I am glad to take time to speak to the true conservatives in Michigan.

Let me start with that break.  Michigan has a 12 percent unemployment rate.  The worst in the nation.  The Senate has been passing economic stimulus bills and trying to make progress but the House Leadership, for whatever reason, won't bring them up for a vote in your chamber.

Is this really the best time for the Democrats to be going away on vacation?

With government largely run by Democrats these days, I think the readers of Right Michigan would all welcome the vacation.

The House has had the overwhelmingly bipartisan Senate Bill 1, the MBT surcharge elimination, for months now.  Are we ever going to see any action?

I think that in the past years Republicans have attempted to lower taxes and increase spending.  It is this attitude that has resulted in our massive election losses in the last two years and now Democrats run the show at every level except the Michigan Senate.  The MBT surcharge is not a business friendly method of taxation.  I think the best route would be to find significant savings in the corrections department, which the Democrats recently failed to do in that budget, in addition to changing the MBT system to a more business friendly model.  The Democrats don't seem to understand that it is business that puts people to work.  However, my "House Magic 8 Ball" answers, "Not in the near future."

Lets talk about your office and efforts.  I know during the campaign season you outlined three big issues you'd like to focus on; the economy, education and the environment.

What sort of opportunities have you found or looked at creating through your first three months in office?

As a member of the House Appropriations sub-committee on Education, my main focus has been responsible management of the School Aid budget.  Close review of this budget has revealed that funding for Education can be responsibly maintained this year while making cuts to specific earmarks in this budget.  Additionally in the School Aid budget there is something called "Declining enrollment".  This gives schools that lose students more money to compensate for their loss of per pupil funding.  In effect this is funding ghost students that are now attending another school.  Education is going to prepare our citizens for the economic recovery that will come.  Cutting education is irresponsible, but responsible cuts can still be found.

Those aren't the only issues you've been working on, by any means, though.  A few weeks ago you actually joined the rest of the caucus and voted to reduce legislative salaries.  Why is this important?

The logic here is simple.  Michigan citizens are all getting by with less.  Why should their representatives be any different?  It is the people's money that pays us and the people have less of it.  Additionally, I think that state employees need to tighten their belts as well.  I have signed on to a resolution that asks state employees to take a 5% pay cut in addition to forgoing scheduled pay raises.  Again, these jobs are funded with taxpayer money, why should these positions be safe from the economic decline?

Senate Democrats have tried to make a bit of hay by suggesting that the Senate Majority even up caucus expenses and appropriations, claiming it would save taxpayers millions.  

Of course, the House Democratic Caucus spends far far more money on pay, staff, benefits and supplies - internal services than the House Republican Caucus.  Would you like to see the Majority reduce their own internal spending?  Good for the goose?

The difference in these budgets is the result of winning elections.  If Democrats in the Senate or Republicans in the House want a larger budget and more staff to further their agenda, then they should find a way to get more of their party members elected.  Budgets are set higher for Majority parties because the people that elected them want their agenda to be furthered.

How else could state government better live within its means?  And would your recent push for transparency help us realize any cost savings?

The state government could better live within its means by making structural changes.  We do not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem.  Michigan has lost jobs and our people are leaving, yet the state continues to spend more every year.  We cannot continue to take in less revenue while spending more.  Nor can we continue to take out of the left pocket to put in the right pocket.  We should not assume for a second that the federal government's ability to print money will bail us out.  As difficult as these times are, without permanently addressing structural issues in our state government, we are up against even harder times.

Transparency will open state spending to watch dog groups and citizens that can shine a spot light on government waste.

Is there anything else you'd like to cover before I let you get back to your constituent work?

I still believe America is the best county in the world and I love this state.  But we, as its lawmakers, must do better for the state and all Michiganians!

Representative Haines, thanks again, and "welcome to Lansing!"