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Tax cuts top Sen. Schuette's list of priorities |
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State Senator Bill Schuette's boyish grin and youthful
energy belie his impressive resume of political accomplishments.
Despite his lengthy list of achievements, it's easy
for him to pick out the most important event in his 30-year career: his
marriage in 1991. Though he and his wife, Cynthia, had known each other
since childhood, they didn't begin dating until the midst of Schuette's
tough and hectic U.S. Senate campaign in 1990. "My wife and I went to the same bus stop in grade
school and junior high school, but she ignored me for 30 years,"
he joked. Though Schuette was unsuccessful in his bid to unseat
Democratic U.S. Senator Carl Levin, he was lucky in love: he and Cynthia
became engaged just days after the election and were married the following
year. Now entering his final year in the Michigan Senate, Schuette
and his fellow senators will face tough challenges as the legislature
grapples with the $1.4-billion budget shortfall predicted for the 2003
fiscal year. Though there are "no quick fixes" to the state's
budgetary dilemmas, Schuette says strengthening the economy is the top
priority to preserve state revenue and help retailers and other businesses.
Schuette believes halting scheduled tax cuts, as some
lawmakers have proposed, would be a big mistake in the current economic
climate. "Thanks to the governor and his leadership, we're
on track for planned reductions in the personal income tax and the Single
Business Tax," he said. "I think we need to keep those in place
and on track, because they put money back in people's pockets." So strong is his commitment to preserving the cuts that
Schuette favors removing the automatic freeze in the Single Business Tax
rollback. Under current law, the 0.1-percentage-point reduction will be
suspended whenever the state's Budget Stabilization Fund falls below
$250 million. That provision is expected to be triggered in next year's
budget. Schuette says stopping the cuts sends the wrong message
to business. Removing the automatic trigger so the cuts can stay in effect
would emphasize state government's commitment to a solid business climate. "That sends a very strong message to businesses across
the state that we want you to keep hiring people and keep people on the
job," he said. Schuette looks to the example set when the state faced
a similar fiscal crisis during the recession of 1991 but was able to cut
taxes and reduce spending. "I'm convinced that the legislature has the ability
to do the same thing now, 10 years later," he said. He encouraged the retail community to stand firm in its
support of the tax rollbacks. "The retailers ought to be one of the voices out
there saying we ought to keep the tax cuts on track," he said. Maintaining the tax cuts means lawmakers will have to
make painful, potentially unpopular cuts to state spending during an election
year that has many of them jockeying for political position. But Schuette
says voters will respect legislators who display leadership and make decisions
"for the long haul." "In 2002 people will look at elected officials and
determine if they have the character to take the Bush or Giuliani test,
which are my words for how a person responds in a crisis," he said. Schuette supported the business community on the telemarketing
package passed by the Senate shortly before the holiday break. As originally
proposed, the bills hindered in-state businesses from contacting customers
by telephone but failed to address the real problem of large national
companies conducting telephone solicitation. "The first bill to come up penalized Michigan businesses
that have a history of honest dealings with customers and opened the door
to out-of-state companies to continue the harassment of consumers,"
he said. "You can pass any law you want in the state of Michigan
and it won't stop these out-of-state companies from preying on consumers
and seniors."
In the end, the bills were changed considerably to require certain disclosures by telemarketers without unnecessarily restricting Michigan businesses. Schuette is sponsoring a bill important to jewelry retailers
because it will help regulate pawn shops, which sometimes resell stolen
jewelry. Senate Bill 116 would allow all local governmental units to enforce
licensing requirements for pawnbrokers. Currently, some municipalities
cannot require pawnbrokers to be licensed. One of 27 state senators who will be forced from office
by term limits at the end of this year, Schuette is considering opportunities
for the future, including positions in the private sector. He has already
considered and decided against running for attorney general. Meanwhile, he's enjoying being a dad to his children,
Heidi, 8, and Billy, 6. This winter he and Cynthia are working on teaching
their children to ski, a lifelong pastime of both parents. Each fall Schuette and his wife, along with Gov. John
and Michelle Engler, raise funds and food contributions for Michigan food
banks through Michigan Harvest Gathering, a program Schuette helped create
- at Cynthia's suggestion - during his tenure as director of agriculture.
Michigan Harvest Gathering has raised more than $3 million and 4.1 million
pounds of food since 1991. This article was written by Michigan Retailer staff writer Rachel Whitaker. |
At
48, Schuette has been a lawyer, three-term United States congressman,
U.S. Senate candidate, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture
and now state senator from Midland. He held his first office - precinct
delegate to the state Republican convention - at age 18.
"The
biggest issues for retailers this year are jobs and the growth of sales
in their stores," he said. "We need to have a stronger economy
in Michigan."
As
if to drive home the point, Schuette said, the evening before the package
came up for consideration in the Senate, he received a telemarketing call
at home during dinner from a national bank pitching a credit card offer.