Michigan Gov.: States Dealt with Budget Cuts Larger Than Washington, ‘And We All Got the Job Done

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Monday said that if states “got the job done” despite dealing with larger budget cuts than Congress has to make in the federal budget, why can’t Washington do the same.
“When you look at the states—I was sitting in the governors meeting yesterday, and as I looked around the room, probably most of us in that room had to deal with budget cuts in the last two or three years larger than what they’re talking about, and we all got the job done. And the question is why can’t it be done here in Washington in a more effective, thoughtful way?” the Republican governor said on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.”

C-SPAN referenced a New York Times story on the sequester that said President Barack Obama is proposing a drop in aid to states. “What are you bracing for in Michigan?” C-SPAN asked Snyder, who was in Washington for the National Governors Associations’ annual meeting.

Snyder said his state is “looking at cuts in many ways.”

“One of the things I’d say though, though is this whole issue of getting to the sequester’s a failure. That was the point of putting it in place to begin with – it wasn’t supposed to happen, and that illustrates the mess in Washington compared to the states,” he said.

Snyder proposed cutting the federal deficit by getting rid of “a number of the prescriptive programs.” There are “way too many programs from the federal government, and I’m not asking for a block grant, but let’s do outcome-based programs,” he said.

There are over 40 workforce programs, for instance, Snyder said. He suggested cutting all but five based on outcomes “and I’m not asking for a block grant, but let’s do outcome-based programs.”
“That would reduce costs substantially, and we could provide better service,” he added.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/michigan-gov-states-dealt-budget-cuts-larger-washington-and-we-all-got-job-done