Mike Bishop has a secret.
State Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop says he has compiled a list of $900 million worth of spending cuts to balance the state's budget -- he just doesn't want to share the list with the public yet.
Bishop, a Rochester Republican, said his colleagues in the GOP-controlled Senate have pieced together a budget-balancing plan that contains no new taxes, no fee increases and no budgetary "gimmicks." But his proposal to eliminate the current $900 million deficit has not been unveiled to taxpayers or the governor.
"I haven't made it public because I feel the proper thing to do is to have discussions with our legislative colleagues and the governor. This is an ongoing process of negotiations," said Bishop, who took over the Senate leadership post in January.
When Bishop spoke by telephone with Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Thursday, he did not share the details of the GOP plan.
Would this be the same Mike Bishop who, just one day before speaking with the Governor on the phone, released this memo entitled, "Governor’s Failure to Communicate Sends Wrong Signal to Michigan Citizens”?
We can only conclude her continued lack of communication with the Legislature on serious issues is intentional.
You just can't make this stuff up. Really, you can't.
Go get 'em Liz.
"This is the $900 million question. They need to show the governor and the public their list," said Liz Boyd, Granholm's press secretary. "The governor has been very forthright in presenting her plan."
The Senate leader is expected to move toward the start of a negotiating process early next week when he meets with House Speaker Andy Dillon, a Redford Township Democrat. But it's unclear when the list of cuts will face public scrutiny.
Michigan Republicans like to do their work in secret. Wonder what kind of signal that sends to "Michigan's citizens". Guess we have to follow the clues.
We know they are claiming "panic in the streets" over reducing Michigan's record prison population. With a $2 billion dollar tab that eats 20% of our budget, highest in the Great Lakes region and fifth- highest in the nation, the Pubs prefer to keep elderly and sick prisoners on the state dime when we could shift some of that cost to the feds, even though predictions have the state prisons full by this fall.
We know they claim that school funding is a top priority and the "Republican budget plan will seek to mitigate any impact on education".
We know that they are acting in a contradictory manner, saying they want "cuts", but they rejected the cuts on the table.
The Republicans also rejected a Granholm executive order on Feb. 14 to cut $166 million in spending from the current budget, calling it inadequate. Those two opposition moves have prompted criticism from the state budget office. Spokesman Greg Bird said "it certainly makes us skeptical" of the GOP's emphasis on spending reductions.
So, they don't want to cut prisons. They don't want to cut education. They DO want to continue to cut business taxes.
But yet they refuse to raise revenue to pay for all those things.
What is left? Medicaid cuts, which will only be passed on to you through higher insurance rates and health care costs. Local revenue sharing cuts, which will force cities to raise taxes or cut services like police and fire departments. Cuts to education will be made up by raising tuition, etc. On and on. Again, the cost will be passed on to you through the backdoor.
There are numerous examples of how all these cuts will ending up costing you in the long run. Make no mistake, Republicans will make you pay, they just don't have the courage to be upfront about it.
If they did, why the need for secrecy now?
If they had any courage, they would get their list of cuts out for all to see. Instead, they try for these underground negotiations, perhaps looking for bipartisan cover.
When pressed, Bishop came up with the standard "waste, fraud and abuse" line.
The senator said the GOP plan includes cuts, bureaucratic restructuring, elimination of government waste, and other savings.
"Other savings" usually means it is coming out of your pocket eventually. Might as well pay up now and get it over with.
(Slightly expanded version available in orange.)