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Are you interested in protecting land and water? LandChoices can help you!

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The blog post Conservation Planning: "You'd never drain a lake..." by was featuredNov 5

Kirt Manecke, LandChoices added the blog post 'Conservation Planning: "You'd never drain a lake..."'Nov 5

Featured

The blog post Can landscape architecture preserve our environment? by was featuredOct 29

Kirt Manecke, LandChoices added the blog post 'Can landscape architecture preserve our environment?'Oct 29

Featured

The blog post Video: Land conservation and developers by was featuredOct 22

Kirt Manecke, LandChoices added the blog post 'Video: Land conservation and developers'Oct 22

Featured

The blog post Green video: Why do most subdivisions look so bad? by was featuredOct 15

Kirt Manecke, LandChoices added the blog post 'Green video: Why do most subdivisions look so bad?'Oct 15

About me

I founded and am the volunteer president of LandChoices. I work full time as a publicist. Become Known (www.becomewellknown.com) is my own PR (public relations) and sales firm I run in my spare time (I could use more spare time!).

LandChoices is a national non-profit organization based in Milford, Michigan. I started LandChoices as I am very concerned about the loss of our natural areas, working farms, wildlife and our water quaility. We are an all volunteer organization at the moment. If you have some extra energy and time, and have grant writing or sales experience and would like to volunteer to help us raise funds, please let me know. We could use you! You can contact me at info@landchoices.org.

LandChoices educates landowners and planners about ways to preserve land. We have some exciting programs that can help you help preserve land near you. I hope you will visit LandChoices' website at www.landchoices.org to learn more.

Kirt Manecke, LandChoices's Blog

Conservation Planning: "You'd never drain a lake..."

We asked LandChoices' advisory group member and conservation developer… Continue

Posted on November 5th, 2009 at 11:17am —

Can landscape architecture preserve our environment?

Can landscape architecture preserve our environment? Landscape planner and La… Continue

Posted on October 29th, 2009 at 6:45am —

Video: Land conservation and developers

LandChoices interviews noted planner… Continue

Posted on October 22nd, 2009 at 6:53am —

Green video: Why do most subdivisions look so bad?

This is LandChoices first video from our official… Continue

Posted on October 15th, 2009 at 4:36am —

Greener road design, part 2, with Randall Arendt

Infiltration or conservation meadows are a less expensive and environmentally superior alternative to deep “bombcrater” basin designs. In this example from Doylestown Township in Bucks County, the side slopes are so gentle that the entire meadow can be mowed with large equipment o… Continue

Posted on October 1st, 2009 at 7:35am — 1 Comment

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Comment Wall (4 comments)

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At 4:50pm on January 8th, 2009, Daar Fisher said…: Hey Kirt, thanks for the "get back" - but I gotta tell ya, we're in an immediate crisis, when one sees how quickly the tax base is eroding. As a business person (I managed an architectural / construction mgt firm for over 20 years), might I be so bold to suggest that courteously keeping things "in mind" isn't going to take this initiative where it needs to go?

What action can you take - right now - to add energy to this effort?

At 3:52pm on January 8th, 2009, Daar Fisher said…: Thanks for the shout out, Kirt.

The best way to stay informed is to join our email list. (We minimize emailings, choosing to target MI House or Senate districts where events, activities are in progress. Therefore, please let us know, at minimum, your Zip+4 to assign these.)

Please share this with your family, friends, and associates. Also, if you'd like a brief presentation to a group you're a part of, we'd love to get it scheduled.

At 6:48am on January 7th, 2009, Kirt Manecke, LandChoices said…: Hi Daar,

Thank you! Sounds like a great plan. Good luck.
Warmly,
Kirt Manecke

At 5:31am on January 7th, 2009, Daar Fisher said…

Hi Kirt , I’m the Internal Communication Director for the Michigan FairTax Assn. As you’re aware, our state legislature has recently enacted the Michigan Business Tax [MBT] as a response to ending the Single Business Tax [SBT] (a gross receipts tax). Our goal is to inform Michiganders about a proposed Michigan FairTax alternative that would both simplify, and stimulate, Michigan's business / jobs climate in order to stem the mass-emigration of businesses and families currently taking 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).