Michigan's Budget

Lansing may be over 8 hours away but what happen in Lansing affects us directly. As a State of Michigan employee, I've been called and told not to report to work on October 1st. I'm laid-off, temporarily, until the Governor signs a budget extension or the Legislature passes a budget.


State lawmakers failed to meet a 2:00 PM Wednesday deadline for notification of State employees. The official deadline is midnight, the time the State shuts down, but employees needed some advance notice.

Some people might think, ok, good, a day off, but it doesn't work that way. As employees, we need to get up at our usual time, check the news reports on radio, TV, or the Internet, to see if things have been settled overnight. If it's not settled, we need to sit home and watch the TV, listen to the radio, or keep checking the Internet, for updates. If the budget is approved or extended during the day, we need to report to work for the remainder of our shift.

What that means is we need to waste a day waiting. Let's just get up and go to work as usual. We can always sit in the parking lot and read a book or work a crossword puzzle or tailgate. Now there's and idea. Gotta go and call Juli, she can bring the hot dogs.