And thank you for the equally excellent coverage.  We've been keeping our readers up-to-date citing RightMichigan.com

Keep up the great work!

However, we got through 2007 without raising TAXES...we bought some time to implement some of the real cost savings by addressing some of the "structural" issues and the Democrats still have to get their votes together to jam a tax hike through.

The biggest compromise appears to be a commitment from Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop to allow a vote on taxes for the 2008 budget.  That doesn't mean they win that vote, but in the spirit of compromised he agreed to allow the Democrats to give it their best shot.

That also means we have an opportunity to muster our supporters, push for meaningful reforms and stop any tax increase the Democrats try to slide through without addressing the spending problem we have.

I just posted my morning commentary early for the weekend.  Take a few minutes and read my analysis and thoughts on the deal at:

www.migop.blogs.com

Congratulations again to RightMichigan for being first on top of the news, calling our activists to action and getting much of the inside scoop.

Republicans control the Senate. Without Republican votes, no tax increase will pass. Without an increase in taxes, the state's facing a massive budget deficit in 2008. Plus, if Republicans think they'll pass an SBT replacement with a tax cut (yes Nick, a tax cut), they'll be starting the year even further in the hole. Now that we've run through all of the one-time funds and accounting gimmicks, that leaves only major cuts to major programs to balance the budget.

Are Republicans ready to head back to their districts to tell voters how they balanced the 2008 budget by slashing funding for schools or local governments or health care for the poor or maybe even prisons? Fat chance of that in an election year. No, Saul, some of your boys and girls in the Senate are going to roll and vote for a tax increase. Those imaginary savings that the Mackinac Center pulled out of thin air aren't going to materialize and some day, your party is going to have to come back to the reality-based world where state government and state services actually have to be paid for with real money, not IOUs.

Now...

The idea that 08 is such a disaester that it can't be fixed through cuts alone is beyond silly.  It's ridiculous.  Ludicrous.  Crazy.  Daft.  Stupid.

There are options for an 08 budget that weren't available for the 07 budget.  Savings that you wouldn't see fully without applying the changes to a full fiscal year.

Here are some of the obvious areas:

1. MESSA... the Senate introduced the legislation to kill it this week and accomplishing that could save as much as $400 million in FY 2008.

2. Placing 5% of prisoners in privately managed facilities.  Just 5% could save as much as $200 million a year according to the Rio Grande foundation.

3. Eliminating the Office of the First Gentleman (and firing it's staff).  That would save a quarter of a million dollars.

4. Capping welfare benefits for able bodied adults at 4 years immediately so recipients who've been on the program have notice that at the beginning of FY08 those who've been charging up their bridge cards for 4 or more years are going to have to find a job (cruel in Granholm's economy, I know, but only fair).  Estimates vary on this one but it too would save tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars year one.  Michigan remains the ONLY state in the region without limits on welfare.

 - Passed in the House (69 to 37) and Senate (26 to 10) on May 25, 2007, to partially close the gap between previously appropriated spending and expected revenue in the current fiscal year budget by adopting some relatively modest budget cuts (but none to schools), postponing various payments until the next fiscal year, contributing less-than-actuarially sound amounts to pension funds, "raiding" several "restricted" funds for $167.9 million (only $30 million of which is from "21st Century Jobs Fund"), and new debt. The bill actually increases welfare, Medicaid and prison spending. Government restructuring or additional spending cuts will be avoided by borrowing between $100 million and $600 million (depending on further negotiations.)
http://www.michiganvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=53253

2007 House Resolution 124
  -  Introduced by Rep. Andy Meisner on May 25, 2007, to express support for using up to $100 million of money borrowed for need-based college scholarships and loans, and currently held by the Higher Education Loan Authority, to avoid spending cuts in the Fiscal Year 2006-2007 budget.

2007 House Resolution 123
 -   Introduced by Rep. Virgil Smith, Jr. on May 25, 2007, to express support for borrowing up to $500 million to avoid spending cuts in the Fiscal Year 2006-2007 budget. The money would be borrowed against future revenue from the 1998 tobacco company lawsuit settlement, which currently is used for Medicaid spending, non-need based college scholarships, and other purposes. Passed in the House by voice vote on May 25, 2007.

Here's one of the so-called "reforms" the Stupid Party wrestled from the Evil Party:

2007 House Bill 4799 (Revise dual school employee pension/salary loophole ) - To adopt a substitute that does not repeal the repeal the loophole. A school employee would still be allowed to collect both pension benefits and a salary if he or she was employed by a school district that has a teacher shortage. Note: In many if not most cases, this is currently the reason usually given to justify what has been characterized as "double dipping". The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on May 25, 2007.

But Bishop and the GOP in the Senate said all along that the 07 budget could be balanced through cuts alone.  

They succeeded.  

And the things that were pushed off until the future can be addressed starting next week.  With months between now and the next fiscal year there's time for real and substantive reforms to be enacted.  Reforms that just weren't feasible in FY2007.

Nope, we don't live in a perfect world, but lets not toss the baby out with the bathwater.

The Denver Broncos entered Superbowl XXXII against the Green Bay Packers 17 point underdogs and they pulled it off, 31 to 24.  They didn't shut them out and in the fourth quarter players started dropping like flies in the Broncos defensive secondary.  

It wasn't perfect and it wasn't always pretty but it was a win... an upset win.  And boy was it worth celebrating.

So's this.

If the threats were true - that the legislature was going to stay in Lansing all weekend to hammer out a budget... well, where's that Executive Signature?  (Or the veto because of missing "revenue enhancement")

Empty leadership and empty threats are the kind of leadership we've seen for months.  Now that the work is done, where's the final signature?

So tell me again why this is a "victory?" Especially since, reportedly as the price for this "deal," Mike Bishop caved on an income tax, all but guaranteeing a massive increase in the most economically destructive tax there is?

How can anyone possibly think that by raising our income taxes it will be beneficial?  Everyone is moving out of the state, unemployment is at an all time high, etc.  The income tax would hit the people that can least afford to have it implemented.

Fiscal responsibility is sorely lacking - why give more money to an administration that has proven a lack of good stewardship?  I believe the number is $1.9billion more in money to spend than that of the Engler Administration.

Aunt Jenny's way of doing things has always been to rob Peter to Pay Paul.  Creative accounting has always been at play - 2002, for example, the Legislature voted themselves a 40% pay increase... Regular NERE & Union employees of the state gave up over $4,000 each in concessions...  now, where do you suppose that money went to?