Senator: Budget likely to be finished by July 1

This is worth a sigh of relief following last year's intense budget battle:

The Senate finished a productive week in Lansing, finishing 7 of 8 budget bills. While the spotlight has been on the Mayor of Detroit and the Presidential Campaign, Michigan legislators have been quietly doing our jobs. In March, we moved the budget bills through subcommittees, full Appropriations committees, and finally through the full Senate this week. We reached consensus on most budgets. Even when we did have disagreements, particularly on the K-12 School Aid Budget and the Community Health Budget, we kept the debate on the issues and not on a partisan or personal basis.

...

We are on target to finish our budget ahead of time this year, well before July 1st. You may recall that we didn’t finish last year until November, and the Government actually shut down for a few hours in October before we could reach any agreements. The constant bickering, the all-night sessions, the dueling press conferences are all so last year.

There is a new spirit of cooperation and mutual respect between the parties and the chambers this year. It’s like when you finally have the big fight in the schoolyard, the antagonists bloody each other up and then become friends.

It is kind of like that in the Michigan Legislature. Once you’ve gone through an ordeal like last year’s battle, you know whom you can trust and you also gain respect and understanding of where colleagues are coming from. Even when you disagree, you find a way to argue without losing your temper. You concentrate reaching a conclusion, not fighting for its own sake.

Alan Cropsey was in my class last Monday. He agreed that lawmakers will probably be done with the budget around the Fourth of July.

At Griffin Forum, lawmakers promise pay cut, touch on 2010

I had the chance to attend the semi-annual Griffin Policy Forum, put on by the Robert and Marjorie Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government at CMU. (One Gary Peters currently holds that chair.)

This fall's Griffin Forum was titled "Now What? Managing the budget crisis while promoting a positive future for Michigan." Their panelists were Andy Dillon, Mike Bishop, Craig DeRoche, and Mark Schauer, with Tim Skubick as moderator. Seeing as how the panel consisted of four titans in Michigan politics, there was no way I was going to pass up the chance to go.

Few points were made by either side that I hadn't heard before then. Schauer discussed the uncertainty of the budget process and how that likely scared off businesses that would have otherwise invested in Michigan. Dillon called out the Repubs for not doing their jobs. DeRoche kept parroting the old GOP talking points: 'Taxes are bad!' 'We need reforms!' 'Why did I go to CMU? Go Broncos!' (Okay, he didn't use that last one.) All in all, not much besides what both sides have been saying for months now.

That said, not many of the hundreds of people in attendance had followed the budget battle as closely as I have, so for them to argue the same points was understandable.

They all agreed that extending the 6% tax on services was not a good idea; they disagreed as to where the new revenue should be replaced. Mike Bishop said he supports increasing the sales tax to 6.5%. Schauer supports retooling the new Michigan Business Tax. I'll have more on Republican tax hypocrisy in an upcoming post.

Tim Skubick seemed to take his job as a journalist seriously. Not that I haven't been unhappy with some of the things he's said and done, but props to him for giving the panelists some tough questions. After DeRoche went on about reforms, Skubick held him to account by asking, "Where were all the reforms when Engler was governor?" He's also good for a few laughs, though: "Here's the score of the game: Western 3, CMU 102." While discussing a forum on political stability which he moderated: "At the time, we were all in favor of it."

Mark this down: When asked if they would take a pay cut, all four of them said they would. Schauer and I believe one other person said they and some of their colleagues return a portion of their salary to the Treasury. (While you might think this recent proposal offers hope in that regard, this proposal affects future lawmakers, not themselves.)

Another thing to mark down: When asked if they would run for governor, Dillon, DeRoche, and Schauer all said No. Bishop's response? "You never know." Expect more definitive answers on this following next year's Presidential election.

Following the forum, Bill Ballenger, the previous Griffin Endowed Chair, congratulated Peters on a job well done. I second Ballenger's remark. For him to get these heavyweights in Michigan politics under one roof is a rare feat. Peters should be commended for helping to enhance our education at CMU by bringing these titans to Mount Pleasant.

CMU students sound off on GOP lawmakers' budget inaction

Following Wednesday's College Democrats meeting, four members recorded their thoughts on Republican lawmakers' stalling of the state budget.

Phil:

Brittany:

Andy (the ICDP's own):

Scott (yours truly):

Special thanks to John VanDeventer for stopping by and offering both his thoughts and his laptop with built-in camcorder!

LTTE: Lawmakers bad employees

The following letter to the editor appears in today's Grand Rapids Press.

If you were your company's boss, and you had employees who weren't doing the work they were hired to do, wouldn't you get on their case? While Michigan continues to deal with economic and budget woes, some state lawmakers decided to put a two-week vacation above the interests of our state.

Universities and school districts are having to make budget projections based on uncertainty. Businesses considering moving to Michigan are scared away by the state's poor credit rating. Why aren't such lawmakers as Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop willing to work toward a solution to this budget crisis? What's more, many lawmakers oppose a tax increase. Never mind the fact that Republicans raised the gas and cigarette taxes when John Engler was governor, or that our personal income and business tax rates are lower than those of most other states. Or that a bipartisan panel recently said that new revenues are needed to get our state out of the fiscal and economic hole.

I certainly don't fault Governor Jennifer Granholm, who has worked tirelessly over the past few years to fix the enormous problems Michigan faces. Michigan lawmakers are paid a salary of $80,000 per year, more than state legislators in most other states.

What business do they have in the Legislature if they choose vacationing over working?

As Americans, we are the bosses of our elected officials. As Michigan residents, we must remind our lawmakers that they're not paid to fiddle while our state burns.

-- SCOTT URBANOWSKI/Kentwood

There are actually quite a few goods ones in today's Press, including another one that uses the 'fiddling while Michigan burns' metaphor. So if you want a look at what's going on beyond the Morning Sun, have at it. (There's also more illustrious framing of the issue here.)

(I should note that in the version I sent in, the paragraphs didn't break the way they do here. So if, say, the third to last paragraph didn't make sense, now you know why.)

Ford CEO, Chamber spokeswoman support Democrats' business tax plan

Here's an item from the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island:

Blue and white stickers proclaiming "Pass the MBT" began appearing on lapels Thursday afternoon, about the same time that Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, told reporters that the House's Michigan Business Tax plan needed work.

Democrats like the House plan because it's a better deal for manufacturers, especially carmakers. Republicans prefer a plan that offers more incentive for small businesses.

Ford said the Democratic plan would create a more competitive tax structure for Michigan manufacturers, shift more of the tax burden to out-of-state companies that do business in Michigan and encourage research and development in the state.

...

The Detroit Regional Chamber, which helped write the House plan, weighed in to support it. "We really feel the House approach is better," said Sarah Hubbard, spokeswoman for the chamber.

If the GOP was truly the 'pro-business party,' then why are business leaders flocking to the Democratic plan instead?

If you ask me, most GOP leaders don't care about businesses that are struggling. They just care about those business leaders who support their campaigns: The Lee Raymonds and Dick DeVoses of the world.

Cropsey featured in Michigan Liberal's "Better Know an Obstructionist" series

As Alan Cropsey and his fellow state Senate Republicans impede progress in our state, Michigan Liberal is calling each of them out for holding our schools - and thus our state - hostage. Take a look at their write-up on Cropsey, particularly this intriguing bit:

The editor regrets that it is not possible, given our limited time frame, for a more thorough review of Sen. Cropsey's career and activities. Indeed, Sen. Cropsey has amassed so much experience working with hard right wing organizations that a complete accounting would be an overwhelming undertaking in and of itself. The following should be regarded as nothing more than a few highlights from the lengthy and "interesting" career of Sen. Cropsey.