Editorial Roundup: Michigan
Traverse City Record-Eagle. October 12, 2023.
Editorial: Wages plummet – but not for public servants
You can practically hear young eyes roll when their elders describe their glory days.
And yet, the fact that Michigan’s peak was 70 years ago, salary-wise, combined with eye-popping per-hour rates in the public sector locally, raises too few eyebrows.
Per capita census data indicates Michigan’s 10 million or so residents in 2022 averaged $57,038, compared to the nation’s $65,470.
Put another way: Michiganders make .87 cents for every $1 earned by the average U.S. resident.
Bridge Michigan reported last week that this is the lowest point in the state’s history, lowest among our Midwest brethren and sistren, and ranks us 39th in the country for personal income.
In 1999, we ranked 16th.
Before that, Michigan led the birth of the middle class and, thus, “the arsenal of democracy,” said Eric Lupher, president of Citizens Research Council. Now, “we’ve hit a new low as a state.”
But you might not know it by what we pay our public servants.
Traverse City attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht has gotten a 61-percent wage increase in the last two years, to $160,000, plus additional benefits. City employees got $148,000 in wage increases; Grand Traverse employees received at least 12.5 percent since December; county Administrator Nate Alger got another 5% percent added to his $177,518, plus benefits and car allowance ...
But even these pale against what taxpayers carry in upheaval for no given reasons.
Filling the city manager position — a job given to Elizabeth Vogel for $175,000, plus benefits, $8,000 in pay to move here from Missaukee County, and a $500 a month car allowance — has cost more than $250,000, with interim Nate Geinzer’s $130/hour meter running until January.
The surprise retirement of Grand Traverse Pavilions CEO Rose Coleman is costing $95/hour.
Public sector wages go up often as a result of “wage studies” by paid consultants hired by the body, which compare them to yet other people in the public sector and arm them with vague scaremongering, like “We have to pay this or else lose this person to the private sector.”
Hey, private sector workers, when was your last 60-percent raise?
Per-capita personal income takes all of our income, dividends, interest and rent and government benefits and divides by our population numbers.
With these wages inflating our averages to 39th in the country, imagine what they are being lifted from.
___
Iron Mountain Daily News. October 13, 2023.
Editorial: Tips to help seniors avoid scams during Medicare enrollment
The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services are warning Michigan seniors to be on alert for scams and high-pressure sales tactics during this year’s annual Medicare Open Enrollment period, which starts Sunday and extends through Dec. 7.
“The Medicare open enrollment period is a time for seniors to make important decisions about their health insurance and prescription drug coverage, and criminals will often try to take advantage of the situation to steal money or personal information,” DIFS Director Anita Fox stated in a news release. “Medicare participants and those enrolling for the first time can protect themselves by not giving out personal information, including their Medicare or Social Security Number, to anyone who tries to solicit their business over the phone, online, or at their front door. Information about enrolling in Medicare and comparing health plan options is available for free from a local, certified counselor by calling the Michigan Medicare Assistance Program at 800-803-7174.”
MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel added, “We want to make sure that Michigan residents get access to the health care coverage they need without being taken advantage of by scammers. We also want to remind Michigan families that the state is doing outreach as part of the Medicaid redetermination process to ensure eligible beneficiaries keep their health care coverage.”
DIFS and MDHHS offered these tips to help guard against Medicare scams:
— Go to the Federal Communications Commission and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services websites to keep up on scams. The FCC and CMS both offer educational resources, including videos, to help seniors stay informed about and protect themselves from the latest scams. In addition, CMS offers additional information about Medicare enrollment which seniors may find useful.
— Never give out Medicare number or other personal information to callers or visitors even if they say they are from Medicare. The CMS will never call or send someone to a home to ask for personal information or check a Medicare number. Insurance agents and brokers cannot state they are from Medicare; that their plans are approved, endorsed or authorized by Medicare; that they are calling on behalf of Medicare; or that Medicare or any state or federal agency has asked them to make the call or home visit.
— Information on Medicare plans is available without providing an ID number. The only time a Medicare ID number must be provided is when enrolling in a plan.
— Do not rely on caller ID. Scammers can use technology to make it look like they are calling from a legitimate business or government agency.
— Ignore anyone who makes contacts claiming you must join their prescription drug plan or you will lose your Medicare coverage. Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage is voluntary; however, if you do not enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan when you become eligible for Medicare, you may have to pay a late enrollment penalty.
— Don’t trust Medicare mailers that appear to be government communications. These may be advertisements for private companies that may have a disclaimer buried in small print.
Remember that agents/brokers selling Medicare Advantage or Medicare Part D plans are not allowed to do certain things, including:
— Make unsolicited calls, send unsolicited text messages or leave voicemail messages.
— Make unsolicited home visits or going door to door to leave materials on doorsteps or in mailboxes. They may not approach you or market to you in a public place, such as the grocery store or public parks.
Those with questions or concerns about Medicare coverage are urged to contact Medicare directly at Medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227). Those who have experienced this type of scam or a high-pressure sales tactic should contact DIFS at Michigan.gov/DIFSComplaints or by calling 877-999-6442 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday to file a complaint.
___
Mining Journal. October 11, 2023.
Editorial: Downstate judge got it right in fake elector case ruling
Hats off to a downstate judge for a recent ruling in connection to the ham-handed attempt to corrupt the 2020 presidential election.
Two of the alleged fake electors from downstate had asked the court to dismiss charges against them after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said during a Sept. 18 virtual event that the electors “legit believe” Trump won the election.
“These are people who have been brainwashed,” Nessel said, adding that the case would be tried in a county that is “very, very Democratic-leaning.”
The Associated Press reported that Michigan is one of seven states where false Electoral College certificates were submitted declaring Trump the winner despite the confirmation.
But it’s the only state where the accused false electors face criminal charges.
President Joe Biden won Michigan by nearly 155,000 votes, a result confirmed by a GOP-led state Senate investigation in 2021, AP noted.
AP further reported that Ingham County District Court Judge Kristen Simmons, ruled that the state attorney general’s comments were “speculation” and were not enough evidence to dismiss the case. She said the matter could be further discussed at evidentiary hearings that are set to begin Thursday.
Whether the defendants in the case are innocent or guilty is a matter for the judical process to decide. Simmons got it right. Let the process play itself out.
END