Inevitably, as the crisis escalates, both sides realize how truly insane this all is, but they just can‘t help themselves as they move, step by step, closer to Armageddon.
Well, welcome to financial ground zero. Just as we know that nuclear war is bad, everyone with two brain cells to rub together knows that a government shutdown would be a very bad thing for our already troubled state. Here’s what Doug Rothwell, the president of the business group Detroit Renaissance had to say about it:
“A government shutdown would be a very unfortunate move at this point, given all the other problems Michigan is encountering with the transformation of the auto industry and the effects of the economy. It would further undermine the image of Michigan as a place to do business both for companies already located here as well as those we are trying to attract.”
Doug Rothwell’s comments are valuable because while he sees things from a business perspective, he is a thoughtful moderate.
But frankly, the best perspective I’ve seen comes from a man who has been here before, former Gov. James J. Blanchard. Yesterday, he said “I’m afraid that some of the legislators need to have a shutdown before they will muster the courage to vote for a financial recovery plan.”
That doesn’t mean Blanchard wants a shutdown.
He said “all that would do is continue the chaos, making the deficit larger and the problem worse. It would hurt the image of the state, drive up borrowing costs, reduce services and reduce people’s confidence in state leaders. This is not the result of high unemployment or auto layoffs, which are tragedies in themselves.”
Rather, “this budget crisis is a man-made tragedy that can and should be solved by men and women of good will.”
Twenty-five years ago, Blanchard was a young congressman who had just been elected governor. He came into office facing a deficit as bad as this one -- and unemployment and inflation that were considerably worse. He asked the legislature to do a very hard thing.
He asked them to temporarily raise the state income tax from 4.6 percent to 6.35 percent. The lawmakers did so and everyone remembers part of what happened next. Angry voters recalled two state senators who voted for the tax increase.
That’s why so many lawmakers today are weak-kneed about doing the right thing. But here’s the part they don’t remember.
The tax increase worked. The deficit was paid off. The tax rate went back down. The economy got better.
The voters were mad at Blanchard, too. But when he ran for re-election, he won with a modern record 69 percent of the vote.
Sometimes doing the right thing pays off. Let’s hope Lansing remembers that, before we disgrace ourselves before the nation.
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