Hank's Jaundiced View: Michigan View's Henry Payne Knows How to Spend Retirees Money

Response to Henry Payne  in “Democratic Party fundamentals at stake” in Detroit News Michigan View on February 23, 2011.

Hank Payne knows better than Michigan's public working staff and employees, and its superannuated career retirees, how they should spend their incomes. Unless you follow the hayseed myth one might not understand that: If you draw an income from taxes, taxpayers can dictate every cent you receive as-to-how it will be spent; for as the teapartisan mantra goes, "It's our money."

Hank's pretty firm. What irks him, sez Hank is the fact that union members get all that "rich pay and benefit plans" (Democratic Party fundamentals at stake, 2.23.11) and his work at the News isn't being sufficiently competitive in giving him enough. He acts as though has a god-given right to be jealous! After all he's family man, living in an elite suburb, and blessed with a Princeton U degree to boot!

Don't forget Hank's paper is in receding readership and financial decline. The folks down in the press room have made serious concessions just to keep such a highly educated talent as the News' political cartoonist supplied with red ink and a drawing pad. Nonetheless, he believes (because it helps him through his day) those pressmen are victims because "dues extracted from union members" are a waste of income.

Hank ought to think twice.

Maybe under the new Snyder "tax harvesting" of retirees pensions for give-backs to favored corporations and special businesses (represented so well by the "union" of Chamber of Commerce members), there will be fewer subscriptions and weekend buys of his rag and annual raises won't be forthcoming.

Then mayhap, the readers will figure out who brought on this "retirement income tax" down on them, and who it was who campaigned to further aggravate drops in their fixed incomes (post '08 market collapse & shortfalls).

They'll doubtless simply boycott the News altogether.

Then, shortly Hank's meager income and benefits, if any, will take a southward dive.

Original Post.