Today's focus is on cash for clunkers and cash for candidates.
Cash for clunkers
On Friday, President Barack Obama signed the extension of an additional $2 billion for the car rebate program that gives up to $4,500 in federal subsidies if consumers trade in their cars for new, more energy-efficient models.
Sen. Carl Levin (cited last week as the only Michigan lawmaker on Capitol Hill to not miss any votes since the new Congress got under way in January), said:
"This program accomplished what it was intended to accomplish. In just a few days, a quarter of a million Americans traded in their old car for a new model using the credits available from this program. That's a quarter of a million American families that (have) more fuel-efficient transportation; a quarter of a million transactions that will pump new money into local economies; and an incalculable boost to this nation's struggling auto industry."
Obama said the transactions, "are getting the oldest, dirtiest and most air-polluting trucks and SUVs off the road for good. Businesses across the country -- from small auto dealerships and suppliers to large auto manufacturers -- are putting people back to work as a result of this program."
Reality check: It's a good program, but not entirely a U.S. stimulus. Of the top 10 most popular vehicles purchased under the program, six are foreign models (the Ford Focus ranks second).
Detroit News Editorial Page Editor Nolan Finlay said it well: -- ¦ as long as taxpayers are helping to buy cars for other people to drive, they ought to at least insist those vehicles carry the Made-in-the-USA label."
Regretfully, it's too late for that.
Cash for candidates
The Democratic candidates seeking to replace term-limited Gov. Jennifer Granholm have not said whether they will take public campaign funds for the 2010 primary. But there's a spat on the issue between two of the most active GOP contenders.
U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, of Holland, the leading GOP contender in some early polls, has long zigzagged on the issue of campaign finance, including on accepting political election committee (PAC) money.
In 2002, he opposed public financing of campaigns, but now says he will accept up to $900,000 in public matching funds for his gubernatorial primary campaign. That means he will be limited to spending about $2 million in the primary -- a pittance considering today's costs for TV ads.
But he told Associated Press veteran Kathy Barks Hoffman: "We're doing exactly the same thing that (ex-Gov.) John Engler did -- connecting with blue-collar voters at the level where they're at. That's the kind of campaign that we're going to run and that's the kind of campaign that public financing was intended to be supportive of."
Hoekstra, who last week had brief stints in a cherry orchard and manufacturing shop in the Traverse City area as part of his plan to work 100 job sites during the campaign, said, "I can get a lot of bang out of my dollars."
But wealthy Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder, a venture capitalist who plans to put an undisclosed amount of his own "seed money" in his campaign and does not intend to take public campaign funds, said, "It's interesting that a nine-term congressman has to go ask for public funds."
Among other Republican contenders, Sen. Tom George, of Kalamazoo County, plans to take matching funds, but Attorney General Mike Cox and Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard have not declared. Nor have Democrats Lt. Gov. John Cherry, Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, of Washtenaw County, and ex-Rep. John Freeman, of Oakland County.
Meijer ranks high on PAC list
The Michigan Campaign Finance Network (MCFN) said, "It appears that the Great Recession has finally reached the money-in-politics sector of Michigan's economy. Michigan's top political action committees (PACs) are accumulating funds at their slowest pace since 2003."
Through July 20, the state's top 150 PACs have raised $8.4 million. That total is down by 13 percent compared to July 2005 or July 2007, when the top 150 PACs had already raised $9.5 million.
Reality check: While PACs relating to the auto and housing industries were down, adding fuel to speculation about the "Great Recession" impact, special interest spending will be robust in the 2010 election cycle.
As needs arise, those with needs and means will have money for political action at whatever level of government action is needed.
For example, the MCFN report said this about Meijer Inc., which has been embroiled in political and legal issues in Acme Township near Traverse City and a year ago had a PAC listed at only $19,063:
"Meijer PAC is higher on this year's PAC list than at any time in the past, ranking fourth with $306,858. Frederik Meijer is the top individual PAC-man so far this cycle, having contributed $300,000 to Meijer PAC."
(A subsequent correction by MCFN that put the House Democratic Fund atop the list at $696,905 meant Meijer ranked fifth, behind that PAC and those of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan and the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.)
TC's Munson: Medical marvel
When the July 24-26 USA Weekend cited the "Top 5 places to retire ... five small cities that offer big value," it cited such things as the fine arts of Helena, Mont.; the sunny beaches and low crime rate of Pensacola, Fla.; and the recreation activities of Creve Coeur, Mo., and Butte-Silver Bow, Mont.
The Gannett publication said this of Traverse City: "The 'cherry capital' is famous for its vineyards. Plus, its health services are top notch; the Munson Medical Center is consistently named one of the top 100 hospitals in the nation."
In an e-mail to friends, Traverse City Mayor Michael Estes had this comment on his city's selection: "Note of interest for any who didn't know that Traverse City is the Garden Spot of the Country. USA Weekend was just a bit late in recognizing that fact."
George Weeks retired in 2006 after 22 years as political columnist for The Detroit News. His weekly Michigan Politics column is syndicated by Superior Features
