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Politics & Prejudices

Those ballot props

Jack's take on the six big questions

Photo: , License: N/A

The Morouns have spent nearly $5 million to help keep the Ambassador Bridge a monopoly.


By Jack Lessenberry

Published: October 3, 2012

 

Proposal 5: The tax prevention amendment. VOTE NO, NO, NO, NO. Defeating this is more important than the fate of the first four combined. If passed, it would paralyze government.

What it would do is require any statewide vote — which would have to be held in November — or a two-thirds vote of the Legislature in order to raise any tax, for whatever reason. This would destroy government's ability to respond to any crisis or disaster.

Today, you couldn't get two-thirds of the Legislature to agree to pour piss out of their boots. What few people know about this is that it is another amendment bought and paid for by Matty Moroun.

Why was the monopoly owner of the Ambassador Bridge behind this? Rich Robinson, the principled head of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, told me, "It almost seems like Moroun is saying, 'If I can't have my way on the bridge, I am going to destroy the state.'" Hint to voters: Don't let him.

 

Proposal 6: International Bridges and Tunnels. VOTE NO. Megalomanic Moroun spent almost $5 million to deceive enough voters into signing petitions to support this obscene turkey of an amendment. Basically, it says that there has to be a statewide election before the state could spend a penny for "designing, soliciting bids for, constructing, financing or promoting new international bridges and tunnels." Plus it would apply ex post facto to any bridge not open as of last January. The whole point is to prevent anything from ever threatening the 85-year-old billionaire's monopoly.

Never mind that this would doom the rest of the state to economic paralysis. I doubt that there has ever been a citizen who has had a more malignant effect on this state than Matty Moroun.

More importantly, this amendment would be bad for everyone except one man, his wife and his son. The price of freedom is, indeed, eternal vigilance. That's why studying these amendments, voting on them, and stopping attempts to steal our lives is so damn important.

 

Jack Lessenberry opines weekly for Metro Times. Write to letters@metrotimes.com.

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