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- Make Michigan a right-to-work state – while respecting the right of workers to organize and to join unions.
- Rebuild Michigan’s budget from the ground up – using zero-based budgeting (budgeting that starts from a “zero cost basis”) -- in which every function within each department or organization must justify every cost based upon satisfying a need that is the proper province of state government.
- Reduce the cost of government to a level that will allow the state to commence amortizing its $51.5 billion in unfunded pension and retiree-health liabilities (just for state employees) – instead of growing this non-voter-approved liability and sending it to future generations of taxpayers.
- Provide incentives and establish a long-term goal to reduce the number of K-12 school districts from 553 to under 100 (while maintaining the same number of schools) – increasing the average number of students per district from 3,200 to over 18,000 – and reducing the school system’s overhead costs by more than 60%. (Note : the average number of students per school district in Maryland is 35,100.) Establish a long-term goal to eliminate the 57 Intermediate School Districts and integrate critical needs provided by the ISDs into the K-12 school districts.
- Develop incentives to encourage the state’s 1,242 townships and 533 cities (or incorporated villages) to consolidate.
- Coordinate with local units of government to eliminate responsibilities that are (i) redundant offerings available from the state and/or the counties, (ii) not the province of government in the first place, or (iii) of marginal value to the taxpayers.
- For Michigan’s public employees : (i) adjust medical benefits to benefit levels more in line with those available in the private sector and (ii) where necessary, reduce retirement benefits (mostly by raising retirement ages) to levels that eliminate the need to send unfunded liabilities to future generations of taxpayers.
- Cease and desist from picking winners and losers with the state’s tax systems and with “special” state-subsidized programs and incentives – e.g., the Michigan Business Tax (MBT), the MEDC (Michigan Economic Development Corporation) and incentives for the movie industry. Just reducing the overall level of taxation would do vastly more for Michigan’s economy.
- Combine sensible prison reforms with the elimination of laws that make felons out of people who represent no danger to Society – laws that only serve to expand the already-unaffordable “court/prison” system.
- Reduce the oppressive amount of paperwork required to comply with Michigan’s overly complex tax system – by replacing (i) the current sales tax , the personal income tax, the Michigan Business Tax, and the personal property tax with (ii) a simple retail sales tax. This also will reduce double taxation of goods and services and eliminate hidden taxes paid by businesses and passed on to consumers.
- Stop raising the state’s thousands of fines and fees by many multiples of the rate of inflation and passing unconstitutional “forfeiture” laws designed to unjustly enrich the state in the name of “law and order”. Driver responsibility fees are a prime example of revenue-raising taxpayer abuse.
- Require that all high school and college students take Civics courses and, as a condition for graduation, be able to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of their rights under the Constitution – so that, among other things, state and local government will get instant “pushback” if they decide to raise stealth taxes (fines, fees, forfeitures, and unfunded retirement liabilities) without voter approval and in violation of the 4th and 8th Amendments to the Constitution.
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