Started this discussion. Last reply by Rachel North Feb 25.
I wrote my last post, An Inland Lake Ice Rink Odyssey, on a spring-like day as I contemplated the effect on our ice rink of unbelievably warm weather and snow on the horizon. Neither of which portended well for pulling out any ice skating in the foreseeable future. The snow did come. The festivals all over Northern Michigan got a lovely fresh coat of snow and temperatures cold enough to sustain the stunn… Continue
Posted on February 16th, 2009 at 12:13pm —

Posted on February 11th, 2009 at 10:00am —

Posted on November 3rd, 2008 at 12:00pm —
Comment Wall (31 comments)
You need to be a member of MyNorth to add comments!
Join this network
I notice my bonsai article was "featured", but I must admit I don't know what that means, at least on "My North". Can you shed some light on this for me? Thanks a bunch, as always.
Dean
I appreciate your note. This is the first Blog I have ever participated in. I am a retired school teacher, and until yesterday wrote for the Antrim County News free lance. That paper announced its demise however. I do some work with the East Jordan C of C. They were advised by Traverse Magazine rep's to have me send samples of my writing to this site, so here I am. Thanks for the welcome.
Have been following you and Traverse Magazine since your boys were very little. Having raised three boys myself (now 38, 40 & 42) and having been part of the area since my birth, I have always enjoyed the magazine and particularly your editorials. They are beautiful, touching and alway inspiring - thanks!
Thank you, I think this is a great idea & I am looking forward to participating & making new friends!
Thank you for the wonderful reflections in your February Editor's Note of Traverse Magazine. I like your line "Who wouldn't want to produce words and photographs for this place?"
The proposed Michigan FairTax would REPLACE the income tax and current sales tax, with a consumption tax (sales tax at point of retail sale). Under this plan, no more state tax will be withheld from Michigan wage-earners' paychecks. What's more, every Michigan resident-family will receive a monthly "prebate" check, in amount based on family size. This will ensure that NO Michigan family will EVEN BEGIN paying the MI FairTax on goods / services unless, or until, they exceed poverty-level spending.
Under the MI FairTax plan, points of collection are substantially reduced to just retailers, many of whom are already collecting sales tax. Because service providers must account for income tax withholding and compliance costs, their prices carry a hidden tax which a FairTax will make visible. (Business-to-business purchases would not carry the tax, as this would, again, hide the cost of taxation in prices.)
Because of the "prebate" (advance rebate calculated as .0975 x $ [poverty level spending per family size]) to ALL Michigan-resident households, the MI FairTax rate would effectively be 0% on all monthly family spending to the poverty level; thereafter it's 9.75%. A reasonably inferred average effective rate would be ~5.5% (see p.2 of pdf brochure, also review an economic analysis [pdf] on MI FairTax effects prepared by the Hillsdale Policy Group).
Please, join our email list to be kept informed!
Why the FairTax idea is right for America's working families.
Dr. Laurence Kotlikoff believes that it will take the FairTax to reverse unfunded obligations, now above $53 trillion and counting!
View All Comments