Rochester Hills, MI – Today, Representative Tom McMillin (R – Rochester Hills) said he sees what appears to be a “tentative budget agreement” as a refusal to deal with government employee Cadillac benefits and continued raises, while most Michigan citizens are experiencing layoffs, less benefits and wage cuts. He cited the over $700 million of Federal bailout money included in the deal as the primary reason Michigan government can continue to forsake dealing with the reality of Michigan’s economic problems.
“The tentative budget deal will result in the next Governor and legislature inheriting an approximate $1 billion budget deficit for the 2011/2012 budget – it kicks the can down the road. One-time fixes are the easy way out. Using our kids’ and grandkids’ money, over $700 million for the General Fund, that Washington borrowed and sent to bail our state out is easy. It’s also wrong. Merely bringing state, local and school employee benefits more in line with the private sector would more than solve our budget problems and leave money to make serious cuts in business and personal taxes, which would undoubtedly start Michigan toward real recovery,” said McMillin. A recent Mackinac Center for Public Policy study showed that bringing state, local and school employee benefits in line with the private sector would save over $5 billion annually http://www.mackinac.org/10839.
Continued McMillin, “The Governor claims she’s making 3% “across the board cuts to department budgets” that would save $45 million. I’m not sure which board she’s looking at, but a 3% across the board cut to all General Fund budgets ($7 billion) would save over $200 million. With this apparent budget deal, leaving a financial disaster for the next Governor will be Granholm’s legacy.”
McMillin also pointed to the Michigan House GOP caucus’ budget plan http://www.gophouse.com/publications/Budget%20Plan%20Framework%20Final.pdf, laid out months ago, that would save $1.5 billion annually. “There are real, structural solutions available. They require some spine to accomplish. I believe many of us in the House GOP caucus will not go along with a budget deal that primarily relies on one-time fixes and tons of federal bailout money,” McMillin concluded.
