Noun: a settlement of differences by mutual concessions; an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims, principles, etc., by reciprocal modification of demands.
Today's word of the day is brought to you by our friends at the Michigan Nonprofit Association:
Policymakers are elected to represent their districts. We all know this. But “representation” means different things to different people. Some say representation means voting in whatever way the majority of their constituents desire. Others say representation means voting for whatever would ultimately be in the best interest of their district, whether this means agreeing or disagreeing with the majority of the populous and making decisions between short-term and long-term interests that might be contradictory. And while most legislators claim to subscribe to one of these philosophies, rarely will you find an individual that doesn’t cross the fence to the other theory of thought at one time or another.
I say all this because I recognize that the policymakers addressing our state’s fiscal crisis represent varying schools of thought and very different constituencies. I don’t expect them to easily solve the massive budget hole, nor would I want them to. With as diverse a population as the state of Michigan holds, debate is key to sound public policy.
But it’s time for a compromise.
We’ve been going at this budget deficit for several years, and to be bluntly honest, the resolution thus far has pretty much gone one way. We’ve had budget cuts and budget cuts and more budget cuts.
And it’s time for a compromise.
That’s what politics is all about. Differing ideologies, conversing and dialoguing and debating each other on behalf of their differing constituencies, ultimately coming to some sort of compromise. Why? Because we represent different people, and as difficult as it is, our collective responsibility is to look out for all of them.
That’s done through compromise.
The state's constitution requires that a balanced budget must be in place for the fiscal year beginning on October 1... now less than two weeks away.
It's time for our legislators to come together and reach a bipartisan agreement that solves our state's structural deficit once and for all.
How they do it is up to them. Of course, our preference is for them to make the choice to invest in our state's economic recovery by funding the Michigan Housing and Community Development Fund. Whatever they decide though, we need to have this solved, and the sooner the better.
Like Bono once said, "compromise is not a dirty word."
For the latest news on the budget, be sure to keep an eye on MLive.com over the coming days.