Unintended Consequences of ballot proposals

I want to offer my suggestions of a vote on the six ballot proposals facing Michigan voters this year.  I am concerned by the strong presence of personal agendas in the proposals, and the fact five of the proposals make permanent constitutional changes based on these personal agendas.  These proposals have been put together to preserve a way of doing business for a particular special interest, or preserving personal financial monopolies.  They do not represent what is best for all the citizens of Michigan.  If these proposals pass, citizens will forfeit their ability to elect representatives to make these tough choices.  Decisions that are meant to be made by our elected representatives will become embedded into our state constitution.  They will no longer be the responsibility of our democratically elected representatives.  If we are unsatisfied with the decisions of our elected representatives we can and should vote them out of office, not take the decision making ability away from them.

Thus, I plan to vote ‘no’ on proposals #2 through #6 since, if these pass, they short circuit the individual voter’s ability to hold their representatives responsible for managing the state’s finances.  I will vote ‘yes’ on proposal #1 since that gives the governor the ability to intervene when a publicly financed entity is financially unable to meet its obligations to use public funds in accordance with their intended purposes.   I would encourage everyone’s close consideration of the unintended consequences of these proposals.  Although the ads make them sound good, they are dangerous for Michigan’s future growth and prosperity.