You may not realize that Michigan has a flat income tax...otherwise known as a hyper-regressive tax. Michigan has one of the most regressive tax systems in America, with some of the poorest individuals in Michigan paying as much as 9.8% of their income to the state and the richest individuals paying 5.4% of their income to the state. The poor are already taxed more than their fair share in this state...Snyder is seeing to it that it stays that way. And just for good measure he's going to increase it.

Now...you may ask..."But, Muskegon Critic...how is that possible?"

Because SALES tax is a tax that disproportionately affects the low income earners.

"But...Muskegon Critic...that doesn't count. You don't HAVE TO buy non-food items. And food items aren't taxed!"

Don't forget that things like soap, for example, comes with sales tax. Clothes. Baby diapers. Gasoline. Electricity. Medicine. Cars and transportation. Pots and pans. Property tax. Hair cuts. Clippers that are used to do hair cuts at home. Auto maintenance. Shoes. Water.

These aren't necessarily LUXURY items. Many of these are included among necessities, especially if you want to hold down a job: shelter, clothing, medicine, toiletries.

When sales tax to the state is calculated in...the poor to middle class pay a SIGNIFICANTLY larger percentage of their income to the state already than the richest people in the state.

That's what a flat tax does. It flips the tiered taxation system so that the poor, rather than the rich, pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes. That's why the earned income tax credit was so important.

But conservatives like Snyder apparently see low wage earning as something to be beaten out of people. Keep beating them in the face and kicking them in the ribs until they get tired of being poor. Maybe some day they'll get tired of it.

Incidentally, there's an effort to recall Rick Snyder going on...a Facebook groupis organizing the effort so we can get enough people BEFORE we officially begin the process. Because once the process of recall begins, you have 90 days to collect all signatures.