Two events on Thursday, happening hundreds of miles away from each other, both made the same point: the Republican Party, which once claimed to be the party of fiscal responsibility, is increasingly irresponsible with our money.

In Michigan, the GOP-controlled State House voted to eliminate the Single Business Tax by the end of 2007. I blogged about this earlier but the bill would create a $1.9 billion shortfall, while offering no plan to pay for it. Many of us – myself included – believe there is a need to reform the SBT. (Last year, Governor Granholm offered a plan that had the backing of businesses across the state. Ultimately, however, the GOP House bowed to pressure from the insurance industry, and the governor’s plan was scrapped.) However, while we should work together to reform business taxes in this state, simply eliminating a revenue stream that makes up over 20% of the state’s general fund shows a disconnect between the GOP State House leadership and the fiscal realities facing our state.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress voted to once again raise the debt limit to nearly $9 trillion – the fourth time the debt limit has been raised during the Bush administration. Astonishingly, and in a move that highlights once and for all how far removed today’s GOP is from their heritage of fiscal prudence, Congress also approved over $100 billion dollars in new spending without offering a single dime in new savings.

Bill Clinton once stated “the era of big government is over.”? Republicans in Congress have shown that with their hands on the levers of power, the era of big government has only just begun.