Michigan has a snow day.. in September. Yes its Cold, but not THAT type of Snow day..
Michigan Assistant House Republican Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, issued the following statement after failure of legislative leaders to reach a balanced budget agreement before the start of the 2009-2010 fiscal year:
“This is a dark day for Michigan at the worst possible moment. We have failed to reach a budget agreement, and as the elected leaders of this state, we have failed the working families who sent us here to make the tough decisions.
Meekhof is correct, but they still managed a continuation of Schools, Police, and essential State operations.. Frankly, what else do we need? The State budget of $44B+ is an atrocity, and much of the funding for the schools now looks to be front-loaded with money from the federal stimulus.
What that means is that the Schools will wrestle with an even greater budget hole NEXT YEAR.
And speaking of schools and stimulus, here is another demonstration of what happens when government becomes the daddy, and the MEA becomes the Mommy.. From Fox News :
DETROIT — Public school districts across Michigan mobilized Wednesday to boost attendance for Count Day, the annual fall roll call that largely determines how much money each district receives under the state’s per-pupil funding system.
Students in Detroit were treated to free meals, ice-cream parties, T-shirts, celebrity visits and a chance to win iPods and a plasma-TV
The article goes on to note the spending of $500,000 and the appearance of Bill Cosby in ads to get kids motivated to learn.
Count day is important, Acting headmaster Bobb has his hands full trying to wrestle every single penny he can from what might be considered a “beef jerky” Michigan School budget, as it has shriveled.
Perhaps if families were encouraged by “need” to stay together? Maybe, JUST MAYBE if the state didn’t provide that umbrella through its burgeoning welfare, and left the money in the hands of job providers to grow and be more competitive, the heads of households would have jobs to go to? Call me old fashioned, but when you see stories where a neighbor cannot take care of another’s child for a few hours without being threatened by the LAW, and you have to BRIBE children to go to school.. maybe we have crossed over a line that should not have been crossed.
The best lesson in the failure of government’s best efforts lay before us in the past several day’s new cycle. When you spend more on it you buy more of it.. I am talking about poverty and failure.
It is said “necessity is the mother of invention,” and I would argue we have been allowing the atrophy of the creative mind go to waste for far too long. Michigan’s budget should be HALF what it is, and Michigan community and families would be twice as strong for it.
