With Michigan having recently closed the books on the 2007 fiscal year budget and still facing a potential $1.5 billion deficit in 2008, the state's financial woes can be as scary as they are confusing.
This is why Rep. George Cushingberry Jr., D-Detroit, in an event sponsored by ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government, spoke to MSU students, faculty and concerned East Lansing residents Monday evening at the Communication Arts and Sciences Building.
Roughly 11 students attended the event - most of whom were associated with student political groups - with Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, and Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Lansing, also in attendance.
"(Cushingberry is) looking to get input from students, and let them get a feel for what the state of the current budget is and where students fit into that," said Shanelle Oliver, state government liaison for ASMSU.
Cushingberry, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, has been traveling to college campuses throughout the state to help students get a grasp on the problems facing Michigan's budget.
ASMSU's goal for the event was to get the word out to students so they can inform themselves about the budget crisis, Oliver said.
"If (the House Appropriations Committee) were to make a cut to the funds that universities get, that could affect MSU students and could affect student tuition rates," she said.
Presently, Michigan faces a $1.5 billion deficit for the 2008 fiscal year.
That deficit and Michigan's myriad of economic woes come from a variety of sources, Cushingberry said.
In his presentation, titled "Restoration of Revenue: A Pressing Issue for Michigan," Cushingberry said the biggest financial problems facing the state are the struggling automotive industry, too much spending on the correctional system and heavy, unsustainable tax cuts that left Michigan with too little revenue.
One of the ways Cushingberry proposed to raise that revenue was through a hike in Michigan's income tax.
Cushingberry said Michigan's present income tax rate of 3.9 percent should be pushed back up to 4.6 percent, where it was in parts of the '70s and '90s. He estimated the proposed tax plan would bring in $1.4 billion in revenue.
"I don't want to raise taxes, I just want restoration," Cushingberry said. "Just restore the cuts because they didn't work."
Some in attendance, however, disagreed with Cushingberry's proposed tax plan and said it was not the only way to help the state.
"It's a pretty blatant spin to say he wants to restore them," said Ben Morlock, chairman of the MSU College Republicans. "He can call it that if he wants, but I think any Michigan resident who looks at their tax rate, and what he's proposing, will call it a hike."
