Michigan got some good news this week.
LANSING — A healthier Michigan economy is churning more tax revenue than was expected and will produce a $429-million windfall for the state this fiscal year, economists agreed Monday.Another $234 million in extra revenue was predicted for 2012…
That’s terrific, eh? I mean, honestly, fewer states could use it more than Michigan with our huge unemployment rate and draconian cuts to education on the very near horizon?
Turns out Governor Rick Snyder isn’t so sure he want to actually USE this unexpected windfall to help soften the blow to education or other areas.
Snyder has suggested socking away extra revenue in the state’s rainy day fund.
I wonder if Rick Snyder has peaked outside the window lately? I wonder if he realizes that it is pouring down rain in Michigan right now? Unemployment over 10%. Cuts of nearly $500 per pupil to K-12 education. Crumbling infrastructure (bridges, roads, etc.)
Dude, it’s fucking raining. It’s raining hard, in fact. And, you can’t lay this all on the steps of your predecessor, Jennifer Granholm. The blame goes more solidly to your own party’s last President, George W. Bush, who oversaw the most devastating collapse of the national economy in many decades. Michigan, as usual, simply felt the brunt of that punch more acutely than most states because we’re so heavily tied to the manufacturing sector.
Rick Snyder claims to value education. It was even one of the things he ran on during the 2010 campaign. Unlike union-busting or giving a gigantic 86% tax break to corporations, improving our education system was one of the things he did run on. Yet his current budget cuts K-12 education and he claims, “Schools don’t deserve funding because they haven’t produced…”
Well, Rick, it’s raining. Skip past putting these extra funds in the bank and apply directly to forehead.
It’s raining
