It is September 29th at 12:40pm.  Our legislature has 35 hours and 20 minutes to grow a backbone, get together, and make a tough decision.  It’s ridiculous to see legislators, whether involved in the talks or not, enjoying a nice weekend in Mackinac talking over their 2010 ambitions while it doesn’t look like we’re gonna make it through October of ’09.  Regardless of this display of hubris, let’s get at the task at hand.

It is foolish and naive to think we can cut our way out of this budget nightmare. You can’t cut funding and expect to get the same services. It’s time to evaluate: Do we want schools? Do we want police? Do we want utilities? You get what you pay for; tell our legislators we are sick of ‘just getting by’ on run-down, dilapidated crap.

Overcrowded classrooms will get even bigger as the education budget is slashed by over $174 million

Cutting the MI Promise scholarship, while horridly ironic, is not the only major cut to the education budget.  State aid per student is going to drop by $110 per student (www.mea.org) after an $174 million dollar cut.  One of my good friends is a school teacher in the Charlotte, MI, area.  His 1st grade class has 32 kids in it.  32!  Mine had 18, and we had a student-teacher and 2 volunteer moms.  Children don’t learn to read by watching the herd… It takes one-on-one attention – something our state’s teachers are unable to provide.

And as far as public safety goes, remember those get tough on crime laws from the 80s?  Why are we putting people in jail for having a dime bag of weed, or other illegal-yet-comeonreally offenses?  Read Jack Lessenberry’s post: http://tinyurl.com/yabuva3. We’re closing prisons and cutting municipal revenue sharing which pays for, among other things, police and fire.

This is where we're headed if we keep closing prisons... What kind of rehabilitation do you think prisoners get in an environment like this? I wonder if they continue to commit crimes...

So far, we’re tearing apart schools, cities, public safety, and scholarships.  That’s enough, right?  Wrong.

If Sen. Bishop and Rep. Dillon have it their way, Michigan is going to turn away millions of dollars in federal funds for transportation.  This means our state will lag further behind the rest of the country, and no right-thinking business will want to locate in a state where they can’t even take care of the roads.  The proposal is to cut the comprehensive transportation fund by about $14 million.

Gas tax money should go to transportation uses.  Taking from the transportation budget is a short-term fix with long-term repercussions, and it won’t solve the structural problem with how Michigan does taxes (tax small business into oblivion, use complicated and unpredictable methods for property taxes, etc.)

Think this can't happen in MI? A scary number of our bridges are considered "critical". You get what you pay for.

In 1997 when Michigan taxpayers Ok’d a gas-tax increase, they thought it would go to transportation uses.  Diverting those funds is disingenuous, dangerous, and short-sighted.  Minnesota already saw what happens when you underfund transportation – is it acceptable to take your life in your hands everytime you go under an overpass?  Or the Zilwaukee bridge?

It would take 1 penny more per gallon of gas to fix all of Michigan’s potholes.  It would take 1 quarter more to finance high-speed rail from Detroit to Lansing to Chicago, light rail on Woodward, Bus-Rapid Transit in Grand Rapids, etc.  I’m not saying I want you to support a higher gas tax, I’m saying you get what you pay for when it comes to transportation spending.

This swing-set isn't half as functional after budget cuts... it's useless.

We already are underfunding our services in the state.  What our legislators don’t realize is that while over-funding programs will inevitably waste some tax dollars,  habitually under-funding them wastes everything!  What good is a justice system if we are turning loose people early because we can’t house them?  What good are public schools if they don’t teach our kids what they need to know to be intelligent and active future leaders?  What good is a transportation system if your life hangs in the balance every time you drive over a bridge?  Something has to give.

Our legislators need to stop wasting time and money.  They need to start funding programs at appropriate levels so we can make Michigan a place where people can stay – not because  of altruism or because it’s close to mom and dad – but because it’s a place where they can be successful.