the bargain, then we'll talk.

Oh yeah, I forgot one of the Dakotas has the lowest employment in the US due to the oil industry there.

[Tilla]

As a duly appointed Canadian, I will gladly accept Seattle and Oregon into our mighty British Empire country.

[Urist Imiknorris]

Just Seattle? Not the entire state of Washington?