I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Stopping Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposal to end the Earned Income Tax credit tops perennial concerns around abortion and gay rights, said Paul Long, president and CEO of the Lansing-based Michigan Catholic Conference, last week.
“We are called to set the downtrodden free, to be leaven in society,” Long said at a talk hosted by Catholic Charities of West Michigan’s Parish Social Ministry Connection and the Grand Rapids Diocese the Grand Rapids Press reports. “All are created in the image and likeness of God, and they have inalienable rights and dignity.
“The gospel is the norm for a just society.”
Although Michigan has a “massive state budget problem,” the solution isn’t balancing the budget on the backs of low-income people who endure the stranglehold of poverty, Long said.
“For a single mother of two who works for $8 an hour, her $700 return in tax credit is significant,” Long said. “Keeping this tax credit intact is our top priority because it lifts people up.”
MCC is the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Michigan.
In a statement in February the group said. “The Earned Income Tax Credit does more to lift low-income workers out of poverty than any other policy. It has enjoyed substantial bipartisan support at both the state and federal levels for several decades and can claim as its biggest proponent President Ronald Reagan.”
Eliminating the credit will directly contradict the governor’s stated objective of lifting children out of poverty, the group warned.
Snyder’s budget calls for $1.8 million in tax cuts for businesses, which are made up for partly by eliminating the EITC.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter