Politics & Government

Budget talks are ramping up at the state Capitol with just more than a month and a half left before Governor Rick Snyder’s self-imposed budget deadline.      

Governor Snyder still stands by his May 31stbudget deadline, even as many lawmakers say they do not think a deal will be reached before this summer. Legislative leaders point out that the earliest a budget has been done was in June. That was back in the early 1990s, when the state was flush with revenue. But Governor Snyder says there’s no reason he and lawmakers cannot reach a deal before the Legislature’s summer break.     

One area of the budget that appears to be a sticking point is education spending. The governor has proposed deep cuts to per-pupil funding for K-through-12 schools, and a 15% reduction to state payments for public colleges and universities.

Reports of the death of compromise in Washington are greatly exaggerated.

That's one important message from the 11th-hour agreement that averted a partial shutdown of the federal government Friday night.

"No compromise" has been the rallying cry of the Tea Party movement. Some Republican lawmakers have echoed that.

But the agreement reached Friday was the epitome of compromise. Republicans had come into the negotiations demanding $61 billion in spending cuts from the remainder of fiscal year 2011 which ends in September.

The consequences of a partial government shutdown would be felt most immediately and visibly in areas where the public interacts directly with agencies. But if it drags on, those consequences could spread through the federal court system, the mortgage industry and even the launch of a space shuttle.

Officials with the U.S. Census Bureau warned Detroit City Council members today that challenges to the ten-year Census results are rarely successful.

Detroit is hoping to add 36,000 people to its total. But in 2000, only 2,700 people were added to the rolls after all challenges in the country were complete. That’s 2,700 people in a nation of 281 million people.

Governor Rick Snyder’s proposal to get rid of the current film tax credit and replace it with a more modest grant program has met with a lot of resistance from the film community.

But now some film folks say they’re willing to compromise.

Since 2008, Michigan has offered up to a 42% tax credit for movies made here. That amounted to the state paying out  $60 million last year.

The Gerald R. Ford presidential museum and library would be among the first places people in Michigan would see affected by a possible federal government shutdown.  

On a normal Saturday in April, a few hundred people visit the Ford presidential museum in Grand Rapids.   But, if Congress can’t reach a budget deal by midnight tonight, the Ford museum’s doors will stay locked over the weekend.

Governor Rick Snyder says he is not sure how or if state government would be affected by a potential temporary shutdown of the federal government.

Leaders in Congress are still working with President Obama on a budget solution, with a deadline of this evening.  

Governor Snyder says information is still rolling into his office about the potential effects on the state.  

I went to see Detroit Mayor Dave Bing yesterday afternoon to discuss the state of his city. It’s been a bruising few weeks for Detroit. The census showed a population loss considerably greater than expected - which means a further loss of both federal and state dollars. The governor’s budget has yet to be approved, but it seems clear that it means more cuts in revenue sharing.

Nevertheless, I found the mayor upbeat, candid and energetic. He’s convinced the census missed people, and is going to do all he can to get the count adjusted. But for now, he has to plan as if the number is going to stay at seven hundred and thirteen thousand.

There’s no doubt in his mind what Detroit needs most. “Jobs are the key,” he said. There are some hopeful signs. General Motors, Blue Cross, Quicken Loans and some other firms have announced plans to add jobs recently.  But the city has a long way to go.

When the recession was at its peak, Mayor Bing made headlines when he said that he thought the city’s true unemployment rate was as high as forty-five percent, when you counted workers who are so discouraged they aren't even taking part in the labor force.  What does he think it is now? “Still about the same,” he said.

“There are some signs the country is coming out of the recession, but that hasn’t really translated into jobs in Detroit.”

I asked the mayor, himself a former successful businessman,  about Governor Rick Snyder’s theory that lowering taxes will help bring a new flood of jobs. He smiled. “Well, it should help,” he said.

But he added that maximizing profits doesnn’t always mean adding jobs. The mayor, who took office after a special election following the resignation of Kwame Kilpatrick, has been in office  almost two years now. What does he think is his greatest accomplishment?

He said, “reducing the deficit from more than $330 million dollars to $155 million. Given the economy, that was really a Herculean task.”

Unfortunately, he fears the deficit may now rise somewhat, “if everything in the governor’s budget becomes stark reality.”