By By MICHAEL C. GUILMETTE JR. / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Gas prices, state taxes, the war in Iraq and illegal immigration were the issues Neil Nitz heard Saturday during a stop in Niles.
The 78th District Republican stopped by the Prime Table Restaurant to speak with constituents, two weeks after making a similar stop in Dowagiac. While only two people showed up for the occasion, both still had plenty to ask the representative from Baroda.
Phillips noted gasoline prices in the region fluctuating as much as 25 to 30 cents per gallon in a single day, but Nitz said there is little that can be done regionally.
While Nitz was pessimistic about affecting gas prices directly, he did use the opportunity to promote alternative fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel.
Nitz pointed out that while ethanol is not a complete solution, the use of alternative fuels could bring the price of gasoline down due to the competition created. He did say more people would likely have to buy vehicles with flex-fuel engines, pointing out his own vehicle can run on 85 percent ethanol fuel.
Phillips was also critical of the war in Iraq, telling Nitz “Bush has really screwed it up.”
Gil MacNeill, who owns a business in Buchanan, held a different opinion of the war's progress.
Although Nitz said the war effort was largely a federal issue, he did offer some opinions of his own, saying the U.S. needs to stay in the Middle East.
Nitz added the state has safeguards in place to make sure military personnel from Michigan do not have to be concerned about utilities being shut off while they are stationed in a war zone.
Turning to illegal immigration, Nitz again said the issue was largely a federal one, but he recognized the dilemma many business owners face.
Still, he said migrant labor is necessary, and the federal government needs to act on the problem.
The last topic of the morning was the state budget.
He pointed out that while the Single Business Tax has been repealed, Gov. Jennifer Granholm's proposed 2 percent sales tax of services - such as legal fees, haircuts and movie theater tickets - would net the state $1.5 billion in revenue, and an additional $1.1 billion in new tax revenues from other sources would easily replace the $1.8 billion in revenue lost by ending the SBT.
Nitz, however, was not positive about the prospects of further taxation.
Nitz did have his own ideas on stabilizing the state budget.
Nitz said Indiana, Ohio and Illinois all have three- to five-year lifetime maximum welfare benefits, while Michigan has no maximum.