Americans for Prosperity-Michigan

Gov.'s proposal elicits little confidence

Petoskey News-Review                   Sept. 14, 2009
Granholm’s budget proposal elicits little confidence
By Noah Fowle News-Review Staff Writer

LANSING — Last week, Gov. Jennifer Granholm may have gone public with her budget proposal but the announcement did little to quell anxiety over the tickling clock to the state’s fiscal budget deadline.

Following rumblings that leadership’s closed door budget negotiations were not progressing smoothly, Granholm gave a detailed budget proposal that suggested instituting a 1 cent tax on bottled water, extending the sales tax to tickets for live events and decreasing tax breaks for some businesses and low income families. Lawmakers must pass a budget by Oct. 1 to avoid a similar government shutdown as in 2007.

Rep. Gary McDowell, D-Rudyard, first read about Granholm’s plan in the newspaper, a fact he said that does not bode well for ongoing negotiations.

“I’m very worried about how this is coming out,” said McDowell. “My fear is that there is a breakdown at the leadership level.”

Sen. Jason Allen, R-Traverse City, said he similarly learned of Granholm’s budget through news reports and added it is a poor indication of consensus amongst Democrats.

“More than anything, there are some challenges within their own party,” he said. “Those internal issues have to get worked out.”

Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer, R-Kewadin, said Granholm’s budget was a longtime coming and criticized it for its reliance on federal stimulus funds and suggested the new taxes in the proposal could produce more problems for the state in the future.

“I’m pleased she actually produced a budget. We’ve been asking for one since March,” he said. “But there isn’t a single amount of reform in the proposal, nothing to prevent us from going through this year after year.”

Prior to its August recess, House Republicans, led by Elsenheimer, released their own budget proposal, titled “Reinvigorate, Reinvest and Reform,” focused on cost savings, cuts, long-term reform and directing federal stimulus funds toward the state’s economy.

“Michigan’s economy hasn’t recovered from the 2007 tax increases that were forced by a government shutdown,” Elsenheimer said. “The unemployment rate in Michigan was at 7.2 percent before the largest ever tax increase in state history. With our current unemployment rate of 15.2 percent, it is even more imperative that this budget crisis be solved without another tax increase.”