Shelby Review

Michigan Capitol Confidential recently called out Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her hypocritical statements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early in the pandemic, Whitmer said, “This is going to be hard, but we’re going to get through this, and we’re going to get through it together," according to Michigan Capitol Confidential. But some see it as ironic that she is punishing failing business owners who don't comply with her orders. 

"Michigan Capitol Confidential has reported many examples of small business owners trying to avoid ruin while also complying with the state’s lockdown orders," reporter Tom Gantert wrote. "Hundreds of thousands of Michigan workers are also still sidelined by official orders and restrictions, as of the end of 2020. There appears to be a discrepancy in this story, however: While the private sector has has suffered during the pandemic, many government and public sector employees appear to have avoided those financial setbacks."

Pay raises for government workers have been verified after Michigan Capitol Confidential collected payroll data from several local governments, many of whom are reaping the benefits of pay increases while simultaneously enforcing tight restrictions on businesses struggling to survive. 

Plymouth ROC Restaurant is one business that is fighting to stay above water and avoid bankruptcy due to COVID-19 lockdowns. 

"The establishment has been charged by the state of Michigan for engaging in 'an illegal occupation or illegal act upon the licensed premises'," Gantert wrote. "The illegal act of attempted self-preservation was in providing service to customers in an outside tent with four walls in the middle of winter. Under the fine print of the governor’s orders, the tent is classified as 'indoors' with service prohibited."

The citation of the restaurant was definitely no accident and was taken on by local officials after a complaint was filed. John Buzuvis, director of community development for the city of Plymouth, went to the restaurant and took photos of the tent in which food and alcohol was being served, and his photos were used against the restaurant to prove it had violated an epidemic health order. Buzuvis was asked to take the photos by Allen Cox, the city’s director of public safety, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential.

Buzuvis received a pay raise from $78,555 in 2019 to $79,831 in 2020, a 1.6% increase. Cox saw a pay increase as well, from $100,646 in 2019 to $104,313 in 2020, a 3.6% increase.