People are hurting in Michigan and our suffering has been particularly prolonged and severe. Since early 2008, Michigan has lost nearly 400,000 jobs and is currently experiencing an unemployment rate of 15.2 percent, the highest in the nation. Despite such a devastating reality, the leadership in Lansing continues to lead us down the dangerous road of an ever-growing government, higher taxes and skyrocketing deficits.
Recently, a job trends report was released that clearly illustrates both Michigan’s desolate job market along with massive growth in federal employment. The report ranked the nation’s 50 most populous metropolitan areas. Not surprisingly, Washington D.C., home of the federal government, ranks number one in new job postings while Detroit ranks dead last.
Michigan residents understand that America’s economy needs a strong and vibrant domestic automotive industry. Our efforts must be focused on expediting the return of profitability for the Michigan automotive industry as quickly as possible in order to get Michiganders back to work. An additional benefit to a profitable automobile industry is evicting the federal czars from controlling influences.
As the major auto manufacturers restructure, we must also ensure that industries such as auto suppliers and car dealerships do not fall by the wayside. These businesses are inextricably linked to the success of the domestic auto manufacturers, our communities, jobs and the Michigan economy as a whole.
Agriculture is a large part of the economy for the 91st District and the state. We must protect an industry that is growing and is one of the largest in Michigan. Agriculture does not require or need further regulation by state or federal agencies, nor should it be intruded upon by outside “animal welfare” organizations that have an agenda that is not best for animals or agriculture.
While reinvigorating the auto industry and protecting the growing agricultural base of our state, we must attract new industry to our region. While major tax breaks have been given to the movie industry, that economic endeavor has been shown to transfer quickly when a “better deal” is given to them elsewhere. Therefore, we must concentrate on giving tax breaks and enticements to industries which have “staying power” in our state. We must increase all viable economic bases since diversity is the best policy economically to “weather the storms” of a downturn in the economy.
Michigan's economic woes are not a recent phenomenon. A quick recap of the statistics behind Michigan's economic decline is instructive as given by the Mackinac Center:
• Since 1995, when the state began "investing" more aggressively in economic development departments and programs, Michigan finished 50th among the 50 states in employment growth. Ours is the only state to lose jobs over that term.
• From 2002 through 2007 — roughly the period of America's last economic expansion — Michigan also experienced negative growth as measured by real state GDP (-1.7 percent).
• From 1999 through 2008, Michigan was the only state in the union to experience a negative state GDP growth rate.The year 1999, happens to be when the Michigan Economic Development Corp. was born — the latest incarnation of this state's "jobs" department.
• Michigan's per-capita personal income ranking has also tumbled from 1999 through 2008, from 16th to 34th. Incomes in Michigan are now 11.2 percent below the national average, the lowest point ever since statistics began in the early years of the Great Depression.
