which one or more of these cuts do you think would be he most effective? How would you get the votes to support it? How would privatization or public to public partnerships play into your budget cutting plans?
State of the State: Painful budget cuts coming | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
Sunday, January 16, 2011
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At first blush I would look at 1)reducing revenue sharing 2) encouraging or even mandating consolidation of services, and 3) reducing the cost of prisons by eliminating prison time for certain non-violent crimes and reducing the number of inmates and prisons.
ReplyDeleteGetting the votes for these changes would not be easy, but the governor's party is in charge of the government and he should be able to count on party loyalty for some of this. Cost reduction through efficiency is the argument to be made for consolidation, a private sector tactic used frequently. Revenue sharing might be more difficult to gather votes for as the local governments will fight this as much as possible.
I think the most effective cut would be to eliminate the MBT (Michigan Business Tax) and replace it with a flat rate 6% tax on larger corporations, as was stated in the article. Just by looking at numbers, this seems to be a cut that could do the most good for what its worth, and it would actually relieve pressure on small businesses, potentially creating jobs as well.
ReplyDeleteThe job creation aspect of this cut I think would be very appealing to the voters of Michigan. Any attempt that is going to try and keep businesses running, relieve some of the pressure they have been experiencing, and create opportunities for businesses to hire and maintain employees is going to be an appealing argument for citizens - especially if the larger corporations are then picking up the slack to compensate for losses.
I think privatization could be beneficial in some cases, like it could here at NMU, for instance. Privatizing our heating plant and changing the way we use resources by upgrading the boiler system, would prove to cost less than it does now AND our university would be setting an example by making our energy efforts "greener". There are plenty of other cases where privatization would be the most cost effective route for organizations, but the efforts always seem to hit a wall when significant changes are required, jobs are shifted and logistics throw wrenches in the kinks...
In response to jguter:
ReplyDeleteI strongly support your third suggestion: "...reducing the cost of prisons by eliminating prison time for certain non-violent crimes and reducing the number of inmates and prisons".
One of the largest consumers of state budget revenues is the corrections system, and it has been deemed unnecessary by many. Although it seems to make any real difference in how the corrections system is run, there would need to be some serious policy changes, as well as changes in laws and prison time for non-violent crimes, especially those regarding drugs.
I agree that one of the first moves could be consolidation of the corrections systems, or as an article coming out of the Detroit Regional Chamber, the author suggests giving inmates "credit" for deeds done, or educational milestones achieved in prison, which would in turn translate into a smaller prison sentence and prove as a quantitative way for the inmates to show that they are going to better society once they are released.
There is not enough rehabilitation taking place in the corrections system, and it is accompanied by overcrowding and extensive prison sentences - all the while, costing the state A LOT of money.
Here is the link to that article I mentioned:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.detroitchamber.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=716