Essay: Being Bold - 11.25.09

Democrat Alma Wheeler Smith is running for governor on an unusual platform. She wants to raise taxes. Michigan Radio’s Jack Lessenberry thinks that might not be as politically crazy as it sounds.

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Politicians these days survive bankruptcy, extramarital affairs, and drug and alcohol problems. What they seem to fear the most, however, is that someone will accuse them of raising taxes. Never mind if the highways are falling apart, we can’t educate our kids, and we just broke a promise to help a hundred thousand Michigan college students with their tuition. We can’t raise taxes.

That’s the position of Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, for example.

However, now comes State Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, herself a former state senator. She’s running for governor.

And she has an amazing platform. She wants to raise taxes -- a lot. Raise them on a few of us, that is. She would lower them on commerce, by getting rid of the stupid surcharge on the Michigan Business Tax. She would lower the state sales tax, but sensibly extend it to include services in our service-based economy.

Most of all, she would campaign for a state constitutional amendment to allow a graduated income tax.

Essentially she is an intellectual heir of the famous U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. She’s an African-American woman and a Democrat. He was a white Republican who has been dead for seventy-five years. However, he once famously said “Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.”

Alma Wheeler Smith believes that too. She didn’t always live in a civilized society. She was born in South Carolina. Her twin sister died as a baby, after she was horribly burned and an ambulance crew wouldn’t help her because she was black. The family moved to Michigan, where her father became Ann Arbor’s first black mayor.

His daughter has served in Lansing for many years, and understands state finances. Overall, her plan would raise $6.5 billion dollars, and devote most of it to education, which she sees as Michigan’s hope for the future.

Much of the new revenue would come from a graduated income tax, if she can persuade voters to amend the constitution so we can have one. Currently, we all pay a rate of 4.35 percent. You, me, the convenience store clerk and the state’s richest man.

We all pay the same. Smith wants brackets instead. Those making $45,000 a year or less would pay four percent. Those making up to sixty thousand would pay seven percent.

Beyond that, we’d pay 9.75 percent.

That’s more than double what top earners pay now. But she doesn’t mince words. “These are the people who can afford to pay a little bit more,” she told the Gongwer news service yesterday.

In fact, those paying more would pay less than it seems, because they could claim a federal tax credit. But how does she think she could get people to approve what is still a sizable tax increase?

Actually, she thinks there is a bigger chance of getting support for a larger tax hike than a smaller one. “Citizens are tired of the nickel and dime approach,” she said. They know we have big problems, and need big solutions.

Now, you may think this crazy, but this reminds me of the day John Engler was sworn in as governor. Old George Romney grasped his hand. “Be bold,” he told the younger man.

Engler was bold. He did things everybody said were impossible, and was re-elected twice by landslides. Maybe what voters really want most are leaders who are truly willing to lead.

Comments

[Anonymous]

It really sounds so easy, doesn't it? Just raise taxes on the state's richest man.

The problem is, if we do that, the state's richest man moves to Florida, where they have no state income taxes.

A couple of weeks ago, Jack Lessenberry observed, probably rightly, that Lt. Governonr John Cherry is likely to get his party's nomination, and that many experienced political observers think that Cherry has "no chance" of winning a general election as the nominee. I'd hazard a guess that Alma Wheeler Smith's chances are less than Cherry's.

[Emily]

I think that graduated taxes make sense in some cases, but 7 percent for people earning $60K seems extreme.

I agree people need to pay more -- it makes sense that taxes be extended to services. But I don't think we can penalize people for making $60K -- that's just not that much money.

[Joan Batchjohn]

How about retirees paying their fair share? Why no discussion of aligning public sector retirement plans with the private retirement plans? Far too politically treacherous rather than simply the right thing to do.

[Shawn Kimmel]

I liked Lessenberry's article about Smith's campaign because he emphasized a key point-- If a Democrat is going to have any chance of winning the governor's race in 2010, it will require boldness and fundamentally new approaches to both policy and the organizing and running of a truly Progressive campaign in this state.

What Lessenberry failed to emphasize, however, is that in addition to arguing for a progressive income tax in MI, no candidate will win the race in MI without having a broad and progressive strategy for tackling all the other issues that are impacting working people in Michigan in their everyday lives--on food security, green jobs, energy security, and strong effective governance!

The idea that we do not need good government in the 21st century has been completely demolished by the current economic collapse, which occurred as result of the continual weakening of government's ability to effectively govern the economy in ways that serve the interests of the vast majority of the nation's and this state's people. And the inability of our state government to get any real control over our budget, let alone create a positive plan and effective vision for bringing our state back from the abyss into which it has sunk, only underlines the need for new visionary leadership and new ways to approach governing in the state of Michigan.

With Lessenberry, I too hope that Alma Wheeler Smith will show that she has the vision, energy, and strategic plan to offer a real alternative to the tired old same-as-always approach to MI government that has guided both the Democrats and the Republicans over the last decade. The politics of the same-old of both parties has landed us in this mess, which began long before the current economic crisis.

And the usual tired old tactics for campaign organizing are not going to win things for the Democrats, especially in a year where the Republican grassroots will be resurgent. The only chance the Democrats have is in mobilizing a broad grassroots-supported candidacy that uses the best progressive strategies and tactics and messaging, and that builds on what made President Obama's campaign so successful in 2008.

Without a strong progressive, visionary, and strategic approach to the Democratic campaign, we won't get very far in 2010. I deeply hope the campaign of Alma Wheeler Smith will show us that in her we have the kind of leader who can help the people of this great state create the kind of government and policies we deserve, which will lift us all out of the current crisis and into a prosperous and equitable future for all Michigan's citizens.

[D Alpaugh]

The idea of a Democrat even uttering the word taxes in this state unless he or she has to is political suicide.

There is exactly one issue which will matter in this election: jobs.

Smith would be a disaster. Running a woman brings up associations with the unpopular and ineffectual Granholm. Running an African-American brings up associations with Detroit. And running on taxes brings up all the worst associations with Democrats.

So what does the average voter end up associating with the Democratic brand? Taxes, Granholm, and Detroit. Horrible strategy.