05/14/2008
CONTACT: Charles Owens, 517-485-3409 or Jason Brewer, 202-406-4435
LANSING, Mich. -- All or part of the following may be attributed to Charlie Owens, State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business/Michigan, in response to predictions of a $400 million budget shortfall for the upcoming year.
"Small business owners are feeling a bit of déjà vu this morning as reports indicate yet another looming budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year. Haven't we been down this road before?
"Last year's budget fiasco and subsequent tax increases were a bitter pill for small business owners across Michigan. Higher income and business taxes -- along with a brief brush with a tax on services -- left many small employers angry and concerned about the impact these new taxes would have on the economy and their bottom line. The only solace to be drawn from last year's train wreck were the assurances from state leaders that our budget problems would now be fixed for the long haul thanks to new revenues and spending discipline. Yet here we are six months later, facing another deficit.
"It's become increasingly clear that last year's tax increase gave politicians in Lansing a free pass to keep spending -- promises to reform and restructure state government were chucked faster than a New Year's diet resolution. The result is that we're back to square one, with deficits on the horizon and no leadership in the Capitol to implement real change.
"Small business owners are fed up with Lansing. They're tired of picking up the check for a state government that has shown no serious commitment to real reform, and they're tired of paying lawmakers $90,000 a year to pass the buck.
"Small business owners want accountability, they want a government that lives within its means and they want an end to the tax-and-spend mentality that puts us in the same predicament year after year."
