Dave Wermuth
Who hid my paddle?
It goes to motive
The term no government official will speak is 'tax increase' or 'new tax'. So they call it revenue enhancement.
Working for State Of Michigan for 32+ years has provided enough experience to form some bias.
I think legislators in Michigan aren't very skilled. We have term limits here. A politician, in his first term learns where the bathroom is and who has the best lunch, and what committees he/she wants to be on. The second term is not much time to get much done, (they can't even settle on a budget) and so it is somewhat like a lame duck session. One legislator friend of mine admitted this to me, although I am stretching it a bit. These are not bad guys or incompetent, they are generally smart, sincere, citizens of good character, but I think it is a function of the limited term situation.
Having said that, I think that our economy is so bad that our government is trying any and all methods of enhancing revenue. Which is to say, the registration of canoes does not, in my opinion, come out of any legislator's concern for safety or increased canoe access to recreational opportunities.
There is no question that registration helps establish ownership but alot of registered stuff still gets stolen.
I wonder how mandatory registration impacts sales of new canoes and would the manufacturers favor registration if they thought their sales may suffer?
Back to my initial belief, I think mandatory registration is really for the purpose of general revenue enhancement, not increased services.
The term no government official will speak is 'tax increase' or 'new tax'. So they call it revenue enhancement.
Working for State Of Michigan for 32+ years has provided enough experience to form some bias.
I think legislators in Michigan aren't very skilled. We have term limits here. A politician, in his first term learns where the bathroom is and who has the best lunch, and what committees he/she wants to be on. The second term is not much time to get much done, (they can't even settle on a budget) and so it is somewhat like a lame duck session. One legislator friend of mine admitted this to me, although I am stretching it a bit. These are not bad guys or incompetent, they are generally smart, sincere, citizens of good character, but I think it is a function of the limited term situation.
Having said that, I think that our economy is so bad that our government is trying any and all methods of enhancing revenue. Which is to say, the registration of canoes does not, in my opinion, come out of any legislator's concern for safety or increased canoe access to recreational opportunities.
There is no question that registration helps establish ownership but alot of registered stuff still gets stolen.
I wonder how mandatory registration impacts sales of new canoes and would the manufacturers favor registration if they thought their sales may suffer?
Back to my initial belief, I think mandatory registration is really for the purpose of general revenue enhancement, not increased services.
