In a move that strikes some as bordering on the edge of arrogance,
the incoming Snyder administration has decided to develop its own
review of how to squeeze $3 billion out of state services rather than
use a blue print that is already out there.
Can you say duplication of effort?
You'll recall that the current administration's bean counters
penned a plan to whack at everything under the sun in order to reduce
state services by that whopping $3 bil figure.
The incoming Lt. Governor Brian Calley counters, in effect, we'd
rather do it ourselves.
"We want our set of eyes," to take a look at it.
In this instance, give the new kids on the block the benefit of
the doubt. After all the original document was written by the Granholm
administration and may have been tilted toward laying the ground work
for a revenue increase.
If you are the new GOP governor using a Granholm blueprint is, to
be charitable, Toxic with a capitol T.
So starting from scratch is a reasonable strategy especially with
a new budget director riding into town from Utah where maybe he will
see something the current folks have no seen in the past.
But dollars to donuts when the independent review is completed,
much of what is on the Granholm list will end up on the Snyder list,
but he has to get their on his own before any of this has any
credibility...in his mind.
Either way it will be ugly. It's only a question of which "ugly'
ends being slice and diced.