Michigan has a choice to make. Will they choose the way of Montana or Wisconsin? Snyder's Dilemma for Michigan: Be Like Wisconsin, Or Like Montana
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Michigan government is like an old truck at a crossroads.
Turn one way and we'll find bumpy roads and chaos.
Turn the other and stay on the path and we should find smooth riding.
Wisconsin's new governor, Scott Walker is out there digging potholes in the road for himself and his state.
Public employee unions are in revolt over threatened loss of their collective bargaining rights. And, even more telling an attitude, the absolute refusal of the governor to sit down with them.
On the other hand, Montana, one of only two states in America operating without a deficit, has preserved collective bargaining and actually sits down and deals reasonably with employees.
You can't make enemies of all your employees and still get productivity, Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana said on CNN the other day.
"The State of Montana has balanced its checkbook five years in a row with no tax increases, no cuts to education or other essential services, and with $327 million in cold hard cash left in the bank," said Gov. Schweitzer.
"We're running government like a ranch," he says with the confidence of a former rancher who kept in the black by "keeping a little grain in the bin."
Schweitzer is somewhat of a maverick, having former Republican state senator John Bohlinger as his lieutenant governor for starters.
Gov. Walker up in dairy heaven is reaping the hostility he has shown to his employees, in spades. Political historians who have tracked the progressive ground plowed by Wisconsin Sen. Robert LaFollette and others are whirling in their graves. LaFollette, you will recall, was the progressive Republican governor of Wisconsin in 1900. He supported the growth of trade unions as a check on the power of large corporations.
Michigan political historians who have followed moderate Republican governors like William Milliken and George Romney are keeping a watchful eye on the tactics of new governor Rick Snyder as his policies emerge.
Republicans these days tend to forget that their Grand Old Party was started with the help of laboring men. Abraham Lincoln campaigned as a Friend of Labor, saying: "All that serves labor serves the nation. All that harms is treason. If a man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he is a fool. There is no America without labor, and to fleece the one is to rob the other."
"You sound like a Republican," said the CNN anchor to Democrat Schweitzer of Montana. No, Mr. Anchor, he is just a reasonable governor who has made allies -- not enemies -- of state employees.
And these policies have resulted in solid finances that make conservatives happy and induce state workers to cooperate to save even more extra for the "grain bin."
"A few years ago when the economy was strong, like other states we ran a surplus," says Montana's Schweitzer. "We sent part of that money back to Montanans in the form of a $400 tax rebate -- the largest tax relief in Montana history -- and then put the remaining $250 million in the bank. That money has allowed us to get through the recession in solid shape. Contrast this to the behavior of 48 other states, not to mention the federal government. When they had extra cash, they found ways to spend it. Now they are raising taxes or borrowing money--or both."
As the auto industry has shrunk, taking hundreds of thousands of jobs, Michigan hasn't seen a budget surplus in years. Wisconsin, with a fair share of manufacturing in its economic base, seems to have had the same problem.
Former Gov. Jennifer Granholm tried a variety of tactics, including an ill-fated attempt to make Michigan a film capital, to keep the state's engine running without upsetting the proverbial apple cart. Many will say she did that successfully, but that she left her successor with a heavy load of problems.
Michigan's new governor and Republican legislators may be tempted to follow Wisconsin's lead and balance the budget on the backs of teachers, state workers, students and local governments.
Michigan's Proposal A, that most of us voted for in 1994, has been thrown under the bus by the governor. Remember? We approved a constitutional amendment to fund schools with higher sales tax instead of income tax. The courts will have to determine if Mr. Snyder has broken the law by fracturing that contract with the people.
Seniors will be paying income taxes on their pensions and benefits now, instead of the free ride they have had. Shared sacrifice? Yes! We don't argue with that. Students will be shortchanged by a projected $700 per pupil cut in state aid. Rancher Schweitzer might say that is like eating our seed corn.
Parents and teachers will probably march on Lansing to try to reverse the changes proposed by the governor. Nobody likes change, especially when it hits their pocketbook.
"Back when we set aside the surplus to prepare for an uncertain future (that safety cushion which has kept us afloat while almost all other states are drowning in red ink), Republican legislators loudly criticized me for it" says Schweitzer.
The cost of government can be trimmed, with the help of state employees and all citizens who are engaged in constructive conversation. Perhaps, if Mr. Snyder is skillful, Michigan can build a surplus like Montana. But, the integrity of our social compact must be held sacred -- not thrown away like Walker is going to Wisconsin.
No doubt we are in tough times. The Tea Party Revolution may turn into a general strike by workers. Exceptional dangers times arise when the rich are pitted against the poor, and/or working people in general.
Remember the French Revolution? Its message is still valid today. Marie Antoinette found out how common people felt when told there was no bread she said "let them eat cake." In perilous times all must respect fellow citizens and keep their heads --especially politicians. Or lose them in the next election.
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mpangbornsky Says:
On February 23, 2011
at 08:27 PM
I state that is heavy industrial and dependent on the people to produce them has seen the good, for many years and "now" reeping the downside of the same. The comfortablity is over and its time to reinvent Michigan which means reinvent the unions as well. It is what it is!!!!
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mosher Says:
On February 28, 2011
at 08:34 AM
This provides very good perspective, Dave, and summons the days of "respectable" Republicans in Michigan (was Pres. Ford the last?) instead of the radicals that dominate the party now.
There are problems with Snyder's budget. Taxing pensions while giving big corporations a free ride is wrong, and hasn't proven to work anywhere...though it's the GOP gospel. And it's ironic that the Oscar-winning movie "The King's Voice", made on $19 million and already grossing $300 million box office, was supported by the British Film Office, since Snyder nixed Michigan's. Investment in the arts always generates jobs & spending. But at least our Governor is talking budget, not trying to break unions, the creators of middle-class America. |
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