State Rep. Greg Alexander today pushed back on a budget proposal from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for the upcoming fiscal year.

While Alexander noted that House Republican emphasis on affordability for parents and property tax relief is included in the proposal, continued unsustainable spending – and how that spending is covered – presents problems.

“State spending has increased by over 40 percent since Gov. Whitmer took office,” said Alexander, of Carsonville. “Taxpayers who are struggling with their own budgets have been asked to foot the bill for this reckless spending. Enough is enough. Our duty as legislators is to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, not continuously find creative ways to take more out of people’s pockets. I take huge issue with the tax hikes the governor and her team have proposed. Making everyday life more expensive for workers and families who are already stretched thin is the wrong solution at the worst possible time.”

Whitmer’s proposal includes tax increases on tobacco, sports betting, digital advertising, and more.

Alexander also underscored the governor’s plan to pull $400 million out of the state’s rainy-day fund that is used for emergencies to maintain spending, as opposed to reducing spending by the $800 million experts have said is needed to keep the budget balanced. An agreement for the current fiscal year budget identified and slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse, including cutting over 2,000 “ghost employee” positions that were unknowingly funded by taxpayers but not filled. Despite these reductions, the budget agreement still provided record school funding and historic resources for local road repairs while helping people keep more of what they earn through not taxing tips, overtime and social security at the state level.

“We need to get spending in line,” Alexander said. “Politicians shouldn’t be punishing Michigan families so state government can keep spending money it doesn’t have.”

The new fiscal year will begin Oct. 1.