Threat Of Budget Cuts Always Hit The Popular Programs

Michigan’s in some trouble, and as usual, when government starts threatening budget cuts, it’s always to the programs people like:

Under Granholm’s proposal, this year’s Michigan State Fair, which runs Aug. 28 to Sept. 7 at the corner of Eight Mile and Woodward Avenue in Detroit, would be the last after 160 years. The state is already in discussions to sell or lease the 164-acre parcel.

The prospect of closing the fair is painful to longtime fairgoers, who came every year to see the “World’s Largest Stove,” the storied band shell and the popular Miracle of Life exhibit where children can see farm animals born.

“I love it all. We sit out there in our wheelchairs all day and see the sights,” said Irma Henderson, 72, of Detroit, who has shown her quilts at the fair. “It’s the only thing I look forward to in the summer. Why is the governor taking the State Fair away from us seniors?”

Ahh, yes… Because when the State stops throwing huge expensive parties, it’s ‘taking something away’. Especially when budgets come up, the government “tries” to axe the politically popular programs. The goal is to get enough of an uproar from the public that they don’t have to cut anything. It’s the typical false dilemma fallacy, where the choice is cut here or don’t cut at all.

The article points out, though, that maybe this is a time to call their bluff. The State Fair is superfluous in a state which hosts several agricultural fairs, including one at a state university much closer to the ag centers of Michigan. Detroit is not very near to the center of agriculture, and most Detroit residents aren’t farmers.

If Governor Granholm is really trying to make a tough political call here, more power to her. But if not — if she’s just trying to send up a political weather balloon — I hope it crashes down on her head. She can be known throughout Michigan as the grinch who stole the State Fair.

Hat Tip: dispatches from TJICistan