Looks like our state is going to lose some revenue, if the Michigan Senate goes along with the House and the governor agrees:
It's no theory: The big bang may be coming to Michigan -- legally and possibly in time for July 4th.
Some high-powered fireworks -- such as bottle rockets, roman candles and smaller firecrackers -- now banned for individuals could be sold by businesses that buy a $5,000 license and pay 5% of sales to the state, under a bill passed Wednesday by the House.
[. . .]
That'd be nice for Bill Cowger of Troy, who said he's launched illegal fireworks on July 4 for 19 years at his home on Emerald Lake -- exploding sparklers that shoot 60 to 100 feet high. He buys them in Indiana on his way home from an annual family reunion and said he's never been cited by local police.
"If people do it anyway, why not buy them in Michigan?" said Cowger, 63, who spends between $200 and $300 to shoot fireworks over the lake. "It's like casinos. Why not have them here? It couldn't hurt the economy.
Ah, the good old "people are going to do it anyway" casino argument. Here's a thought: The bill might have a much easier chance at passage if legislators stick in a clause requring people buying fireworks to promise to take them to Indiana before shooting them off. We got away with that scam for years.
