Eight months of legislative arguing, extreme partisanship and refusal to budge finally met its match — although it only lasted four hours, Michigan saw its first government shutdown in the state’s history.
Thank goodness it didn’t last long. An extensive government shutdown would have been chaotic and embarrassing for everyone in Michigan. Already, the tumultuous situation has received national attention, illustrating our state government’s ineptitude to the entire country.
That’s right, our state legislators on both sides of the political arena were so dedicated to sticking to party lines they were almost unable to do their jobs properly by erasing a $1.75-billion deficit and balancing the budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year.
A bill passed through the Senate at about 4 a.m. that raised the 3.9 percent income tax rate to 4.35 percent and expanded the 6 percent sales tax to various services, but we aren’t in the clear yet. Tacked onto the bill was a 30-day continuation budget, which gives lawmakers more time to iron out nearly $440 million in expected cuts to things like Medicaid and community colleges.
The House tried to pass a continuation budget without any tax hikes or spending cuts previously, but Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s administration estimated a continuation budget could cost the state an additional $125 million each month.
A continuation budget would do nothing but give lawmakers another month or more to argue. If the problem hadn’t been resolved in more than 240 days, what will another 30 days help? At least now they have some semblance of a budget solution to work with.
Republicans spent the last months making their point loud and clear to their constituents: They didn’t want to raise taxes. Unfortunately the state faced a $1.75 billion budget shortfall with no money in sight. Granholm summed it up best when she said Michigan cannot continue to spend money it doesn’t have.
However, although Democrats barely squeezed a tax increase through the House and Senate early Monday morning — in both branches the vote was 20-19 — they should not consider this an acceptable alternative to making significant spending cuts.
While funding for education, health care and public safety should not be touched, there is plenty of bureaucratic fat that should be trimmed.
Legislators cannot expect Michigan citizens to pay more out of pocket in taxes if those same legislators aren’t willing to make corresponding cuts in their own spending.
The 2006 state elections were supposed to be a symbol of change for Michigan, with many new faces in office. However, by waiting until the absolute last minute to forge a solution to a monstrous budget crisis, this Legislature has demonstrated its incompetence to its constituents. Partisan bickering and inaction halted the government workings of an entire state, and lawmakers still asked for more time.
Somebody needs to be held accountable for these failures. As voters, we all need to take a serious look at the inaction of our senators and representatives throughout this crisis.
Anyone who doesn’t measure up should promptly be voted out of office. To save Michigan’s future, we need to send a message to politicians.
We will not tolerate this again.
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