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<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/utility/FeedStylesheets/rss.xsl" media="screen"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"><channel><title>Economy</title><link>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/9.aspx</link><description>Regulation, Labor, Professions, Energy, Communications, Business Subsidies</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><generator>CommunityServer 2008 (Debug Build: 30417.1769)</generator><item><title>Always on the Teachers Backs!</title><link>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/thread/238954.aspx</link><pubDate>Sun, 18 Nov 2007 02:19:26 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">85480579-cbb1-4596-8e66-ca77d6981342:238954</guid><dc:creator>Anonymous Citizen</dc:creator><slash:comments>0</slash:comments><comments>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/thread/238954.aspx</comments><wfw:commentRss>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/commentrss.aspx?SectionID=9&amp;PostID=238954</wfw:commentRss><description>I would just like to say that #1- Legislators have an average salary of 80,000, and they receive better health and retirement than any teacher I know.  As someone who is friends with a teacher who is worried about this bill...no one has brought up that in a small school district, even with no names attached, board members and whomever else will know all the teachers medical business.  Would you want someone knowing all of yours?  In small districts it wouldn't be difficult to figure out who someone was if they had an accident or a prolonged illness...then you could see everything else that person has ever gone to the doctor for...it would be in the public record, just like pay or evaluations.  Also, what is to stop insurance companies from lowballing a district in order to get the bid, then jacking the rates up the following year...right back where they started.  It's interesting to think that every person who has ever sat in a classroom can judge how hard a teacher works or what they should be receiving.  If only the Legislature had that kind of spotlight on them, maybe Michigan wouldn't be in this mess!</description></item><item><title>Follow the Money</title><link>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/thread/238953.aspx</link><pubDate>Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:25:47 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">85480579-cbb1-4596-8e66-ca77d6981342:238953</guid><dc:creator>R1Lawrence</dc:creator><slash:comments>0</slash:comments><comments>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/thread/238953.aspx</comments><wfw:commentRss>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/commentrss.aspx?SectionID=9&amp;PostID=238953</wfw:commentRss><description>Mike Sac HB5454 repeal competitive Bid requirement for health care - and this from a guy that professes support a priority of “fighting the skyrocketing cost of health care.” I suppose that it’s ok to have skyrocketing costs if you contributed to Representative Sak’s campaign fund; over $7,500 from MEA and Blue Cross Blue Shield related contributors - if you don’t know the MEA via their conduit, MESSA is the third largest customer of Blue Cross Blue Shield - a classic case of follow the money people!</description></item><item><title>Follow the $$</title><link>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/thread/238952.aspx</link><pubDate>Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:28:46 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">85480579-cbb1-4596-8e66-ca77d6981342:238952</guid><dc:creator>Anonymous Citizen</dc:creator><slash:comments>0</slash:comments><comments>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/thread/238952.aspx</comments><wfw:commentRss>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/commentrss.aspx?SectionID=9&amp;PostID=238952</wfw:commentRss><description>Something tells me that some of the extra money that MEA tacks onto the MESSA insurance premiums end up in Mr Saks re-election fund.  No over priced MESSA-No money for Mr Sak.  If this was a businessman using a politician to extort money out of taxpayers there would be a criminal investigation.</description></item><item><title>NO !!!</title><link>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/thread/238951.aspx</link><pubDate>Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:19:21 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">85480579-cbb1-4596-8e66-ca77d6981342:238951</guid><dc:creator>MTH</dc:creator><slash:comments>0</slash:comments><comments>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/thread/238951.aspx</comments><wfw:commentRss>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/commentrss.aspx?SectionID=9&amp;PostID=238951</wfw:commentRss><description>Mr. Sak you are WRONG !
This law was an is an excellent idea and instead of being repealed it needs to be expanded.  Lansing continually tells us what to do and then hamstrings our ability to do it.
The MEA has a big budget and I see they are continuing to spend it "wisely" in the interest of their own gluttonous profits.</description></item><item><title>Why?</title><link>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/thread/238950.aspx</link><pubDate>Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:59:49 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">85480579-cbb1-4596-8e66-ca77d6981342:238950</guid><dc:creator>Anonymous Citizen</dc:creator><slash:comments>0</slash:comments><comments>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/thread/238950.aspx</comments><wfw:commentRss>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/commentrss.aspx?SectionID=9&amp;PostID=238950</wfw:commentRss><description>Why do you want to repeal the act? What is wrong with providing information and getting bids? Something stinks about this bill.</description></item><item><title>2007 House Bill 5454 (Repeal public employer health insurance competitive bid requirement )</title><link>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/thread/233781.aspx</link><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 2001 05:00:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">85480579-cbb1-4596-8e66-ca77d6981342:233781</guid><dc:creator>admin</dc:creator><slash:comments>0</slash:comments><comments>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/thread/233781.aspx</comments><wfw:commentRss>http://www.michiganvotes.org/forum/forums/commentrss.aspx?SectionID=9&amp;PostID=233781</wfw:commentRss><description>Introduced in the House on November 8, 2007&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href='http://www.michiganvotes.org/2007-HB-5454'&gt;Click here to view bill details.&lt;/a&gt;</description></item></channel></rss>