“This is the budget we have, but not the budget we need. It is a budget I don’t agree with and don’t support.” To which I wanted to say, What do you mean? You just signed it. You are responsible for this. And we now will suffer the consequences.
In a sense, the above, milder version, reminds me of one of history’s most infamous moments, when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sold out Czechoslovakia for what he said would be “peace in our time.” Winston Churchill then growled, “England has been offered a choice between war and shame.”
“She has chosen shame. She will get war,” later. That is, of course, exactly what happened back in 1938. What our governor is apparently arguing in 2009 is this: She had to choose between signing a terrible budget and ruining the state.
But she has chosen to do both. With this budget our lawmakers have betrayed our hope for a better future. What we have witnessed is an absolute failure of political will and leadership.
Our state’s lawmakers have passed a budget that ignores the changing economy of Michigan, and our needs. In a world where our only hope is better education, our leaders have voted to make sure more public schools fail. In a world where higher education is Michigan’s only hope to again become competitive, and the younger generation’s only hope for a future, our lawmakers have betrayed a promise they made to help 96,000 students with college tuition.
But neither the governor nor the legislature made the faintest effort to move this state to a graduated income tax, that would assess the burdens of civilization according to our ability to pay.
Nobody seriously proposed taxing services, even though we have become a service-based economy. Nor did our lawmakers consider raising the state income tax by a few tenths of a percent, instead of cutting what we spend to educate our kids by as much as $600 a child. And they certainly never dreamed of raising the tax on a bottle of beer instead of cutting the promise grant or cutting payments to nursing homes that care for the poor and disabled.
By the way, the tax on beer hasn‘t been changed since they lowered it forty-three years ago. The beer industry is well served by its lobbyists. Better than we are by our legislators.
If this bothers you, you might consider getting vocal about it. You have now seen that you cannot depend on our leaders to act with your best interests in mind, and this is just the start.
Next year will be worse. We’ll have another huge budget deficit, but with a difference: We plugged half of this one with federal stimulus money. By next year, that all will be gone.
This budget, according to House Speaker Andy Dillon, was “child’s play,” compared to what we face next year. If you want schools and parks and roads and a future, you need to fight for them.
Civilization costs money, especially when times are tough.
But the alternative will cost us all far more.
Amen Jack!
Posted by: Becky | November 03, 2009 at 09:05 AM
(posted on MichLib and BFM as well)
Jack Lessenberry completely misses the point in faulting Governor Granholm for signing a bad budget to prevent a government shutdown. The only thing worse than a bad budget would be a complete shutdown of Michigan government.
Think of the consequences -- and imagine what people like Lessenberry would be saying had the Governor refused to sign a budget and let the state shut down, in the ultimate Halloween nightmare. No Medicaid reimbursement. No inspections of Michigan agriculture. No pay for tens of thousands of state employees, who count on a regular paycheck to take care of their bills and families. Doing more damage to Michigan's credit rating. Adding uncertainty for businesses looking to locate here or that do business with the state. Limited state police protection (just imagine if something awful were to happen as a result).
Does Lessenberry really think these were viable options for the Governor? There's wide-spread agreement that we need to make long-term changes to the way Michigan does business. Lessenberry inaccurately states that the Governor "didn't make the faintest effort to move this state to a graduated income tax." However, just this March the Governor floated a graduated income tax to replace the Senate Republican-designed MBT surcharge - an idea Lessenberry wrote about at the time and supported!
Lessenberry's missing the point. Andy Dillon and Mike Bishop spawned this terrible budget, and left the Governor and the people of Michigan with no options with their eleventh hour nonsense. Lessenberry quotes Dillon as calling this year's budget "child's play" - with the damage they've done to our state already, we can only be thankful for one sane leader in Lansing… Jennifer Granholm.
He is right about one thing, though. Citizens should get vocal about this year's budget, and should contact their legislators (particularly obstinate Senate Republicans) to demand a budget that protects Michigan's future.
It's far past time to stand up and fight - and to place the blame squarely where it belongs, on Bishop and Dillon's "deal".
Posted by: ski | November 03, 2009 at 04:47 PM
The problem is that as with all bureaucracies, if more money can be had there will be no reform. Jack has pointed out that we Michigan incarcerates and spends more on prisons than other states in our region. Citizen’s Research Council has shown our Public Sector employee’s compensation and benefits are far out of parity with National averages. Higher ed is full of bloat and redundancy. Why do we have three major state universities in the UP? The list of issues for reform goes on and on. But as long as more money can be scrounged up nothing will happen, but then again cost effective, logical government isn’t what all this is really all about.
Regarding the hand ringing on higher education funding, when we see approximately 40% of college grads leaving the state, (and the dirty secret that when you get into the most sought after degrees this figure, this figure doubles), what are you talking about?. Sorry but keeping a few art, social work or women’s studies majors is a crappy deal for Michigan’s tax payers! A better idea would be to zero out higher ed all together and make Michigan attractive for college grads from other states to move here, thereby making suckers of their taxpayers!
Posted by: Matt | November 04, 2009 at 01:23 PM
Jack Lessenberry is absolutely right. I wish his prior suggestion made months ago to "Promote" Granholm to a harmless Ambassador post somewhere harmless had made it to Obama's desk, but alas, no such luck.
Can we impeach her?
As soon to be college grad you better believe I am leaving the state, and so is my fiance. Other states may have higher taxes, but they are better run and have a better future. We want to have kids and Michigan is no longer a place where we can expect them to grow up and have a decent shot at life.
I honestly do not understand why anyone would stay at this point, other than laziness or fear of the unknown. An the known here is going down the toilet, so the unknown might start to seem rather appealing, I should think.
Tell Jennifer Granholm to be sure she turns the light out when she leaves too.
Posted by: Robert | November 05, 2009 at 06:10 PM