Waterford Today

Matt Maddock, a House Representative from Michigan, has said that state Democrats are advocating for increases in gas and income taxes. This assertion comes despite a budget proposal that aims to enhance school and road funding without raising taxes. Maddock's comments were made on the social media platform X.

"Record $12,000 for every schoolkid," said Matthew A Maddock, State Representative from Michigan. "Corporate Welfare and waste cuts. Almost double road funding all with NO TAX INCREASE. The greedy Michigan Dems are saying shut gov down unless they get a gas & income tax increase out of you."

According to reports, Michigan's 2025 budget negotiations have reached an impasse due to proposed tax hikes. Republicans argue these increases would place an undue burden on workers, while Democrats, with the support of Governor Whitmer, contend they are essential for funding health care, education, and infrastructure. The Michigan Department of Treasury indicates that the core of the disagreement is whether to raise revenue or cut services to balance the budget.

Michigan has approved a $21.9 billion K–12 education budget for 2025, which raises per-student funding to a record $10,025—an increase of $417 from the previous year. However, as reported by Michigan Advance, some lawmakers have criticized this budget for reducing funding for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and at-risk student services despite the overall increase.

Between 2019 and 2022, Michigan invested nearly $7 billion in repairing over 16,000 lane miles. In 2023 alone, $1.95 billion was allocated for work on 3,812 miles of roads and bridges. Bridge Michigan reports that annual road spending almost doubled from $2.9 billion in 2015 to $5.7 billion in 2023; however, inflation has diminished purchasing power.

Maddock has been representing Michigan’s 51st House District since 2023 after serving the 44th District from 2019 to 2022. According to Wikipedia, he has chaired the transportation appropriations subcommittee and introduced bills regulating fact-checking. He was briefly expelled from the GOP caucus in 2022 before being reinsaid.