This is the first edition of my new blog. I’m just learning this technology, and this is a great time to take a couple of minutes to write to you live from the floor of the House of Representatives.

The state budget is being hammered out as I type. We are currently “At Ease”, meaning that we’re sitting idle while the lawyers are writing the budget bills that the committees have negotiated.

It’s often been said that there are two things in this world you really don’t want to watch, sausage making and politics. I grew up on a farm and grinding sausage was never really a problem for most people. I took my son to a Schlacht fest one winter; it was not the sausage making either. It’s ‘bleeding’ the hog that kind of makes people queasy, I think. And, that’s closer to what’s happening in politics, right now.

In 2007, the fight was over taxes vs. cuts. For my caucus, the focus again will be on cuts and reforms. There’s a reason to be so adamant, and I think the Speaker of the House agrees with us, for the most part.

Severe reforms are on there way. I can’t imagine that any agency director, depending on state financing, will escape the budget ax. But, we’ll all try to be as fair as possible to all.

In the end, this is about Michigan families, and what they can afford. The burdens are heavy, and we’ll (democrats and republicans alike) focus keeping families whole through this terrible economic time.

I will write as news breaks, and if I learn how to add attachments, I’ll send along vital information. You can comment on my blog or send me an email at kennethhorn@house.mi.gov, and I will respond as I can. We’re getting hundreds of emails from concerned residents from the district. I answer as many as I can in a timely fashion.