Sen. Deb Cherry (D-Burton) talks about the Michigan Promise Scholarship in her no vote explanation on the Higher Education Budget.
The Governor has proposed reconstructing the Michigan Promise to a point of almost coercion
Sarah Peck, a senior at Battle Creek Central
When is a scholarship not a scholarship? When it’s a tax break. Under the renewed Promise Scholarship plan, students still will be footing the bill.
“More of a Reward than a Scholarship”
“The new Promise is much less beneficial than its original version. Students still will get their money — as long as they stay in Michigan after graduation — but now those funds might not be used for their intended purpose: paying for college.”
—Read More at StateNews.com
People aren’t going to stay in the state if there are no jobs, and this proposal does not address that issue.
“The governor’s budget is not revenue neutral and it ignores reforms we need this year. It is a tax hike.”
—Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer (R)
Since there aren’t any jobs to speak of here how are [college students] supposed to work here for a year? Ingenious.
John Schneider Lansing State Journal
Corruption in the Capitol
A Democratic legislator from Lansing confirmed yesterday what a lot of Michigan residents have already known, that special interests are funded before students in the State.
“We’ve been trying to find revenue to replace it (Michigan Promise), and we haven’t been able to really get any agreement,” said Joan Bauer, chair of the Higher Education Appropriations Committee.
“Lawmakers cut K-12 education and took $100 million from college students last fall,” said Ben Lazarus, founder of NoBrokenPromise.com, which calls on the legislature to fund the Michigan Promise scholarship without raising taxes.
“They spend $100 million dollars on film subsides and give $113 million to political contributors, now politicians can’t find funding for the Promise scholarship.” Lazarus said, “Students are suffering and the next generation will be left paying for this corruption.”
AG Cox: State Police Scam is Legal
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, a candidate for governor, called the unethical and unlawful State Police headquarters scam a legal operation, in a January 21, 2010 statement obtained by NoBrokenPromise.com. Cox dismissed responsibility in the matter, saying, “unless [the] proposed course of action violates the law, I do not have authority to enjoin it.”
Many groups have voiced concerns over the legality of the deal, including TaxPayers United Michigan Foundation, which asserts there are eighteen ways the proposed course of action violates the law.
“State law and our Michigan Constitution are violated when Gov. Granholm enters into a no-competitive bid contract worked out in secret,” the non-partisan watchdog group said, “Granholm must scrap the Ferguson-Granger rip off…and shift the $113 million back to…students dependent on Michigan Promise College Scholarship Grants.”
Please take a moment to contact Attorney General Mike Cox today and demand he do everything he can to stop this illegal rip-off of taxpayer funds.
The Attorney General can be reached via e-mail at miag@michigan.gov, by phone at (517) 373-1110, or on Facebook.
Michigan’s “Bridge to Nowhere”
“We cannot and should not put Michigan taxpayers on the hook for a $70 million palace at a time when we can’t seem to cobble enough money to properly fund schools or fulfill a promise to college students.”
