Current Statewide Gas Price - $2.47

Did you know we are paying over $.40 more per gallon this year than at the same point last year? The price of gas statewide has increased an average of about $.25 in the past two weeks. I filled up my truck two weeks ago for $2.07 for regular unleaded so the increase over here is more like $.40 in the last two weeks. The current prices I have seen all hover around $2.43 per gallon in southwest Michigan. The AAA Fuel Gage Report states that Michigan's average as of today, March 9, 2008, is $2.476. These price trends don't give Michigan's tourism groups much optimism.

It won't be long and the costlier "summer-grade" gasoline will be at the pumps. The "summer-grade" fuel is manufactured to help with pollution problems with the higher summer temps. I don't want to be a pessimist, but I doubt we will see fuel prices below $2.50 this summer here in Michigan.

Are You Skipping Car Washes?

According to an article in the Detroit News it appears that high gas prices have caused drivers to pinch their pennies and have their cars washed less frequently. Car wash owners in the Detroit area believe their revenues are 30 percent lower than normal. I never realized it, but winter is when car washes make enough money to get them through the slower parts of the year. When I think on it, it makes sense that winter is their busiest time with all of the grime on cars from winter driving. The decline in revenue has caused many car wash owners to raise their prices in hopes to stay in business. The Detroit News has a poll going on that lets you place your vote on whether or not you are getting your car washed less this winter.

Why is Our State Legislature so Expensive?

I read this article over the weekend in the Detroit News and I specifically declined to comment on it. I just did not want to get everyone upset on a Monday morning. The problem, is that since I first read the article it has blitzed across the AP Wire and keeps popping up in every paper or website I visit. The main point of the article is that our state legislature is extremely expensive when you look at the number of members versus the annual cost of $100.4 million. 21 states have a larger legislative body than Michigan yet we are No. 6 in the nation as far as cost. Legislators have not increased their pay since 2001-2002 (how kind of them) and their salaries are currently $79,650. In addition to that base pay they also receive $12,000 for meals, lodging, and other expenses because, hey, you can't afford to pay for stuff like that when you only make $79,650 a year.

Our state lawmakers are regarded as a full-time legislature, but the House only met 110 times last year and the Senate met 113. A quick calculation of an average work year for an employee came up with 250 working days in a year. That is 50 weeks (figuring two weeks vacation) times 5 days per week (a lot of folks work more than just 5 days a week) to come up with a ballpark figure of 250 working days per year. Our state legislature works less than half of that and makes full-time money.

Anyone getting angry yet? Just like any good infomercial - wait there's more! Lawmakers say that a lot of work gets done outside of the actual legislative sessions. Well, a lot of time is spent on raising campaign funds anyway. The House and Senate members raised about $5.3 million last year.

So, while the state's economy bumbles along and companies (that want to stay in business) cut costs and employees, our state legislature works part-time at passing legislation for much more than they should be paid. Thank goodness that any future pay raises must be put before the residents of Michigan in a general election. If the legislature is ever stupid enough to put that on the ballot they ought to be ridden out of town on a rail.

Well, that is about all of the politics I can stand this morning. I just want to ask one more question. Does our state government exist to serve the people or do “we the people” serve the government?

Did the State Trim Your Refund Check?

Just read this post on the Et Cetera blog (an extension of the Battle Creek Enquirer) about how some folks are getting smaller refunds than their tax preparer had calculated. Apparently the state is recalculating the Home Owner's Tax Credit on some (don't know if this means random) tax returns and that is believed to be the reason for the refunds being lower than anticipated. Our refund came back just as it was calculated. Anyone else out there have this happen?