Backers of unfunded $1.9 billion tax cut still want their pork

by: matt

Fri Aug 18, 2006 at 12:51:08 PM EDT

• We go first to Michigan's glorious northland - to Petoskey - where there's a hole in the harbor breakwater. Fixing this would ordinarily be the responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Unfortunately, the Corps is a bit short of cash these days and the project has been delayed. Gee, I wonder who is in charge of funding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers?  Anyway, State Senator and parking deck enthusiast Sen. Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) proposed having the State of Michigan pick up the $400,000 tab (because we're just loaded with cash these days) until "The Decider" and his Republican Congress come through with the moolah (which would - in all likelihood - be never). No dice, says Governor Granholm. Here's Allen's response in the Petsokey News-Review:
  

  “It's unfortunate that the governor chose to veto this funding tool for the Petoskey harbor,� he said.
  

  Remember, this is a guy who just voted to gut funding for nearly a quarter of the state general fund budget to pay for a $1.9 billion business tax cut. Here's a clip from his official statement:
  

  “I see absolutely no logic in why the governor vetoed this funding,� Allen said. “I’m stunned to say the least.�
  

  Stunned. Yeah, that's the right word. OINK!

• Over to West Michigan now, where three dams in the Kalamazoo River are decaying and apparently need to be removed. Problem is, decades of industrial pollution has piled up in back of the dams, so removing them will unleash a torrent of toxic muck into the river. This would further complicate cleanup efforts downstream, where PCB contamination has led to 80 miles of the river being declared a federal superfund site.
  
  There are ways to deal with all of this, but they cost money. Governor Granholm's administration thinks the people who created this mess ought to help pay to clean it up - and they're currently negotiating towards that end.
  
  But Republican State Senators Patty Birkholz (R-Saugatuck) and Tom George (R-Texas Twp.) don't care. They wanted the taxpayers to fork over $2 million bucks to remove the damn dams anyway, thereby screwing up efforts to clean up the river. There is some question as to whether it would even be legal to do this, and Governor Granholm mentioned this in her letter explaining her decision to veto this earmark.
  
  Here's what these Republican senators told the AP in response:
  

  The dams are dangerous and must soon be removed, said state Sen. Patricia Birkholz, a Republican from Allegan County's Saugatuck Township.
  "If we get a huge rainstorm or an extended rainstorm or, God forbid, a lot of flooding along the Kalamazoo River, they will probably go," she said.
  "If the dams fail, this is going to be a much more costly, much more difficult and challenging cleanup," Birkholz said.
  Removing the dams would help return the river to a more natural state and benefit fish and wildlife, plants and recreational users, said Sen. Tom George, a Republican from Kalamazoo County's Texas Township.
  

  SORRY! No time now to mess with things like some leaky dams or environmental contamination. Turns out we need to go patch up a $1.9 billion hole in the state budget (created to pay for a $1.9 billion business tax cut). A hole,  incidently, that YOU VOTED TO CREATE - both of you! Hope you have a paddle. OINK! OINK!
  
  
• Last - but not least -  we head east to the city of Jackson, birthplace of the Republican Party. If you're at all familiar with Jackson, you may know that one of the big attractions there is The Cascades, a grand old park with some big fountains that are illuminated at night by multi-colored lights. There's apparently some lagoons there that need dredging out, and Rep. Rick Baxter (R-Horton) thought it would be a swell idea to have the state use $500,000 of its share of federal land and water money to do this. But instead of having the idea go through the open and competitive process that the feds require, Baxter - in a stroke of supreme brilliance - decided to sneak it through as a budget amendment. As a result, approving Baxter's pet project - aside from being a questionable use of federal dollars in these tight budget times - would violate federal rules.
  
  Governor Granholm would have none of it. She got out her red pen and provoked this reaction from Rep. Baxter:
  

  Rep. Rick Baxter, R-Concord, who sponsored the amendment, said there is a fight every year for the federal grant money and Jackson hasn't gotten any for the past three years.
  He said legislators are allowed to earmark the money.
  "It is my understanding that this is how it was done in the past," Baxter said. "No one brought it up or challenged it as it went through the process. Now to bring it up in the 11th hour ! "

  WAH!!!  This from a guy who not only voted FOR the unfunded $1.9 billion business tax cut, but who also insists that he will not support replacing ANY of those 1.9 billion samolians  - AT ALL! Any new tax or hike in existing taxes to cover even a part of the looming $1.9 billion hole in the budget (about a quarter of the general fund) would amount to a "tax increase" in Rep. Baxter's mind. Yet, he thinks the guv'ment sure ought to fork over 550K for his park project! OINK! SQUEAL LIKE A PIG!!!
  
  To be fair to Rep. Baxter, we are talking about federal money here that the state is in charge of doling out. Still, if the feds don't the bread to pay to have the Corps of Engineers fix a hole in the Petoskey breakwater, one would think dredging some lagoons in Jackson should be - shall we say - a somewhat lower priority. Anyway, maybe if the feds don't have to pay $550,000 for the Jackson lagoons they can now afford to fix the $400,000 hole in the Petoskey breakwater.
  

Think these stories are interesting? Just wait till next year when all of the legebabies find out what the $1.9 billion business tax cut they voted for - twice - will mean for their districts. I can hardly wait.

BTW, Sen. Jason Allen is being challenged by Sharon Unger (D-Bellaire), Sen. Patty Birkholz by Suzette Royston (D-Charlotte), and Sen. Tom George by the eminent Rep. Alexander Lipsey (D-Kalamazoo). And by now you should already know that Rep. Baxter is up against the Mayor of Jackson, Marty Griffin (D).