Pontiac Times

Matt Maddock, a Michigan state legislator, used his social media account to comment on recent budget proposals and controversies within the state legislature.

On September 8, 2025, Maddock stated: "Our Michigan Republican House budget gives us no tax on tips, overtime and social security. Will @gretchenwhitmer and @WinnieBrinks let us have this small piece cake?" This message referenced the Michigan House Republican budget proposal, which includes provisions aimed at eliminating taxes on certain types of income such as tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits. In his post, Maddock addressed Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks directly.

Earlier that day, Maddock posted another message regarding legislative processes for approving government budgets: "When lawmakers approve a budget, TOP line is the number of employees we give permission to hire. Don’t let fakenews @CraigDMauger & @DNBethLeBlanc tell you the 4,300 fake employee scam is a way to give departments more “options”. It’s fraud and they are working to cover it up." Here, he criticized what he described as misrepresentation by journalists Craig Mauger and Beth LeBlanc regarding staffing figures in the state budget. Maddock alleged that claims about hiring flexibility for departments were misleading.

A previous post from September 7 linked only an image or content without text commentary: https://t.co/tBZrHqUZJg.

Michigan's legislative budgeting process involves setting top-line numbers for authorized staff positions in each department as part of annual appropriations. Disputes over these figures sometimes arise when lawmakers or watchdogs claim discrepancies between approved positions and actual hires or needs. Proposals to eliminate taxes on specific income streams have been a recurring topic in Michigan policy debates.