Hole by tgrabb
(old kiln stack at Fayette)
Michigan Radio's Jack Lessenberry interviewed political consultant Bill Rustem about what to expect when the Michigan legislature returns from a vacation to address a $2,000,000,000 deficit (that's $2 billion with a big B). It was his Budget Woes essay that grabbed my attention, however:
Now, it is time to be grownups. Essentially there are only two choices. We can raise taxes, or you can cut programs.
My personal opinion is that we should have a tax increase. That’s not because I want to pay more taxes. I want a state that provides decent roads and schools and competitive universities.
If you don’t want that, fine, but admit it. We can’t go on having things without being willing to pay for them, which is what we’ve been trying to do for the last ten years. We’ve kept cutting taxes without cutting services. Imagine taking a pay cut and still spending as much as ever. That’s pretty much what those governing our state have done.
It doesn't get much simpler than that. Time to be big kids here in Michigan.
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