January 2007 Field Report -
Southeast Michigan
By: Tony Daunt – Southeast Michigan Field Director
By the time you get this, 2007 will already have one month pretty much in the bag. However, I don’t think it’s passé to wish people a Happy New Year until at least mid-February! That being said, I hope all of you are off to a successful and prosperous start and wish you the best for continued health and happiness throughout the year.
Of course, along with the promise of a fresh start that comes with the beginning of a new year, there are also new challenges and opportunities. For individuals, those challenges often come in the form of self-improvement, whether it is deciding to lose weight, quit smoking or get more involved in your local community. Each of these activities allows you the opportunity to set a goal and do what it takes to achieve it. The same principle applies to governments at the local, state and national levels. Each year they are faced with both old and new challenges and given a fresh opportunity to work towards achieving them.
Here in Michigan, those challenges are diverse and complex and they are going to require innovative thinking and strong leadership from our elected officials. It is up to us as an association, both at the staff and membership levels, to encourage them to make the right decisions even when they are politically difficult at the time. Below are two of the issues that your fellow members on the MAR Public Policy Committee have deemed important. I will be working with our Southeast Michigan legislators to make sure that they seek our input on these issues and would hope to see many of you contacting your own state representative or state senator to discuss them as well.
Preserving the Principles of The Price of Government
It is no secret that state government is facing some critical decisions this year when it comes to balancing the state budget. For the current fiscal year alone (FY’07), which goes from October 2006 to October 2007, the Governor and Legislature are faced with an approximately $500 million deficit that will need to be addressed before they can get to work on the fiscal year 2008 budget, which is looking at about a $700 million hole. And that’s without factoring in the approximately $1.9 billion that will disappear with the elimination of the Single Business Tax (SBT) on December 31, 2007. Some individuals within state government have been saying that we face a $3 billion hole this year but I must warn you that this is a fairly misleading characterization of the current situation as the legislature does intend on addressing the impending demise of the SBT and instituting a new business tax for Michigan that will recover most, if not all, of that $1.9 billion.
Unfortunately, there have been numerous trial balloons floated in the news media since the November elections from the Granholm administration and the Legislature that they will be looking for so-called “revenue enhancements” (i.e. tax increases) to finance these budget shortfalls. This is not leadership and it is certainly not consistent with the principles laid out in The Price of Government (POG) that recommends making budget decisions based on the money you have, not the money you would like to have. The Michigan Association of REALTORS® does recognize and appreciate the fact that this is a significant amount of money to remove from the budget, but we are also confident that programs can be consolidated and government can be made much more efficient. Just because the POG focus was started in 2005 does not mean that MAR has given up on pushing for the continuation of its principles a mere two years later.
No Sales Tax on Services
Even more disconcerting than the fact that tax increases are being considered at all is that one of the more talked about possibilities thus far is an expansion of the sales tax to include services. Many of you are sure to remember the battle several years ago (prior to my hiring at MAR) on this very issue and it goes to show that bad ideas never die, they just get wounded, crawl into a cave and regenerate themselves for another day! With all of the problems facing Michigan’s economy and the ability of this state to retain our current residents and jobs, let alone attracting new ones, seriously in doubt, the last thing our leaders should be contemplating is making it even more burdensome to live here.
Because of this renewed talk of expanding the sales tax to your commissions, you should expect an increase in the amount of involvement your state and local associations ask of you to help us send the idea back to its cave yet again. That includes contacting your legislators, educating your family and friends, and yes, making that added commitment to RPAC. If we are able to present a united front with the nearly 34,000 MAR members, it will be especially difficult for our government to ignore our concerns.
I look forward to working with all of my Southeast Michigan members in 2007 and am always available to share the MAR viewpoint on these issues and many more at your local association meetings and individual office meetings. Please do not hesitate to call me anytime.
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