Be wary of Michigan’s Proposal 1

Home Opinion Be wary of Michigan’s Proposal 1

If you’ve ever driven on a Michigan road, you’ve no doubt sworn under your breath at some point as your tires bounced across a pothole big enough to swallow the Titanic. Or two. Or five.

On May 5, voters will decide on Proposal 1, a controversial bill that would raise Michigan’s taxes in order to fix its minefields. Er, roads.

Proposal 1 is a mere 100 words in length and effects no direct change of its own. Instead, its design will set into motion nearly 10 other bills that will do everything from hike new car registration fees (HB 4630) to restore low- and middle-class family tax credits to pre-2012 levels (SB 847).

Proposal 1 will also focus on paying off road debt (HB 5460) and preventatively maintaining roads (HB 5167) by raising the sales tax by 1 percent (HB 4539). As far as proposals go, however, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s newest solution isn’t nearly concise enough.

The bill is projected to eventually increase long-term funding for failing roads by nearly $1.25 billion a year. However, while talk of the bill has mainly focused on such road repair plans, Proposal 1 will also generate an estimated $116 million a year for mass transit, along with additional money for schools and cities, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.

It is side projects and sneaky earmarks such as these that cloud the otherwise-simple and effective goal of Proposal 1: To save the people of Michigan from the roads of Michigan.

Whether or not funding for the expansion and improvement of public transit is a necessary and good plan of interest to the public is not up for debate. In addition to the other bills that will inevitably arise from the passing of Proposal 1, public transit funding is a divisive and troubling aspect of Proposal 1 that is unnecessary and polarizing.

For example, conservatives who may otherwise be supportive of a bill like Proposal 1 are wary of government-funded projects such as public transportation, especially if they’re not convinced of its necessity.

Despite concerns, Snyder defended the bill’s funding allocation for public transit.

“Many people depend on public transportation for their livelihood to get to work,” Snyder recently told MLive. “And we need to see improvements to the system.”

Regardless of the governor’s defense, the inclusion of other projects such as transit and school funding has undoubtedly torn voters.

“There’s nothing like a governmentally proposed spaghetti deal,” said Robert Terry, a Grosse Pointe Woods resident quoted by the Detroit Free Press who says voters should have been asked to vote on a tax hike targeted specifically at road repair.

“I thought the amendment to Michigan’s constitution was to finally do something about our roads,” he said. “But, no, Lansing just needed to stick schools in the mix.”

It is statements like this that highlight the issues with Proposal 1. Hastily drafted by legislators in the final hours of December’s lame-duck session, it is messy and leaves too many loose ends untied. Nearly $300 million for K-12 schools? $260 million for family tax credit reform? Another $116 million for public transit improvement?

Whether addressing these issues in any setting has merit in itself or not, these projects have no place in a last-minute bill aimed at addressing such a prevalent and pressing issue as Michigan’s broken-down and dangerous roads. If Snyder’s goal is to focus on Michigan’s future, he should take the time to do it right and rework the current proposal. In the meantime, vote no on Proposal 1. Show Snyder that Midwesterners are tough. We can brave a few more potholes in the name of being economical, but not for long.