A Note To Shiawassee On The Michigan Budget Crisis

cross posted at the forums

As most of you know, Michigan faces a serious budget problem. Our only tools to solve this problem are spending cuts and revenue increases.

Since we have privatized pretty much everything that ever made us a profit (liquor control, for example), we have to get our revenue in the form of taxes or fees.

The Republican Senate opposes any kind of tax increase, saying instead that they can balance our budget with spending cuts. (A balanced budget is a requirement of our constitution) Last night the Senate Republicans finally put out their plan. Here is some info on the plan:

* About half of the budget plan supported by Senate Republicans comes from cuts
* The other half is funded by IOUs and other so-called “accounting changes” (i.e., cooking the books)
* This Republican-backed plan does nothing to deal with next year’s budget deficit, which is estimated to
be twice as large. Instead, it actually makes the situation worse – by moving certain payments into the next budget cycle.

Here are some of the specifics on the proposed cuts:

# A $377.4 million accounting gimmick and cut for public schools
# A $40 million cut in aid to cities
# $10.9 million from adult home health care
# A 1% cut in payments to health care providers who treat Medicaid patients
# Elimination of the healthy Michigan fund
# $6.5 million cut to Family Independence Program
# $3.8 million cut to community corrections programs
# $1 million cut to food stamp program
# Privatize foster care (will allegedly “save” $4.6 million)
# $21 million cut to the Detroit-Wayne County Community Mental Health program
# $10.5 million cut to local bus sytems
# $1.6 million cut to water pollution and drinking water revolving fund
# $1 million cut to fire protection grants
# $319,000 cut to Grand Rapids & D.J. Jacobetti veterans’ homes
# $2.7 million cut to intercity rail service
# $1.2 million cut to programs that help people on public assistance get transportation to work
# $69.3 million in IOUs to public universities
# $12.9 million in IOUs to community colleges
# Elimination of arts & culture grants ($3.6 million)
# $1.1 million to DHS daycare services
# Elimination of Project Joshua gun buyback program ($650,000)
# $738,700 cut to indigent burial fund

The above info is from Under cover of darkness, Republican ‘plan’ emerges

I have detailed the proposed cuts to the Shiawassee schools here.

The cuts listed in that post are cuts from this year’s school budget.

I have no doubt that there are spending cuts we can make … first of all, we can fire the senate and have a unicameral legislature. That saves us millions and I’m not convinced that it in any way jeopardizes our checks & balances or the quality of our representation in the legislature. We can cut back on the state motor pool (I have to drive hundreds of miles each week, for my job, and I don’t get a company car) and we can cut back on current benefits to the legislature. (Don’t give me that crap about ‘we can only make cuts to future legislatures because our current legislators were constitutionally promised these benefits’ … they can voluntarily give that up if they want). They can cut their staffs and salaries too, and they can cut their funds for office supplies & franking. And while we’re at it, let them turn down the heat to 60 degrees in their own buildings. (Why do FIA people look forward to going out into the field? Because a lot of their ‘problem homes’ have heat!)

But those cuts aren’t options, because those cuts would require personal sacrifice on the part of the legislature. No, the cuts we get to choose from only involve sacrifice from us.

(Holman Pool ring a bell? Anyone?)

And look at who is being asked to sacrifice … veterans, indigents, people on public assistance, people with mental health problems … don’t you think there’s more juice to be squeezed from the legislature than from these guys?

I understand that not everyone can afford to pay another tax. For some people right now it is better to cut services that don’t seem to benefit them (indigent burial, for example), than it is to reach deeper into their pockets to pay another tax. I am not going to try to convince anyone who is on public assistance or unemployment that they need to pay more. It’s a horrible feeling to not know how you will pay your bills this month, and then the next month, and then the next month … and it doesn’t sit well with people to be asked to ‘invest in Michigan’s future’ when they have no idea what their own future looks like.

On the other hand, as a business owner, and having been in business for a very long time, no business person is going to convince me that a 2% tax is going to kill them. Period. I’ve looked at the numbers just like everyone else. The opposition to the tax on the basis that it’s a job killer just doesn’t hold water.

The opposition to the tax on the basis that it’s a tax … that, I understand. But the tax cuts have bottomed out … the tax cutters have already gotten everything that Michigan has to give.

Michigan Liberal has been doing a pretty good job following the state budget crisis. As you can imagine, the articles there are written from a liberal / Democratic point of view.

There are also some blogs out there that discuss the budget from the Republican point of view. The Matt Millen of bloggers is out there on blogspot. He can tell you all about how Michigan’s economic crisis is the fault of the Governor.

It’s pretty hard to get information that isn’t ideologically driven. Even most newspapers seem to be lining up behind one of the parties. You have to some research and make up your own mind. You don’t have to agree with either party. You don’t have to buy into your party’s plan. You don’t have to be an elected office holder to have a good idea. You just have to give some thought about what’s going on here. You might be the person who comes up with the solution.

Think about your own neighborhood. Can Shiawassee County afford more cuts? More layoffs? How is your kid’s school doing?

No matter what side you come down on, it is important that you understand what is happening at the state level.

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