It's time for Democratic House Speaker Andy Dillon and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, both of whom are increasingly distracted by campaigns for statewide office, to relinquish their critical leadership posts to legislators who are not so encumbered.
This week's candidate filing deadline seems an appropriate time for both leaders either to withdraw from their races or hand the ball to others who can focus full-time on the already critically delinquent work of fiscal reform.
Under Dillon and Bishop's leadership, the Legislature has already blown several important opportunities to reduce spending. Last month's legal deadline for rescinding a budget-busting 3% pay increase for state employees passed while lawmakers were on spring vacation. They've also failed to act on Gov. Jennifer Granholm's proposal to lure about 35,000 teachers and state employees into early retirement, diminishing the savings the state might have realized by finalizing the terms of a retirement deal in a more timely way.
Dillon and Bishop like to say they have a good working relationship, but so far all they have to show for it is a bipartisan nothing-burger.
Each man has made notable efforts to jump-start the budget negotiation process. But neither has been able to rally his caucus behind what virtually everyone outside the Legislature agrees will be needed to fix Michigan's structural budget imbalance: a combination of spending cuts and the elimination of loopholes that currently exempt much of Michigan's economic activity from taxation.
Every day the standoff lingers is a day Michigan goes deeper into the hole. Taxpayers deserve a new legislative leadership team that is focused fully on the budgetary crisis at hand.
