Really bold moves are sometimes made by leaders on one side of the spectrum who have the strength and the political will to take a daring leap past their comfort zone.
Perhaps the best example of that was Richard Nixon's reaching out to the People's Republic of China. Nixon could do that because he had been a staunch anti-Communist throughout his entire political career. Similarly, right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was able to make a deal with Egyptian Leader Anwar Sadat.
Now, something similar might just be happening in Michigan.
Nobody took much notice last year when the business group Detroit Renaissance changed its name to Business Leaders for Michigan, to signify it was extending its focus to the entire state.
They should have. The group, led by its executive director, Doug Rothwell, is now offering a serious plan for getting Michigan government out of its perpetual financial mess.
To set the scene: If there is one thing everyone in Michigan agrees on, it is that the way state government runs is seriously broken. Every year, even in good times, the state ends up with a budget deficit, simply because the funding mechanism doesn't provide enough revenue for all the planned spending.
When a severe recession occurs, this can, and does, mean disaster. Last year the pain was eased in part by the Legislature's decision to use much of the federal stimulus money -- well over a billion dollars -- to plug part of the $2.8 billion gap.
This year, the experts expect another similar-sized shortfall, except that this time, the stimulus money is virtually gone, this year is an election year, and polarization and partisan gridlock are threatening to take Michigan over a cliff.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop has refused to consider any tax increases, no matter how necessary or beneficial they might be in the long run. Some Democrats have been equally as stubborn in refusing to consider cuts.
When Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, himself a Democrat, presented a plan to save hundreds of millions by putting all state workers under the same health care plan, it was quickly denounced by some lawmakers who appeared not to have even read it.
The potential for disaster is huge. But last week, Business Leaders for Michigan presented a plan that would appear to make sense and offer something to both sides. BLM is vastly different from most chamber of commerce groups; its membership is strictly limited to the chief executives of Michigan's biggest job-providing firms, and the presidents of the state's major universities.
This is a pro-business group, but one that is focused on the state's future. Much of what Business Leaders for Michigan is proposing will be welcomed by conservatives. Mainly, they want to cut the Michigan Business Tax in half. They also propose cutting the number of state workers by up to 10 percent and freeze a scheduled 3 percent salary increase state workers are supposed to get this year.
Then, they want to roll back their compensation and health care benefits to the national average for public sector employees. They also want to make it easier for local governments and school districts to consolidate and combine services.
But BLM's leaders acknowledge that things have to be paid for, and some level of public services are in fact necessary. So they also are in favor of extending the sales tax to most services, something that would seem to make sense in a service-based economy.
Not all services; medical and educational services would be exempt, as would business-to-business transactions.
They want that to happen -- and for the overall rate of the sales tax to be lowered from the present 6.0 to 5.5 percent. According to Mr. Rothwell, the group's executive director, the overall net effect would be revenue-neutral. The idea would be to leave Michigan government with the same amount of money to operate with -- but make the state more attractive to desperately needed new business.
Passing this package won't be easy. Special interests and unions are bound to oppose it. Senate Majority Leader Bishop would only tell the Gongwer News Service "we will review their ideas in the caucus and give them consideration ... that's all I can assure."
However, something has to be done about the looming deficits, as far as the eye can see. Ironically, the fact that the state is facing the mother of all budget crises may be the biggest factor pushing the Legislature and the political class into some type of reform.
"We couldn't pick a tougher time to do this, but it is the time to do it," Rothwell said, adding that waiting would be irresponsible.
Whether or not you agree with the specifics of his proposal, it would be very hard to argue that his analysis is wrong.
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