Michigan's Emergency Financial Manager Law in Action

[Welshy]

So the state government has put the Emergency Financial Manager law into action in Benton Harbor, MI.

michiganmessenger. com /48278/ benton-harbor-emergency-manager-strips-power-from-all-elected-officials


Benton Harbor emergency manager strips power from all elected officials


By Todd A. Heywood | 04.15.11 | 6:05 pm

The Emergency Financial Manager of the city of Benton Harbor has issued an order striping all city boards and commissions of all their authority to take any action.

The order, signed Thursday, limits the actions available to such bodies to calling a meeting to order, approving the minutes of meetings and adjourning a meeting. The bodies are prohibited under the act from taking any other action without the express authority of the Emergency Financial Manager, Joseph Harris.
Actions such as Harris’ are explicitly allowed under a newly approved law which granted sweeping new powers to emergency financial managers. That legislation had drawn large protests, including attempts by some protesters to take over the state capitol building. The sit-in resulted in numerous arrests.
Harris’ move comes as Detroit Public Schools’ emergency financial manager Robert Bobb announced that he would use powers granted to him under the act to change union contracts.

(can a mod fix the link for me)

[chegitz guevara]

Tar and feather these bastards and run them out of town on a rail. I mean that literally.

[RadioRaheem84]

This is Shock Doctrine!

Austerity, "Emergency financial" measures, crippling unemployment

We're really witnessing all of the problems of the third world.

[Martin Blank]

Tar and feather these bastards and run them out of town on a rail. I mean that literally.

I agree with your sentiment, wholeheartedly. I would be remiss if I didn't point out, however, that this new law will probably mean that Matt won't get to serve his three years in that neighborhood council he was elected to. There's already an EFM in Detroit, Robert Bobb, and there's a real likelihood that if Bing doesn't do exactly what Snyder wants him to do, that Lansing will give Bobb the power to sweep out the entire local government, in addition to his current ability to overthrow the elected school board.

[Welshy]

Here's another article on the issue that looks at the unifying feature of the cities being subjected to Snyder's EFM law.

www(dot)politicususa(dot)com/en/benton-harbor

The Benton Harbor Trend: African Americans Targeted By Rick Snyder

April 18, 2011
By Sarah Jones

Michigan Governor Rich Snyder’s emergency financial manager system was set up with a trigger that appears to target predominantly African American communities.
If you’re wondering how I can make such a broad statement, let me turn your eyes to Benton Harbor, Michigan. Benton Harbor borders on St Joseph, a predominantly Caucasian conservative city. Does Benton Harbor have troubles? You bet they do. There are few jobs in the city, leaving most residents to have to apply for jobs in St Joseph, where they are tainted by their address if not their skin color. Yes, Benton Harbor is predominantly African American. As is Detroit. In fact, as I look through the communities Snyder has targeted, I see an alarming preponderance of African American communities.
Benton Harbor is a city of already impoverished people, with an average income hovering around $8,965 per year. This week, Snyder’s Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) announced, “No City Board, Commission or Authority has authority or power to act on behalf of the City.” They may only call official meetings to order, approve the minutes and adjourn the meetings.
So much for your vote, checks and balances, etc.
It could be argued that these are the most impoverished cities, and while I can’t verify that, I will grant that it is possible. However, there are plenty of exceptionally poor rural areas that are predominantly white in the center handprint of Michigan and certainly, upper Michigan (the “UP”) is a financially troubled region. Maybe it’s just a certain kind of poverty Snyder has trouble with. After all, Snyder’s law grants the EFM the right to cancel a contract with public employees, a fact which is held over their heads in “bargaining” for “concessions” as we saw with the firefighters and police in Flint, Michigan last month.
Or maybe this has to do with gentrification, vote redistricting and privatization. One thing is clear; it is intentionally or unintentionally targeting predominantly African American communities.
Both the gentrified St Joseph and the predominantly African American community of Benton Harbor are in Berrien County. In 2008, Berrien County went for Obama 52.0% with 40,381 votes and McCain 46.5% with 36,130 votes. The overall voter turnout was 76,511. You can imagine the folks in St Joseph were none too pleased about this. Now, the total turnout for Berrien County in the 2010 gubernatorial race was 44,697, with low voter turnout from Benton Harbor in the 17% range. The Republican turnout remained on par with 2008. Berrien County went for Snyder in 2010.
Furthermore, if we look at all of the communities targeted either currently or in the past with financial managers, we have, according to the 2000 Census, Benton Harbor with a 92.1% African American community, Highland Park with 93.1% African American community, Detroit with 81.2%, Flint with 53%, Pontiac with 47.4% and Hamtramck with 20,512 people of Bosnian, Arabic, Bangladeshi, Polish, and other origins.
In the 2010 Census, Detroit went up to 82.2%, Highland Park dropped to 93%, Flint dropped to 49.6% African American but gained Hispanic population, Hamtramck went from 10.2% African Americans in 2000 to 45.3% in 2010 and Benton Harbor went up to 92.4%. It should be noted that the other half of Hamtramck’s population is a mixture of Arabic, Polish, and others.
In addition, these communities share other commonalities. Pontiac is also known for GM union membership and Hamtramck which is a small community between Highland Park and Detroit is known for allowing Muslims the right to call for prayer 5 times a day and is home to a premiere General Motors’ Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant (union). Wayne County, which houses Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park, went 74-24 for Obama in 2008.
Snyder’s emergency manager Joseph Harris warned Benton Harbor elected officials that they have no authority or power. Kate Genellie of the Herald Palladium reported:
The act, passed March 16, says “Except as otherwise provided in this act … the authority of the chief administrative officer and governing body to exercise power … shall be suspended and vested in the emergency manager.” In a directive sent to city officials Friday, Harris prohibited all city boards, commissions and authorities from taking any action, except with written approval from the emergency manager.
“It’s still within my power to grant them authority, but it has to be express-written authorization and approval by the emergency manager. Based on the act itself, they have no authority,” Harris said.
“I don’t think I did anything that hadn’t already been done. But the commission was not acting as if that authority had been taken away. So there was a need for some kind of order to notify them. That doesn’t just apply to Benton Harbor, that applies to Detroit Public Schools, Pontiac and any other place with an emergency manager,” Harris said. “I don’t think there’s any ambiguity in the act.”
How’s that votey democracy thing working out for you? Not so well in Benton Harbor, as it seems some people’s votes are being automatically dismissed. They may cast them, but they will have zero impact on their lives because the folks they elect have just had all of their authority taken away. This makes the 3/5 of a vote disgrace seem like a luxury of rights. The majority of black women and men didn’t begin to vote freely until the 24th Amendment and the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.
Benton Harbor borders the predominantly Caucasian Republican St Joseph (90.3 % white) across the river (read: prime real estate for developers) and for being the home to Whirlpool, whose founder’s grandson is Republican Congressman Fred Upton. According to the Maddow Blog, “Whirlpool is a major partner in a luxury golf and residential project that spans both St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. Harbor Shores, as it’s called, engulfed Benton Harbor’s park on Lake Michigan, its residents’ primary access to the waterfront.”
Harbor Shores is still entangled in a legal dispute surrounding their effort to take over the Jean Klock Park from Benton Harbor. On February 4th of this year, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the Benton Harbor folks will be denied their park. Justice Stephen Markman, the only dissenting justice, said,
… I believe that the City’s use of Jean Klock Park, by leasing portions of it for 105 years to a private commercial entity, the Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment, Inc., for its use as a golf course, constitutes a breach of faith … Although the City prevails today, it, and other communities throughout our state, may well come out losers tomorrow as later generations of philanthropists look at the legacy of J. N. and Carrie Klock and come to question the faithfulness of government in upholding their intentions after they too have passed. I respectfully dissent.
This is a rather new form of gentrification, wherein they take it a step further by privatizing a public park and renting it to a private developer who just so happens to be both a Republican congressman and the grandson of the only major corporation in the area. In contrast, that highly valuable park and the land bordering the river could be used to revitalize the community, as New Urbanists are doing successfully in other hard-hit cities.
Snyder’s law, which grants Emergency Financial Managers the authority to take all power away from elected officials, overrides the process of democracy and there is never a legitimate reason to override the rule of law and process, which the founders went to great trouble to set up to safeguard us from extremist agendas like Snyder’s. The Michigan ACLU is currently probing into the creation of the EMF law through freedom of information act requests. On Wednesday, April 27th there will be a rally in Benton Harbor to protest the EFM’s usurping of their government.
Snyder’s logic seems to be that bringing in an outsider will fix the “budget problems,” when the truth is that only jobs will fix the financial crisis in Michigan. Good, decent paying jobs at that. A fiscal crisis is not a legitimate reason or excuse for killing democracy. Even George W Bush didn’t do that when the entire global economy hung in the balance.
Yes, Michigan faces a real financial crisis, unlike the one Walker manufactured in Wisconsin. But the resolution of that crisis shouldn’t resemble a target on one ethnicity.
After all, it wasn’t the African Americans in Benton Harbor, Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park or Flint who created the financial crisis, now was it boys?

[L.A.P.]

I heard about this, never would have thought I would see something like this actually enacted here. It shows the direction that the crumbling capitalist system is taking.

[Martin Blank]

I heard about this, never would have thought I would see something like this actually enacted here. It shows the direction that the crumbling capitalist system is taking.

Agreed. But it also should be seen as a warning. Once the ruling classes are certain that such a law will not provoke a mass response that is an actual threat, you will see similar laws being proposed in state legislatures across the country -- by both Republicans and Democrats. Michigan, once again, is being used as a proving ground.

[Welshy]

@Uncle Sam:

Are there any protests in works against the use of the EFM? I know there has been some before the bill passed (I was lucky enough to be in town for one of them), but I haven't too much about any other ones after those.

[ckaihatsu]

Tar and feather these bastards and run them out of town on a rail. I mean that literally.


I'll be the "moderate" here -- can we just feather them and force them to drive themselves to an area of political exile? (Some sort of modern-day equivalent of what was done to Napoleon Bonaparte.)

[chegitz guevara]

Constitutionally, this is all quite legal. The states, not the people, are sovereign in the U.S. They are merely required to provide a republican form of government. Pretty much all that means is that we can't have aristocratic titles in our government.

[Martin Blank]

Are there any protests in works against the use of the EFM? I know there has been some before the bill passed (I was lucky enough to be in town for one of them), but I haven't too much about any other ones after those.

Local ones, certainly. I've been a couple of them in Lansing, including the most recent one. There are going to be ongoing protests on a statewide and local level. Best thing to do is watch the MI AFL-CIO website.

[ckaihatsu]

our government.


Uh, *whose* government is that, exactly -- ?

[chegitz guevara]

I'm tired of people being pedantic with me today. Our government, like our bosses and our masters.

[ckaihatsu]

I'm tired of people being pedantic with me today. Our government, like our bosses and our masters.


Fair enough -- not trying to be petty here....

On a more conciliatory note I'd be willing to compromise -- how about a thin layer of glue, instead of the tar, for the feathering, and then forcing a *bicycle ride* into political exile -- ? (Not trying to coddle them...!)

[Martin Blank]

On a more conciliatory note I'd be willing to compromise -- how about a thin layer of glue, instead of the tar, for the feathering, and then forcing a *bicycle ride* into political exile -- ? (Not trying to coddle them...!)

Only Democrats and union officials want to compromise.

[ckaihatsu]

Only Democrats and union officials want to compromise.


...On the form of punitive action to take against the de facto dictators ("emergency financial management") -- ???!

I'd like to see it, then -- instead of more populist grandstanding into stalemate and then capitulation, as we just saw in Madison, Wisconsin...!!!

[Welshy]

Local ones, certainly. I've been a couple of them in Lansing, including the most recent one. There are going to be ongoing protests on a statewide and local level. Best thing to do is watch the MI AFL-CIO website.

If you are interested, on the 27th of this month there is going to be a rally in Benton Harbor. Here's the info from the facebook page.



Time: Wednesday, April 27 · 12:00pm - 3:00pm

Location: Benton Harbor, Michigan
Created: By Heartland Revolution
More Info: On Wednesday, April 27th there will be a march/rally in Benton Harbor, Michigan in response to the usurping of the rights and democratic process of their city government and their citizens by empowering a non-elected Emergency Financial Manager to take over the day-to-day operations of Benton Harbor.

We will start at the Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce located at 38 West Wall Street and then march to City Hall.

We need your help to get the word out to make this protest huge in numbers.

Thank you,
Heartland Revolution

[chegitz guevara]

Who's bringing the torches and pitchforks?

[ckaihatsu]

Who's bringing the torches and pitchforks?


We also need to pass an emergency funding measure for the tar and feathers....

[Martin Blank]

...On the form of punitive action to take against the de facto dictators ("emergency financial management") -- ???!

I'd like to see it, then -- instead of more populist grandstanding into stalemate and then capitulation, as we just saw in Madison, Wisconsin...!!!

After what we've seen, it wouldn't surprise me if the Dems and union tops tried to compromise over their own execution ("Do you think you could shoot me on my left half? That's my bad side.")

[Martin Blank]

We also need to pass an emergency funding measure for the tar and feathers....

We're dealing with Republicans here. Leave it as an unfunded mandate. :D

[ckaihatsu]

After what we've seen, it wouldn't surprise me if the Dems and union tops tried to compromise over their own execution ("Do you think you could shoot me on my left half? That's my bad side.")


Yeah, I fucking *wish*...!(!!!)





We're dealing with Republicans here. Leave it as an unfunded mandate. :D


Heh.

[Robocommie]

Agreed. But it also should be seen as a warning. Once the ruling classes are certain that such a law will not provoke a mass response that is an actual threat, you will see similar laws being proposed in state legislatures across the country -- by both Republicans and Democrats. Michigan, once again, is being used as a proving ground.

Looks like Michigan's been the canary in the coal mine for American capitalism.

Also, I realize this is a stupid question, but I don't suppose the Michigan Tea Party is shitting bricks over this, with their "tree of liberty, blood of patriots" bullshit rhetoric, eh?

[Martin Blank]

Looks like Michigan's been the canary in the coal mine for American capitalism.

Also, I realize this is a stupid question, but I don't suppose the Michigan Tea Party is shitting bricks over this, with their "tree of liberty, blood of patriots" bullshit rhetoric, eh?

The Tea Party has been rallying in support of the EFM law and Snyder's austerity budget. True to their fascist politics, they see the EFM as the way to "break Big Labor" and "stop socialism" (from signs at their most recent rally).