With the state falling deeper into financial crisis, House Republicans today proposed a three-pronged solution for dealing with the approximate $1.32 billion deficit that includes substantial and attainable cuts and real government reforms to lessen Gov. Granholm's insistence that federal economic stimulus money be used to shore up the current-year fiscal budget.
House Republicans provided budget negotiators a substantial list of cuts and continue to work on additional budget-saving measures that will be brought to the negotiation table. In March, House Republicans were first to call on Granholm to make the necessary cuts and rein-in out-of-control state spending. The governor dismissed Republican calls for fiscal restraint, opting instead to wait for new consensus revenue estimates due out in mid-May (see attached release).
"This is not a perfect solution, but it is a realistic one given the dire circumstances Michigan currently faces," said House Republican Leader Kevin Elsenheimer, R-Kewadin. "We cannot wait another minute longer. At this point, there is no part of the state budget that can be spared.
"The only realistic way we are going to solve this crisis is with a mix of substantive budget cuts, real government reform and, unfortunately, acquiescing to Gov. Granholm's insistence that federal stimulus dollars now be used to fill current budget holes."
Added Rep. Chuck Moss, ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee: "At the rate we're going, we may actually beat one of the auto companies into bankruptcy. We need drastic, immediate steps to put our state back in order. We tried the game of tax increases, look where that got us. It chased away business, foreclosed more homes, unemployment hit 12.6 percent. And we still didn't get the promised reforms. The day of reckoning is now. "
"Clearly the governor and Democrat's plan from 2007 has failed," said state Rep. John Proos, R-St. Joseph. "We were promised that the largest tax increase in state history would solve the problem, but now we're left with a larger deficit and a much larger unemployment rate. History is repeating itself because nothing changed -- no reforms, no change in spending habits, and no change in budget deficits. We learned in 2007 that tax increases are not the answer. With the state of the economy and the national economy, we simply must spend less money."
House Republicans said state government's failure to bring its spending in line with economic realities overshadows the more important work of enacting reforms and policies that will put Michigan families back to work and attract business investment and good-paying jobs.
"For every hour of inaction, Michigan loses another 40 jobs," Elsenheimer said. "The solution is painfully apparent: we can no longer afford the size of our state government."
