So what's the deal Michiganders? Is the state MI really going to shut down in May?

Maybe they should be more aggressively taxing cigarettes and office furniture.

The problem is this: the government is facing a $940 million shortfall in this year's budget, and the Governor and Senate Republicans can't agree on how to resolve it.

Granholm is proposing some cuts along with accounting changes and a two percent sales tax on services.

The Senate Republicans have turned thumbs down to the proposed tax and have proposed cuts of their own. Granholm has rejected those.

So the Governor's spokeswoman warns that a shutdown is a real possibility unless the two sides can reach agreement.

The problem is MI wants to saddle the people already struggling with the new taxes to generate its so-called short fall. Granholm has screwed up the budget by confiscating winter taxes in the summer two years ago. What is happening is banks now have to over escrow the potential summer tax liability because there is no way to calculate what the summer tax is going to be anymore, so people are over escrowed by thousands. But, the state gets a big windfull in the summer. The problem is as the years pass, and people are struggle to pay their bills, house are going into foreclosure and less tax money is being seen on the government end. With that, the state is taxing the hell out of corporate america as well, making it too expensive for the auto companies to operate in MI, so they are shutting down plants and cut backs are starting. If Granholm could for once focus on a rebuilding plan, maybe we could see some change. The state of Michigan, in my opinion, needs to cut back some of its spending, give incentives for corporations to stay in MI to provide more jobs, give incentives to new corporations to move here, reduce fuel costs and so forth, make MI attractive to live in and increase your population, over time, you will get a booming economy with plenty of cash to go around. Look at Florida, or Nevada, no state income tax, any they are doing just fine. Such states have taken the time to build an attrative environment to live in for the average person and corporation, and they are not hurting for money. Pass more new taxes is a band aid that leaks, it does not fix or help anyone in the long run. Couple that with the fact that the most grossly inefficient business in Michigan is the State itself, MI government wastes more money than GM, Ford, and Chyrsler put together, you get threats of shutting down. The state needs to focus on rebuilding and cleaning up its own house first, then you will see some results, til then, there is little good news on the horizon.