Miscellaneous

Now and Later: Michigan Reform Group Puts Changes on Ballot

By Anne Skove, Esq.

Remember those chewy candies that must have been invented by dentists? They were called Now & Laters (but everyone called them Now Or Laters, and don't think there weren't fierce debates over the proper name!). They sort of tasted like cardboard at first. Then they softened a bit and suddenly turned a sweet intense apple or grape or whatever. Then the rest stuck in your teeth for hours.

Reform groups are like that, too. At first they seem boring. Who cares? Government is often silly, we can agree on that, but will a reform group be able to do anything?

Then comes the intense watermelon phase: angry letters to the editors (some of which might even make sense), public dialogue, even (so we hear) crazy bloggers! Wow, government reform groups can sure stir it up!

After a while, though, they can grow tiresome. They are sticky, we can't get the goo out of our teeth, jaws get sore, the wrapper sticks to the candy so we're chomping on waxed paper, and the artificial flavors overwhelm. This stuff is for people who don't have to worry about long-term health (dental or otherwise).

Reform Michigan Government Now starts with the premise that "Michigan Government is Broken!" True enough, if judging only from the crazy stuff we see in the news.

Everyone wants Real Change, as opposed to the other kind. Everyone wants change NOW, not later. Better accountability and transparency are needed. Everyone likes sour apple flavor, too.

Reform Michigan Government Now wants to reduce salaries of government officials (including judges), "end free lifetime health care for lawmakers and bring their retirement benefits in line with other state workers," and require elected officials to disclose their income and assets on an annual basis (isn't that already required, oh, around April 15 or so each year?)

These all sound great in time of economic struggle, but the Detroit News called the proposal "sleazy" (and we suppose Detroit knows sleazy when it sees it!), and says "the proposed amendment does not spell out the true intent of the measure, which is to heavily rewrite the state's Constitution."

The constitutional rewrite would happen because most suggestions involve reducing the number of whatever -- judges, statewide elected officials, senate.

A full proposal includes reform and requirements for all three branches of government (though, who knows, Michigan may have four), as well as elections.

Oh, but wait just a minute. Nobody knows who is behind the movement. Transparency, indeed! The website contains a media inquiry contact, but no other information.

That's too bad, because some reform groups are indeed useful and necessary. They keep us centered by pulling at the left and right like so much taffy. They bring new life to public discussion. They can be far more nutritious and long-lasting than any candy fad.

See Michigan Should Be Wary of Quiet Ballot Proposal, (editorial) Detroit News (July 8, 2008); Now & Later, Candyblog (July 1, 2008).

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on July 08, 2008 (boomark / email).