Your Tax Dollars At ... oh well. Never mind.

The Great and Sovereign State of Michigan has decided, in its wisdom, that it will no longer produce the simplified EZ tax form. Furthermore, it will no longer distribute tax forms through college libraries. No doubt the student population will appreciate this wisdom. I wonder whether they'll rate Governor Granholm "hot" as a result? From the Michigan Electronic Library's Government Documents Specialist, via the MichLib-L listserv:

The MI Dept. of Treasury sent out a second letter to academic institutions
totally dropping them from the program. In other words, colleges and
universities in Michigan will not receive ANY paper forms, reproducibles,
etc. What they will get is a poster.

As we pointed out to Treasury, students, faculty and staff who still want
paper forms will now be sent to the public library for tax materials. So,
while supplies of forms for public libraries are being cut by 25% or more,
the demand for forms will only grow. And academic libraries are left high
and dry.

That better be one impressive poster.

I'm not sure why this surprises me. After all, this is the same state that recently decided there was no need for unemployment-office locations in the entire upper peninsula. After all, we all know how stable the jobs are in the industries which dominate the upper peninsula. Tourism. Logging. Mining. (Not to mention, um, education.)

But from a political standpoint, the great festering urban masses of the lower peninsula are where the votes are. So I guess that's the most profitable place to pander.