Michigan is still paying for Engler. His first 4 years brought change, the last 8 not so good.
Engler cut a lot of taxes and the size of state government. There is nothing that you are paying for from Engler. The budget was in balance during his adminestration but heading into a recession there was not enough revinue.
When you get a Democrat in who grows the size of government instead of cutting it in the middle of a recession you just have a huge problem. You just don’t spend more when you are taking in less.