Dear Neighbor,

In my previous message, I clued you in on a few practical measures involved in our vision of hope to reverse Michigan’s free fall to 41st place.

As I sit here on the House Floor, the budget discussions ignore the major obstacle getting in the way of turning Michigan around: a runaway train of government spending. 

Since 2019, Michigan’s budget has increased from $59 Billion to $81 Billion

A 40% increase in a few years is astronomically higher than the rapid rate of inflation and vastly outpaced our (lack of) population growth.

Michigan had a larger surplus than ever before:  $9 Billion

As I drive from Oxford to Lansing, I see potholes everywhere that are not being fixed.  Our Governor promised to “fix the (expletive) roads” 4 years ago.  Where is all this money going?

Unfortunately, it gets worse, the average graduation rate for Michigan residents sits at 55.7%, while politicians brag about “record funding.” 

…more money, more problems…

“Special projects” and “corporate welfare” without any long-term visionary solutions will leave taxpayers paying more and more with little to show for it.

Over 1,500 people throughout the State of Michigan are registered lobbyists, and everyone wants a “piece of the action.”  Have you ever heard the phrase, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours?”  This is precisely what happens in the historic halls of our government. 

The entire process Lansing uses to allocate taxpayer money must change.  Your tax dollars are not an open checkbook.

Some solution-oriented questions that must be considered before funding anything with your hard earned tax dollars:

• Is this an essential government function as defined by our Constitution?
• Does this prioritize the most important things? When we have a $9 billion dollar surplus, yet our roads receive a failing grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers.  This is obviously not due to a “lack of funding” – it’s a problem of priorities. 
• How will the State of Michigan practically measure the return on investment (ROI) for taxpayers?
• How much debt does the state have? How much per taxpayer?
• Does this spending proposal benefit the “politically well-connected” at the expense of us everyday citizens?
• Will there be any accountability if that taxpayer money is spent frivolously? What about proper oversight?
• Is there empirical evidence to show this program works?

Our government continues to use spending practices that contradict the most basic financial management methods (i.e. pay off your debt first).