State Budget

Before I address the game -- I missed the whole 4th quarter and was kept up to date by texts -- I have to talk about this budget mess in Michigan.

Everyone wants cuts. No one wants to pay taxes. We'll begin with that premise. But ask "what do you want to cut?" and no one really knows. "Uh, taxes...I pay too many taxes."

Do you want State Police/Firemen laid off? "No."

Do you want less snow removal from our roads? "No."

Do you want schools to have less money? "No."

Do you want Secretary of State offices to be open less? "No."

What about Family Independence money? "Can't cut that."

What about mental health services? "No, already underfunded."

So...

The latest article reads:

"The GOP Senate majority already has passed bills cutting $1.2 billion out of the $20 million general fund and school aid budgets, eliminating a popular college scholarship program and early childhood education programs and cutting monthly payments to the needy and mental health services."

Ok. To the extent there are things to cut, fat to trim, etc, it does NOT include early childhood education or mental health. I'm sorry, but if anything we could save millions of dollars, billions in short order, by treating mental health problems rather than putting people in prison for 30 years. Crime, unemployment, and emergency care costs would decrease if we treated mental health correctly.

Cutting early childhood programs? Really? College scholarships, ok. It really doesn't amount to much anyways, I mean, in the scheme of things. What is it $4000 max? Finance that over 20 years with the rest of your $60,000 education and I'm sure your payment will go up about $19. You cannot cut early childhood programs. One of the best programs I've listened to in quite some time should be mandatory listening, at least to the extent it applies to this discussion.

So where should we go? I'm not paid to know exactly what should be cut and how we should pay for what we keep. We can't start with the premise that taxes are a bad thing unless we are ready to give up basic services. To the extent people are comfortable with no police or fire protection and no basic infrastruture or public services, ok. You've thought it through and feel comfortable doing it on your own. To the extent you just "hate taxes" but want all the benefits, you are a moron.
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