Jobs, taxes among state concerns
There are several ways to balance Michigan's $800 million shortfall.
Craig DeRoche, former speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, does not think raising taxes is one of them.
"When you raise taxes, you will get less of what you raise taxes on," he said during Tuesday night's panel discussion, "Fixing Lansing."
Several speakers from groups such as the Mackinaw Center for Public Policy and the Citizens' Voice for Property Owners were joined by some current and previous Michigan House of Representatives officials.
The topics ranged from the importance of citizen involvement to offsetting the state's 12.6 percent unemployment rate.
The 20-person audience, when polled, agreed that increasing taxes would not solve the $800 million budget short fall.
"If we don't have the money, why don't we just spend the money that we have?" DeRoche said.
There were many solutions suggested by the speakers, some of which included having prisoners cook their own food, or having all school districts privatize food preparation, transportation and janitorial services.
Another problem, the speakers felt, was that citizens are not involved enough with the government.
"Citizens are too busy with their lives," said former state representative and current chairman of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance Leon Drolet.
Organizations are able to lobby and make it appear that their opinions are what the people want, and they know that people do not have the time to do much about it.
Citizens only can donate $500 to political candidates, while large political action committees are able to donate up to $5,000, explained Jack Hoogendyk, executive director of Citizens' Voice for Property Owners and a 2008 U.S. Senate candidate. Because of this, committees are able to have a much larger voice, to add to the fact that they take senators out for meals and games.
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