When I find a $5 bill in the pocket of my fresh-out-the-dryer jeans, it’s cause for serious celebration. Usually, I’ll reward myself for the windfall with a big coffee from the fancy coffee place.
Michigan just found a much larger surprise in their pocket – $3 billion, to be exact. So what will the money be used for? And why are these politicians fighting over it?
Here’s Five Fast Facts about Michigan’ Budget Surplus …… :
- 🥊 The gloves are on - Let’s be honest - it should be pretty easy to find ways to spend $3 billion these days. But since it’s an election year, there is plenty to fight about.
- 👪 What we want - If you ask the regular Paychecks what should be done with the money, they’ll probably say, “fix the roads, take care of communities, and ensure we’re not closing schools.” Sounds good! But….
- 👑 What the Governor wants - Big Gretch would like to see the money slide back into our pockets as a $500 refund per taxpayer. She’d also like to see about $280 million for tutoring and education in K-12 schools. Seems nice. Ok, ok
- ☂️ What the Chamber wants - The Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce and many of its members and supporters would like to see half a billion dollars set aside in a rainy day fund for when we need it for the next big project or budget shortfall.
- 👍 What everyone agrees on - Across the aisle, lawmakers and the Governor are all signaling support for cutting the state income tax, providing more earned income tax credits, and providing a child tax credit.
🔥Bottom line: This budget surplus is just waiting to be spent - but since lawmakers didn’t ask for our opinions, I guess we’ll just have to see what they come up with. All interested parties will be back on Mackinac Island this week for another round of policy talks. Hopefully, they will agree on how to best spend this (our) money instead of bickering like little kids.
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