title:  Michigan’s Republican Governor Needs Your Tax Dollars To Fix The Flint Water Crisis He Created
text: The water crisis in Flint is not just simply a man-made disaster, it is the actualization of unconstrained Republican policy. For more than a year, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and the emergency manager of Flint ignored the voices of all those who spoke out about the contamination of Flint s water. Now, Michigan is forced to rely on Obama and the federal government to rescue them.In April 2014, Flint s emergency manager forced the city to switch from using Detroit s water system to using the Flint River for water. The decision to do so was touted as a means to cut costs for the city. It turned out to be a disaster. There is an unusual amount of salt in the Flint River. The river is also extremely contaminated. So when the salt began to corrode the pipes of Flint s water system, lead leaked into people s drinking water. One study found the pipe corrosion problem could have been solved for as little as $100 a day. Now it is estimated that it will cost up to $1.5 billion dollars to fix Flint s water system. There has been massive outcry over the water system transition since day one. When evidence was shown that Flint s water had become contaminated, Snyder and the emergency manager choose not to act. That s why Snyder is currently being investigated by the EPA.For those not in the know, an emergency manager acts as the feudal lord for cities that want to behave fiscally irresponsibly. The emergency manager law was implemented by Snyder. When a local government fails to meet certain criteria, the governor appoints an emergency manager to replace the city government. The local government still exists, but those democratically elected officials do not have any real power. You might say that s just tough luck for Michiganders who elected Snyder. But you would be wrong. The emergency manager law was overturned through a ballot initiative in 2012. Snyder and Michigan s Republican-controlled state government decided to replace the law, with an almost exact copy.Now as many as 100,000 people have been poisoned by reckless neglect (and Republicans  unfaltering devotion to destroying effective government.) This disaster was entirely preventable. The same way that the massive water shut offs in Detroit, that have received international condemnation, are completely unnecessary.At this point, there is no way that the Flint water crisis can be solved without receiving financial aid from the federal government. Snyder declared the disaster a state wide emergency last week, which makes it so that he can request financial aid from the federal government. Snyder must call on the Obama administration to fix his mess.Featured Image Credit: Michigan Municipal League via Flickr Creative Commons License 2.0