But the Same Hole is So Much Easier to Dig...

This week, Governor Jennifer Granholm continued to push her plan to balance the state budget by a mix of budget cuts and tax increases, most of them on services. For the third time in three weeks (but who is counting) the Republican majority in the State Senate said they would veto Granholm's efforts. For the third time in three weeks ( I am counting) the Majority Leader announced the GOP had a plan to balance the budget using only budget cutbacks. For the third time in three weeks, the Majority Leader declined to say what budget items he would reduce.

One could go on about how any more tax cuts would be ruinous (example: Michigan is laying off 30 state troopers, demoting about 80 more and closing the trooper academy) but it appears that I really don't have to. I think the GOP knows that any further cuts would only further destabilize our already precarious infrastructure and probably get to the parts of the budget their base actually cares about (cops and jails). They also know Granholm has cut more from the Michigan budget than any other governor. (There goes the tried and true "tax and spend liberal" argument.)

The State GOP is playing chicken with a foot on the brake and they know it. The only question is whether the Governor has the stuff to call them out.