The positive impact is it provided fresh money for the jobless to survive while seeking another job. From the unemployment benefit program, the maximum weekly benefit for an unemployed Michigan worker is $387. It is equal to a salary of $11 a day, for working 7 hours/day, and 5 days/a week. However, the unemployment benefits program also creates hidden problems. It makes the jobless people depend on the unemployment benefits.
With the State of Michigan facing a $1.7 billion budget shortfall this next fiscal year, the government is looking for ways to balance the budget without cutting too many services. One of the options in Committee right now is the package of House Bills 4497, 4498, and 4499. These bills would allow current and future prisoners to be released early for good time as long as certain criteria has been met. The bills, although expected to save the state money, have met with opposition from many such as victim's rights groups and legislators not wanting to appear soft on crime.
When Congress passed the stimulus package early last year, they included 54 billion dollars for education, 4.3 billion of which was to be distributed to the states who "won" the program, deemed "The Race to the Top" (RttT) in two phases, the first of which was to end in April 2010 and the second in September 2010. The program awards states points based on their adherence to 5 key reform areas, including 40 points attributed to the adoption of new nation-wide curriculum standards. These five key reform areas are: Designing and implementing rigorous standards and high-quality assessments, attracting and keeping great teachers and leaders in America's classrooms, supporting data systems that inform decisions and improve instruction, using innovation and effective approaches to turn-around struggling schools, and demonstrating and sustaining education reform.
A budget deficit is never wanted in any circumstance, whether it is a state's budget or a company's. Currently, Michigan is suffering from a budget deficit of nearly $920 million in the General Fund and School Aid Fund (Michigan.gov). There will always be controversy over the options of raising taxes or reducing budget allotments to certain fields of state government. Every budget cut that can be performed without severely affecting the state of Michigan should be taken into consideration. In the past year, the Michigan legislature announced that they are committed to cutting their own budget. In addition to this move, there have been proposals to cut the pay of legislators who are not working efficiently.
Wednesday's unveiling of awards from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Innovation Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program left Michigan with little to show for applications submitted by municipal governments throughout the state. Only two cities-Detroit and Port Huron-were awarded funds for their transportation projects, receiving $23 million and $30 million, respectively.
