Will We Let Michigan Fall Off the Cliff?
The elections now seem like a distant past as talk of the federal “fiscal cliff” has taken over the media. While the political showdown in Washington, D.C. may seem like typical hoopla, folks in Michigan should care about the looming fiscal cliff. Why, you ask?
This so-called fiscal cliff would result in a significant increase in taxes you will pay while at the same time reducing spending for critical children and family programs (and other non-entitlement programs) through automatic sequestration – aka across the board cuts to federal programs. While neither Republicans nor Democrats want to see the U.S. go over the fiscal cliff, the two parties have different perspectives on how to battle the expiring tax cuts while cutting spending at the same time. So why does this matter to Michigan children and families?
We know that Michigan families have been harder hit by the recession than the rest of the country with the percent of Michigan children living in poverty having increased by 64% since 2000. Now, nearly one out of four Michigan children live in poverty and the statistics are worse for children of color. The connection to the federal fiscal cliff? So many programs that protect child well-being during times of hardship will be jeopardized, and in fact, many of these programs are likely to see cuts. The question that will be debated is by how much?
It’s also important to realize just how reliant Michigan is on federal funding. In the current fiscal year, federal dollars support 41% of Michigan’s total state budget. For the Michigan Department of Community Health and Department of Human Services budgets – departments that support Michigan’s most struggling children and families – federal dollars support 64% and 82% of these budgets respectively. While Michigan’s education system is less reliant on the federal budget, federal funding supports most of the education programs that work to reduce the achievement gap – an achievement gap that begins early and grows over time.
Some of the federally funded programs that may see significant funding cuts if a balanced approach isn’t taken to tackle the fiscal cliff including the following.
- The Maternal and Child Health Block Grant and Community Health Centers both fund a large percent of Michigan’s preventive health programs for children and families.
- LIHEAP and the Community Services Block Grant support low-income families with basic needs like heating, housing, and nutrition.
- Head Start, Early Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grant promote school readiness while supporting struggling families.
- 21st Century Community Learning Centers and Title I target school districts with high percentages of students at-risk of school failure by supporting equity promoting education programs like high quality after school programming and high school dropout prevention efforts.
- The Workforce Investment Act for Youth engages disconnected young people to education and workforce opportunities.
All of these programs are critical in Michigan and all are in jeopardy if the federal deficit reducing solution isn’t fair and balanced. Talking to the people who represent your interests in Washington, DC about the importance of these programs to you, your families and your communities is essential. You can find out who your Congressperson is, as well as contact information for members of Congress and the U.S. Senate, on our website.
-Mina Hong