Countdown to Shutdown
Bouchard gives practical solutions to avoid budget crisis
Oakland County- Mike Bouchard, Republican candidate for governor, has focused attention on the looming budget deadline facing Michigan. Leaders in Lansing continue to fight with little progress to show toward closing the state’s billion-dollar deficit. The Granholm/Cherry administration’s latest plan seeks to raise taxes once again.
“The status quo behavior in Lansing is unacceptable. Instead of reaching a crisis point time after time, we need a system that works and ideas that solve the problem’s” Bouchard said. “There are many different reform ideas and initiatives being discussed across the state but Lansing seems to tune them out.”
Bouchard launched a Countdown to Shutdown clock this week for voters to track the time remaining for Lansing leaders to break the budget impasse. He will continue to call attention to the budget impasse and offering real solutions until an accord is reached.
“I believe that the budget should be set by May 15th. This would ensure that everyone affected by the budget would have all of the information they need to make changes in their own budget. This late gamesmanship puts the citizens, cities, townships, villages and counties in an impossible situation to set their budgets. With that in mind, I am announcing reforms to ensure the process works and has teeth.
* First; every day after May 15 without a budget will cost every legislator and statewide office holder a day’s pay.
* Second; no other non-essential legislation should be considered until a budget is adopted.
* Third; the state should adopt a two-year rolling budget and use externally verified numbers with a three-year projection.
“We have moved from a two-year to a three-year rolling budget in Oakland County. When I am presented with bad predictions three years away, we make adjustments today. I have cut 20 million from my budget using this method. Brooks Patterson and his great team have built a template that is long overdue at the state.”
As a result, Oakland County has been able to maintain its AAA bond rating. There are only just over 40 counties out of more than 3,000 in America that can claim that title.
“Under my administration we will make budget predictions on a three-year timeline and adjust the two-year rolling budget to fit the three-year prediction. We will stay ahead of the curve and not be the last in America. We must fix Lansing to get Michigan back to work.”
I worked at General Motors for 32 years. In that time when ever GM got themselves into some kind of financial trouble they also asked the people on the line to give back some of what we got in the contract. This always made the union members pissed off. The management people never took a cut in pay or benefits. They always took bigger bonuses. I feel the same way about you people in congress, both national and state. You all keep spending then increasing taxes, voting your selves raises while asking the people of the nation and/ or the state to give you more of our money. There are people out here losing their house, their jobs and who knows what else but all you people in congress want is spend spend spend and then pass the cost on to the citzens. When are you in congress going to cutting back your salaries. You all are not suppose to be above the laws that you enact on us. The laws should apply to evewryone equally and that includes ALL OF YOU IN THE CONGRESS TOO. So to fiux the budget problem why don’t you all take a 10% paid cut and quit stealing my money!
I like what I read above (your plan) about you. As a tax payer in Michigan I am digusted that once again we are down to the wire and no budget. There is no excuse for this. I like the idea that budget be finalized by May 15. IF my boss assinged me a job in Febraury and it took me until October to get it done- I would not have a job.
Yes the state of Michigan and the country are in dire financial straigts. It is time for drasdtic measure but in all honesty these measure would sit better with me if the cuts, concessions and belt tightening started at the top.
Elected officals are state employees. I want to hear that each and everyone is givning up 10% of their income (give it back to the state) then hit me with the increassed taxes etc that are necessary to balance the budget. Eveyone including the elite in Lansing need to give until it haurts then maybe you will feel the pain that the middle income family feels as we shoulder more than our share of the load once again.. OUr legislature get paid for full time work and only work 3 days per week. Starting in February it should be mandated that they work 5 days per week until the budget is resolved.
The time for party bickering posturing and ineffectiveness has ended .Michigan is suffering get it together and resolve these issues.
If I ran my home that way the e legislatrue and governor run the state- I would be banckrupt and a bag lady long before now.
I am a state worker and I resent being blamed for the shortfalls and asked to give bakc over and over again. The burden must be shared by all residents of Michigan. My increases have been 1, 2 or 3 % maximum while paying ever increasing medical benefits, household expenses, faced Banked tleve time and furlough days.I was a state employee the year the legislature voted themselves a 38% increase- this was totally self serving and uncalled for. The legislature gets full retirment ater 6 years and ligetime medical. The view from the ivory tower is out of touch. Shre the burden, feel our anger and disapointment and share our financial concerns. My modest home is only workth 1/3 of ehat I paid, I cannot afford to sell but I continue to make my payments and cut my expenses in everyway I can. I have watched while our Federal Government sold our country to China to afford ineffective stimulus measures that are failing and do not help the average person. I want Michigan to shine, survive and turn the corner. I want to say proudly that our state government did what was necessary to get us back on track. I will be watching you closely. By the way I see no early reason for our legislature to be full time. Every article and person I talk to from the states with partime legislature have only good things to say about the productivity and involvement. Thanks