Cynical Synapse blames the brief shutdown of Michigan's government on the sheer ineptitude of Governor Granholm and the Michigan legislature. As a small-government conservative with something of a libertarian bent (especially economically), I find myself highly sympathetic to this argument.
However, there is something else at play here which Cynical Synapse ignores and tends to be dismissed by those who don't pay much attention to politics: the fundamental philosophical differences between the two parties. This dispute was born of irreconcilable differences between the two parties on the role of government in society, and the economy in particular. Is government the engined driving economic growth, or are the economic needs of the people more dependent upon and better secured by an effectively functioning market only minimally constrained by government regulation and interference? All of the stonewalling, politicking, maneuvering, demagoguery, procrastination, inflexibility, and general b.s. surrounding the budget fight were an attempt by each party to craft the budget in a manner consistent with its view of the role of government.
What's more, it really should be no surprise that politicians in political institutions play politics with political issues. It may be ugly, but this is how we have decided to make our laws. We choose up sides and do everything in our power to make sure our side wins because we believe our side is right. When the resulting policy doesn't perfectly reflect our principles, we do everything in our power to make sure the resulting policy shows the wisdom of our views by claiming credit for the policy's successes and blaming its failures on the aspects of the policy favored by the other party.
Another factor that has to be considered is the fact that Michigan's constitution prohibits the state running a deficit. Therefore, it was impossible for both sides to come together and agree to kick the can down the road with deficit spending. Spending had to be cut and/or "revenues"* (i.e. taxes) had to be raised. Republicans favor the former solution while Democrats favor the latter, and both sides were probably going to have to give. The question was over who going to come out ahead politically, and both sides deliberately engaged in brinkmanship to either get all of what they wanted (not likely) or to make the other side look bad, and both sides succeeded at that.
A final factor in the situation is the current plight of GM, Ford and Chrysler. For decades, Michigan has been dependent upon the auto industry for a huge portion of its tax revenue. With the struggles facing the Big Three in terms of sales and expenses and these companies locating plants outside the United States to cut costs, not to mention straight plant closings, Michigan has suffered a massive reduction in tax revenue from one of its biggest sources, and it has paid the price for the profligate spending supported by these tax revenues. It is unfair to say that the current government of Michigan owns a budget crisis that was dropped in its lap by the lack of foresight by previous governments and the travails of the auto industry. It is fair to say that after five years of economic hardship, the state government has failed to put Michigan in a position to overcome its economic struggles. The tax plan that was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor was a short term solution at best. It would not surprise me in any way if we were debating this same issue of tax increases versus spending cuts at budget time next year.
*I find using the term "revenues" in this context to be rather dishonest. There are two factors in determining the size of tax revenues: the tax rate and the size of the tax base. It is true that, given a fixed (in monetary terms) tax base, increasing taxes will increase revenue, but it is also true that given a fixed tax rate, increasing the monetary value of the tax base will also increase revenue. What's more, if a cut in a tax rate causes a sufficient rise in the monetary value of the tax base, it is possible for revenues from those taxes to increase.
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To be sure, there was more at play than the politicos in Lansing merely being inept. They also acted like children, throwing a tantrum to get their way, which most of us recognize as the brief governmental shutdown.
The parties involved—the Democratic governor, Republican majority leader in the State Senate, and to a lesser degree the House speaker, a Democrat, want us to believe this was about the Democrats and Republicans standing up for philosophical differences in what government should be. The fact is, there's not that much difference between the two parties any more but the doublespeak they wrap their spin in.
Some, including Gov. Granholm, would blame term limits at least to some degree. To me this incident proves the merits of term limits because at worst these clowns will be out of there in not more than 5 more years. At best, they've shown themselves for what they are. Rather than making a name for themselves by their unwillingness to compromise, they've shown themselves for brainless robots. Rather than using the Michigan legislature as a stepping stone to national office, intelligent voters will dump them off the public dole like the hazardous waste they are.
It's fine when politicians play politics in the legislature. It's the nature of the beast whether we like it or not. They can do that all year long, since Michigan is one of only 11 states with a full-time legislature. But when it comes time to resolve the difficult issues, they need to roll up their sleeves, get to work, and make compromises. They can still spin it however they want. They can introduce bills after the crisis is averted to try to fix what they think is broke. But to put the entire state through the theater of the absurd like they did is unexcusable.
I prefer to hope they were just idiots running the asylum for a day rather than the alternative: sociopaths bent on destroying what's left of the state. Either way, they deserve to be fired at the next election.
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