| This column has been written about already here, but Jack Lessenberry completely misses the point in faulting Governor Granholm for signing a bad budget to prevent a government shutdown. The only thing worse than a bad budget would be a complete shutdown of Michigan government.
Think of the consequences -- and imagine what people like Lessenberry would be saying had the Governor refused to sign a budget and let the state shut down, in the ultimate Halloween nightmare. No Medicaid reimbursement. No inspections of Michigan agriculture. No pay for tens of thousands of state employees, who count on a regular paycheck to take care of their bills and families. Doing more damage to Michigan's credit rating. Adding uncertainty for businesses looking to locate here or that do business with the state. Limited state police protection (just imagine if something awful were to happen as a result).
Does Lessenberry really think these were viable options for the Governor? There's wide-spread agreement that we need to make long-term changes to the way Michigan does business. Lessenberry inaccurately states that the Governor "didn't make the faintest effort to move this state to a graduated income tax." However, just this March the Governor floated a graduated income tax to replace the Senate Republican-designed MBT surcharge - an idea Lessenberry wrote about at the time and supported!
Lessenberry's missing the point. Andy Dillon and Mike Bishop spawned this terrible budget, and left the Governor and the people of Michigan with no options with their eleventh hour nonsense. Lessenberry quotes Dillon as calling this year's budget "child's play" - with the damage they've done to our state already, we can only be thankful for one sane leader in Lansing... Jennifer Granholm.
He is right about one thing, though. Citizens should get vocal about this year's budget, and should contact their legislators (particularly obstinate Senate Republicans) to demand a budget that protects Michigan's future.
It's far past time to stand up and fight - and to place the blame squarely where it belongs, on Bishop and Dillon's "deal". |
