Michigan’s 2-year-old Life Sciences Corridor seemed to have all the potential of making the state the Silicon Valley for life-benefiting research.
But if state lawmakers continue to dip into the program’s major funding source to fix other budget issues it stands the risk of becoming just another worthless bureaucratic extra.
The Life Sciences Corridor, created in 1999, combines the efforts and expertise of researchers at MSU, the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids.
Gov. John Engler ordered a $5 million funding cut for the corridor this year to beef up the state’s general fund and balance the state’s troubled budget.
Lawmakers had promised to support the life sciences network with a $50 million a year payoff until 2019 - an expense made possible by the state’s $8.1 billion portion of the 1998 tobacco settlement.
Although Engler told The State News on Thursday that he opposes one-time use funding to alleviate Michigan’s budget woes, his order redistributes $25 million out of the tobacco fund.
It is troubling lawmakers would stand in support of this quick-fix solution that has all the potential to harm Michigan’s long-term economic progress.
The decision to cut the Life Sciences Corridor’s funding this year sets a bad precedent for problematic budget cycles to follow. There is no guarantee lawmakers will not venture to this dollar-filled cookie jar when the next money shortage issue arises.
Although $5 million may seem like a small chunk out of a $50- million pie, it is harmful to something such as life science research, which can never seem to have enough funding.
In addition, Michigan’s lack of commitment to research could cause major companies such as Pfizer, Inc., which recently expanded onto U-M’s Ann Arbor campus to partner with the corridor, to also lose commitment or, even worse, to never want to commit at all.
If state leaders were serious about making Michigan the health care and biotechnological Mecca of the United States, they would not tolerate using special funding set aside for a special purpose to patch a common problem.
While balancing a budget may deserve a pat on the back, stealing from the cookie jar is punishable by a slap on the hand with possible minutes served in the time-out chair.
