It is a month later than what the Michigan Constitution says, but we finally and officially have the state budget fixed for the next fiscal year. The whole state is split about the final solution, but no solution to the budget problem would be accepted by everyone. Personally, I believe more cuts in spending could have been made. But what is done is done and what is done had to be done. So overall, thank you to the state Legislature for coming up with a solution, cooperating with each chamber and having a bipartisan compromise. While I am a fiscal conservative and not happy about the tax increase, I am more upset about how the vote was done than what the vote was about.
Fingers can be pointed at those who did not handle the budget situation properly. Courage and leadership were needed to fix this budget crisis. When the time came, some of the legislators in the Republican caucus came up to bat, while some of their Democratic colleagues backed down.
Voting for a tax increase goes against Republican fiscal policy, but they did what was best for the state and not themselves. And a big jeer goes out to some of the Democrats who decided to play politics rather than be public servants.
In the Senate, the Republican caucus has a 21-17 majority lead. So for any type of tax increase to be passed, a few Republican senators would need to make a bold move and vote for the Democratic-sponsored tax increase. These Republican legislators knew very well that by voting for a tax increase they would get blackballed by their Republican colleagues. They knew they would upset the base of the party and they would upset their constituents who put them into office last November.
Thus, there was no need for them to vote to increase taxes, but they did what they had to do to fix the budget and to help the state. Their tough votes not only prevented a government shutdown, but they saved state workers from losing their jobs, they saved the Michigan Department of Agriculture from shutting down and stopping any of its activities, they saved some school districts from closing, they helped the Michigan Department of Education remain open, they helped lottery sales continue, which contribute to public schools, they saved 85 percent of state police and emergency workers from being laid off, they allowed road construction to continue and they were able to keep the selling of liquor available.
However, what do these Republican state legislators get for making the tough vote and saving state services and others’ jobs? They get the task of now trying to save their own jobs. Three senators — Valde Garcia, Gerald Van Workem and Wayne Kuipers — all face the possibility of a recall. And for what? Doing their jobs and serving the residents of Michigan? Once again, thank you for putting aside partisan politics and doing what is best for the state.
I wish I could say that some of the Democrats in the state Legislature displayed the same courage and leadership as some of the Republican senators, but that is not the case. I would like to point out again that the tax increase was a Democratic initiative and not a Republican one. Some Republican representatives made a bold move and made the tough vote. In the state House of Representatives, the Democratic caucus has a 58-52 lead over the Republicans. The Democratic-led state House, as early as April, had bills to increase taxes.
But if they had the majority, why couldn’t they pass the bill? The answer is because some Democratic representatives knew the same thing that everyone else knew: A vote for a tax increase meant the possible chance of a recall. And what a surprise, some of the Democratic representatives who delayed voting on a tax increase or would not vote when a tax increase was on the board were all from vulnerable seats. In other words, their seats were barely won in the last election and could very well lose in the next one.
They did not vote because they felt the tax increase would be wrong. They did not vote because they knew their possible run as state representatives would be over. If I am not mistaken, the reason these legislators are in office right now is to make tough decisions and do what is best for the state.
When we head to the polls next November and vote in both the national and state elections, remember which legislators did what they are in office to do. Remember which legislators did what was best for the state. Remember which legislators served you and not themselves.
Leo Madarang is a State News columnist, vice chairperson for the MSU College Republicans and a political theory senior. Reach him at madaran5@msu.edu.
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