(06-16-2021 06:13 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(06-16-2021 05:29 AM)emu79 Wrote:  From today's Detroit News:

GOP lawmakers and Whitmer have nearly $7 billion in federal stimulus money for state government available to allocate. On top of that, they have more than $2 billion in surplus money in the current fiscal year. Combined, the stimulus funds for state government over which lawmakers have broad discretion and the surplus nearly match the entire general fund this year: $10.6 billion.

Really would like some of our current debt for past building projects to be paid off or down as well as some more state dollars for the Business School remodeling and just basic maintenance stuff like paving parking lots.

That would just be too sensible! Government in Michigan, not unlike the rest of the country has not been in the business of "maintaining" assets, politicians cannot pose for ribbon cutting new projects where they pose for photographers with a shovel in their hand. Witness the Grosse Ille bridge situation where the privately owned bridge is the only means of accessing the community due to a dearth of attention given to the taxpayer supported bridge, a catastrophe for sure. No elected official is going to attend a much needed parking lot repaving or the act of retiring debt at EMU, it simply is not newsworthy.

With the recent HUGE donation at WMU, I suspect that there will be many new construction projects and I assume that state and local government leaders will be attracted to those and the media opportunities they present like flies on shi*!

Thanks James for the financial info, it is incredibly helpful. I have always wondered how govt's blamed their 2008-9 recession investments for their financial woes. My retirement funds got murdered at first but they have recovered quite nicely since and I have been wondering why the govt is any different.

The two crises were very different. The government stimulus this time gave a shot to consumer spending and the fact that state governments could sales tax on line sales saved their asses. I would imagine most pension funds have done nicely since 2008 since the stock market has done well. I used the gains in my 401k to cash since I'm at the age that I can't afford another 2008 meltdown.