This is a purely partisan move, reckless fiscal irresponsibility on the part of a group of people who have the audacity to call themselves "conservatives".
LANSING -- A highly-partisan Senate vote on Wednesday virtually sealed the early demise of the state's main business tax, creating a $1.9-billion budget hole lawmakers will have to fill.
The Single Business Tax had been set to expire in 2009. If the House approves minor Senate changes, legislation ending it Dec. 31, 2007, will go to Gov. Jennifer Granholm. She promised a veto.
Republicans jammed the bill through, arguing that dramatic action is needed to get rid of a tax that penalizes job creation. "This tax will never go away unless you end it and require the governor and Legislature to come up with a replacement," said Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, R-Wyoming.
"Abolishing the Single Business Tax without a replacement is like quitting your job without finding another one ... irresponsible," countered Sen. Michael Switalski, D-Roseville.
Wednesday's 21-17 vote followed party lines, except Republican Sen. Shirley Johnson of Troy joined Democrats opposing the bill. Johnson heads the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The Republicans in our state legislature are not working for the good of all the citizens... they are working for Republican business interests only. And just like their counterparts in Washington, they shut out all attempts at compromise, assuring that Democrats, and those citizens who elected them to be their representation, have no voice in the decision.
Granholm restated her commitment while expressing disappointment that the Republican-led state Senate refused to support Democratic amendments to a bill eliminating the SBT, which would have guaranteed a revenue neutral plan that included no tax increase on families and no cuts in vital services. Granholm said she would sign a bill to eliminate the SBT if it contained such guarantees.
"Republicans made clear today that they intend to raise taxes for Michigan families by $800 or gut education, health care, and public safety in order to finance a tax cut for business," Granholm said. "It's disappointing that Senate Republicans chose not to protect Michigan families and the services they need."
Granholm noted that more than a year ago, she offered Michigan businesses a fair and responsible plan for cutting taxes without shifting the burden of paying for essential government services to our families.
"Our plan was revenue neutral and would not raise taxes on Michigan families nor force draconian cuts in education, health care, and public safety," Granholm said. "The vote today made clear the differences between us."
Yes, it did. Democrats are for fiscal sanity and responsibility. Republicans are the bull in the china shop. Granholm is more than willing to work with these people; they insist on causing a crisis.
This is yet another example of Republicans not working with the Governor and their own colleagues to form consensus on important matters. (See: the transit bill, the welfare bill, the small business tax cuts, on and on...) Pure partisan political maneuvers, ones that affect the lives and well-being of thousands of citizens. They could care less that vulnerable people might end up being hurt.
Makes anything that Mark Brewer does seem pretty tame, doesn't it?
EDIT- Apparently I got some of the legalese wrong on the bill I cited, so I took that out- but my point still stands. Republicans SUCK.