Mike Bishop seems to think that we can resolve this year's budget crisis by cuts alone.
The GOP plan will resolve this year's budget gap -- now pegged at $956 million -- by cuts alone, Bishop said. It's a mistake, he added, to fix the budget "by little cuts" that may or not fit into their plan.
He cites the bipartisan panel report.
Bishop, R-Rochester, said Thursday that a bipartisan panel Granholm set up last month to examine how the state could get out of its chronic budget problems recommended "wide, deep reforms in government."
"She adopted their ideas for tax increases but didn't adopt their ideas for cuts and reforms, which is troubling to a lot of us who want to see significant solutions for the future," Bishop said.
And quicker than you can say "Oh no he didn't!", the words of that report jump right off the page at you. From the recommendations- page 12 if you are reading along at home-
Michigan should not rely solely on budget cuts to balance state budgets this year and next.
Relying exclusively on budget cuts to balance the current and FY 2007–08 budget would mean devastating disinvestment in important programs and services supported by the General Fund and significant cuts in school aid.
And here is the part that most people miss- cuts will eventually cost you. Whether it be in higher tuition, higher insurance rates, higher local taxes, or loss of your home or valuables due to slower response time of public safety officials, make no mistake about it, in some way you will pay for the cuts Mr. Bishop so craves.
Even assuming complete replacement of the revenues lost from eliminating the SBT ($1.9 billion), General Fund cuts required to resolve the immediate crisis of this year and next would still be significant and dramatic. They would fall on (a) nursing home residents who rely on Medicaid funding; (b) Medicaid-eligible children whose health coverage would be eliminated or slashed; (c) families with students at community colleges and public and private colleges and universities who would receive tuition bills significantly higher than current levels; (d) residents of communities who would see layoffs of police and fire personnel as local units of government take another $400 million in cuts in revenue sharing; and (e) residents who would see prisoners released hurriedly without plans for their return to communities. In Medicaid, slashes in spending only shift burdens and higher costs onto employers and individuals as health care providers and insurers tap other pockets. If state government prunes revenue sharing to local units of government, the public will face ballot proposals to levy additional local taxes to offset losses in state support.
The reforms that Bishop talks about cannot happen overnight, but should be implemented as time goes by. Here are the bullet points- and tell us which of these can be done immediately to relieve this year's budget crisis.
Requiring specific measurements of performance, value, and benchmarking from all public agencies, including K-12 and higher education. Undertaking comprehensive health care reform. Encouraging, and if need be requiring, local units of government and school districts to share or consolidate administrative services and deliver them more cost effectively. Reforming Public Act 312, which requires binding arbitration. Providing taxpayers annually with an understandable report card on state and local spending and taxing. Continuing to explore and apply best practices from other states and information technology to more efficiently enforce business regulations and lessen the time and costs to business of meeting regulatory requirements.
Granholm did address local consolidation and is working toward health care reform with the feds. Point is, "reform" is a very broad-based idea that requires time to implement- and the report says that we need revenue now.
The state must restructure taxes in a manner that would immediately increase revenues, but Michigan should not solely tax its way to balanced state budgets.
Further delays will cost us even more. From the Freep-
But it's also a mistake not to grab whatever savings you can right now. Each month of delay may result in deeper cuts to make up the difference later in the fiscal year. Surely Republicans don't want to be responsible for landing the state in that position.
Republicans also should keep in mind that their actions could draw notice from Wall Street. Michiganders may accept their executive order rejection as just a ploy, bizarre as it seems, in complex, high-pressure budget talks. But bondholders, lenders and other Wall Street observers may not dismiss it so readily as just politics. A downgraded credit rating would add even more red ink, in the form of higher interest, to an already overwhelmed budget.
So when you hear the Republicans say they need more time to figure out which disadvantaged citizens they can stick it to, remember that meter is running and the bill will come due.
You will pay it someday, one way or another. You can pay a little now, or a lot later. The Republicans want you to believe that we can save a little now, but those savings will cost you more in the long run.
Mr. Bishop, perhaps another reading lesson is required for the Senate Republicans. If this were a test, you would surely fail.