October 9, 2008 – 2:23 pm
(Part 9 in an 11-week economic plan to get Michigan moving again and get our people back to work)
There has been a lot of talk recently, both nationally and as part of the local political discussion, about the proper role of regulation. To some, regulation – any regulation – is always bad, an ideological position that I suppose makes up for impurity what it lacks in common sense.
Put simply, regulation is the rulebook, which governs the game, the playing field on which businesses compete. At one time in our nation’s history, child labor was acceptable. This meant that those businesses that refused to use child labor were too often put at an economic disadvantage when competing with businesses that did. By imposing regulations that ban the use of child labor, we as a society simply leveled the playing field, taking away the disincentive to do the right thing. That’s what regulation does when it’s used correctly.
Now, we can all point to regulations or bureaucratic processes that go too far or don’t make any sense. For example, a good friend recently reopened the grocery store in Kaleva. Residents of Kaleva and the surrounding area can now shop at Kaleva Meats where they’ll get a good steak and a smile from Dave and can save the gas it previously took to drive to the next nearest grocery store. The Kaleva Meats was recently told that it would take a full year to get their beer and wine permit. Now I understand the need for beer and wine licenses, but at a time when we are trying to encourage entrepreneurs like Dave to open up new businesses and create new jobs in our local communities, it’s crazy to me that something so simple would take so long. As our next State Representative I will work to promote common sense in our regulatory environment so that businesses can move forward.
Another area where I think we can see improvements is in the permitting process for areas, like alternative fuels, where Michigan has some unique strengths and has an opportunity to see significant job growth and investment. An example from California shows the impact licensing can have on our attempts to promote this exciting high-growth area. A couple years ago, California was trying to encourage growth in its emerging bio fuels sector but no matter how lucrative the tax incentives or how much the government backed research and development, efforts there seemed to see little movement. The reason: a business looking to distribute bio fuels had to go to nearly two dozen state agencies to receive an individual permit from each. This cumbersome process discouraged all but a few entrepreneurs from developing businesses in the bio-fuel area. Recognizing the effect this was having, California streamlined its permitting process allowing businesses to get all the necessary permits in one place. The actual health and safety protections went unchanged, but by making it easier for bio fuel companies to do business in California, many of them did.
As State Representative, I will take a hard look at regulations to find ways that we can make the permitting process easier and the regulations less onerous while protecting the safety of our workers, the health of our communities and the natural resources of our Great State. I will also work to ensure that regulations are appropriate to the specific context, and that we’re not promoting a one size fits all approach. Finally I will introduce legislation to create the position of Business Ombudsman, charged with hearing the concerns of the business community and working with both the administration and legislature to return common sense to Michigan’s regulatory environment. This last idea comes from Don Coe of Black Star Farms, who may have to discontinue part of his business-an area where he has been sending sales tax to the state for the last 8 years!-because of a change in interpretation in one of the regulations affecting his business. It is examples like this that hurt Michigan’s ability to compete.
However there is a bright-lined distinction between working to eliminate regulations that are either out-dated or redundant, and taking a firm ideological position that all regulation is bad. When one looks at the national housing market, or a stock market that is in free-fall, the idea that these problems were caused by too much regulation is simply ridiculous. And yet, that seems to be the position of my opponent. He has said, “Regulation is the bane of business,” and has even argued against regulation that would require equal pay for women when they do equal work. We don’t need to end regulation in Michigan; we just need to make it smarter. That’s just one more fundamental difference between my opponent and myself.
October 2, 2008 – 10:56 am
(Part 8 in an 11-week economic plan to get Michigan moving again and get our people back to work)
As we work to diversify our economy, create jobs, and get our economy back on track, there is no doubt that creating a competitive and predictable business tax environment is crucial to our success. As I’ve been arguing for years, we need to get back to basics in looking at business taxes in this state, ensuring that we’re providing a playing field that keeps rates low, minimizes compliance costs, gives businesses certainty in knowing what their tax liability is, and promotes – rather that discourages – job creation and growth.
This last point is especially important in a state working to lower our highest-in-the-nation unemployment rate of 8.9%. Too often we continue to give tax breaks to companies that are moving jobs out of Michigan, and often out of the country, meaning that Michigan taxpayers are actually subsidizing the elimination of Michigan jobs. That’s just crazy, and as State Representative I will end the tax giveaways for companies that outsource Michigan jobs. What’s more, I will redirect those incentives into companies that are creating good-paying jobs in Michigan, putting our focus – and our tax dollars – back where it should be.
I will also take a hard look at business tax rates to ensure we’re competitive in comparison to other states and will ensure we’re giving the right perception to those businesses looking to stay, grow and locate in Michigan. This table by the Federation of Tax Administrators shows how Michigan compares with state business taxes around the country. The good news is that Michigan’s basic business tax rate of 4.95% is the lowest among the Great Lakes states that are often our chief competitors. (Ohio’s rate ranges from 5.1-8.5%; Indiana’s rate is 8.5%; Illinois is at 7.3%; Wisconsin taxes at a rate of 7.9%; Minnesota is at 9.8%; and Pennsylvania’s business tax rate is 9.99%.) The bad news is that the 21.99% “surcharge” on Michigan’s business tax rate, a legacy of the debacle last year in enacting the new Michigan Business Tax, undermines both the competitiveness of our rates and the certainty businesses have in estimating their actual tax bill. For this reason, I support eliminating the MBT surcharge in a way that protects key investments in areas like schools, public safety, and economic development.
This principle of predictability in our business tax structure is less obvious than the need to keep our rates competitive, but just as important to our state’s ability to keep and attract job providers. The only thing worse than having a high tax bill is not knowing what your tax liability will be in the first place. If you are a business looking to stay in Michigan, or locate here, or grow here, you simply can’t make that decision if you don’t know what your costs are going to be, and when we play games with our business taxes, or when we settle for confusing and complicated business tax structures, we’re scaring off businesses and jobs, regardless of how competitive we are on rates. We need to do better.
Uncertainty also harms Michigan’s economic outlook in another way. When the legislature in 2006 eliminated the old Single Business Tax without saying what would replace it, the reaction from ratings analysts was swift. One day after this decision was made, Michigan’s credit ratings dropped, making it more expensive for the state to attract investment and providing less income in areas, like the 21st Century Jobs Fund, where we had issued bonds to jumpstart our economy. Removing the certainty of our business tax setup made borrowing money more expensive, which meant we had less money coming in to attract the growth industries of the future, had less money to diversify our state’s economy and get Michigan back on track, and had less money to attract new jobs. So we lost both in existing businesses, who had to make decisions without having any idea how much they would be expected to pay in taxes, and lost in our ability to attract new jobs to our state. That’s the damage caused by uncertainty and a lack of predictability, and why I will work as State Representative to ensure that businesses have the certainty they need to invest and grow in Michigan.
Finally, while I firmly believe that it is essential to have a competitive and predictable business tax environment, it is also true that we can’t stop there. There are some, like my opponent, who argue that lower rates are all we need to compete, ignoring the fact that our tax environment is just one of the many areas in which competition for jobs and business investment takes place. The truth is we also need to ensure we’re doing all we can to build on our strengths, and promote business investment in growth areas like renewable energy and others where we’re well placed to compete and are already creating jobs; we also need to invest in education, including community colleges and universities, to ensure we’re creating the highly-educated, highly-skilled workforce that it takes to compete in a globalized information economy; and we need to strengthen Michigan’s infrastructure in everything from our roads to the broadband connections we need to compete in a new century. As State Representative, I will be a consistent voice to make our business tax environment more competitive and more predictable, and I will also work to strengthen our hand in all the other ways in which we compete in today’s economy. That’s the way to create jobs and get Michigan moving again.
October 1, 2008 – 5:46 pm
With just 34 days to go until Election Day, the choice in this election is becoming clearer by the day. Over the next couple weeks, I hope to highlight the differences my opponent and I have on a number of key issues facing our state and our communities. Today we begin by highlighting our differences on the Great Lakes.
The difference on Great Lakes issues couldn’t be clearer. I have been a champion of efforts to protect the Great Lakes from a range of threats. As State Representative I will close the loopholes that allow private companies to take our water and will reaffirm the fact that Michigan’s water is a public resource belonging to the people of Michigan. Simply put, our water is not for sale.
Incredibly, my opponent takes a very different view. As recently as last week, at a candidate forum in Frankfort, he called the idea that our Great Lakes are at risk a “mis-begotten fallacy.” He went on to say that “the western states that want our water won’t be coming to Lake Michigan to get your water, they’re gonna go to the Mississippi River and stop there; it makes no sense to put a pipeline all the way to Lake Michigan.”
This is a dangerous position to take.
My opponent is essentially saying that we don’t have to worry about our lakes and that no protections are needed. His strategy for ensuring that future generations are able to enjoy all that Lake Michigan has to offer essentially comes down to hoping that western states and others are not thirsty enough to take our water. This is consistent with his earlier positions on Great Lakes issues where he called the recently signed Great Lakes Compact unnecessary and the idea that we should do more to protect the Great Lakes, ridiculous. This approach, of ignoring the very real threats facing the Great Lakes and burying your head in the sand when it comes to finding ways to protect them is wrong for Michigan and wrong for the voters of this district.
Not only is fresh water our most precious and abundant natural resource – it is our most defining in terms of our history and legacy as a state. As our nickname so aptly points out the “Great Lakes State,” which is often referred to as our country’s “third coast,” has been our lifeblood since even before statehood. From early settlement and the fur trade, to the lumber industry, and the mining boom of the Upper Peninsula, to regular shipping and trading, to the tourism boom… the Great Lakes define us as people and workers, and are part of our culture as Michiganians.
Anyone who represents the 101st district, with its hundreds of miles of lakeshore along Lake Michigan must be a champion in the legislature on issues pertaining to the Great Lakes and protecting Michigan’s water. With my background in environmental law and the support of a wide range of conservation organizations, I will be a strong and consistent voice for our Great Lakes. My opponent fails this crucial test.
September 25, 2008 – 6:00 pm
(Part 7 in an 11-week economic plan to get Michigan moving again and get our people back to work)
Last summer, on a business trip out east, I decided on the way home to get off the interstate and travel some of the state highways and county roads that wound through the small towns I otherwise would drive right by. In one of these towns I noticed an old brick schoolhouse located on the main street, and above the schoolhouse door, carved there into the stone, was a single word: Opportunity.
That idea, of education as opportunity, and a chance to make something more of yourself than would otherwise be possible, is even more relevant in today’s globalized knowledge economy than when that word was first carved into that stone. And so today, as part of our comprehensive blueprint to get Michigan’s economy back on track, it’s time to look at the importance of investment in education to building the globally competitive workforce Michigan needs to compete.
In fairness, the language “building a globally competitive workforce” comes from my good friends over at the Center for Michigan, a non-profit “think-and-do-tank” that has been active in articulating a Common Ground Agenda for Michigan’s Future, working to move beyond narrow ideology and the petty partisan gamesmanship that has done so much to hurt our state and develop an action plan that addresses the big challenges we’re facing. I’m honored to be a Founding Champion of the Center’s Michigan Defining Moment campaign, and I believe I am the only candidate for State Representative in Michigan, of either party, to serve as a Founding Champion for this effort.
As the Center points out, building this globally competitive workforce means going beyond the traditional K-12 approach to education and delivering the learning infrastructure necessary and relevant to the challenges of the 21st-century. So here are five big ideas to make sure we’re delivering the opportunity only education can provide:
· universal, quality pre-school education for all Michigan children;
· additional teachers and support staff to reduce class sizes, providing the one-on-one attention that can boost student achievement;
· ending the inequitable funding formula that hurts local students;
· additional investment in higher education to keep tuition low; and
· greater funding for skills training (including expanding Michigan’s No Worker Left Behind program) for workers who have been displaced by changes to Michigan’s economy.
Today’s news that Tower Automotive is going to close their auto parts manufacturing plant in Traverse City, putting 350 local people out of work, shows the importance of investing in ongoing education and skills training, and I’m calling on Governor Granholm to make funds available through the No Worker Left Behind program to assist local workers in getting the education and additional skills they’ll need to transition to new jobs. As I’ve written earlier, efforts such as these are essential if we’re going to weather difficult economic times, and we must and can do much more to ensure that those Michigan workers who have lost their jobs because of global changes to Michigan’s economy have the skills training they need to reenter the labor force at a competitive wage.
We know that education is absolutely crucial to increasing Michigan’s economic competitiveness in a global, information-based economy. As State Representative, I look forward to leading efforts to ensure that, from early childhood through an affordable college degree to the skills training and lifelong learning opportunities for those currently in the workforce, we’re doing all we can to build the globally competitive workforce it will take to get Michigan moving again.
September 24, 2008 – 2:33 pm
Earlier today, at Senior Centers across the district, I launched an aggressive effort to ensure that our local senior citizens have a State Representative who is standing up for their interests in Lansing. Local seniors should be able to enjoy their retirement years with peace of mind and dignity. Unfortunately, as a result of the recent turbulence in the financial markets, many seniors fear that the money they saved for retirement may not be enough.
My plan will ensure a secure retirement for all Michigan seniors, hold drug companies responsible when their products harm or kill, and add needed protections from predatory lenders that threaten the ability of seniors to hold on to their homes. Finally, because many seniors live on a fixed income, my plan will ensure that property taxes don’t increase when home values fall, and I will reform state government to ensure that it is effective, efficient, and accountable to Michigan taxpayers.
Here are the specifics of the plan I laid out:
Promote a secure retirement for Michigan seniors
• I will fight efforts that jeopardize retirement security and weaken pension protections for Michigan seniors, including proposals to privatize public pensions.
• According to a June 2008 report by the global consulting firm Watson Wyatt, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, traditional pension plans outperformed private investment accounts, providing both more certainty and more money to pay for retirement.
End drug industry immunity and allow seniors to hold big drug companies accountable when their products harm or kill Michigan residents
• Repeal Michigan’s one-of-a-kind law that gives drug companies immunity from legal action so long as the drug in question has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• Make the repeal retroactive so that Michigan residents harmed by dangerous drugs since 1996 can seek legal recourse.
• Extend the Consumer Protection Act to cover drug companies.
Protect seniors by cutting taxes and cracking down on predatory lending
• Prevent property taxes from rising when the value of a home declines.
• Ban predatory lending practices, such as making loans without requiring a borrower to prove their ability to pay, encouraging a borrower to default, and charging fees for a payoff statement.
• Protect homeowners’ equity by prohibiting home refinancing to generate fees for the lender unless there is a tangible net benefit to the borrower and protect consumers from being steered toward high-cost loans when they would otherwise qualify for a traditional loan.
Make state government more efficient, effective and accountable to Michigan taxpayers
• Cut the salaries of elected officials by 5% to reduce the cost of government.
• End free lifetime health care benefits for lawmakers and other elected officials. No other job guarantees a person free lifetime health care after working for only six years.
• Prohibit lawmakers from becoming lobbyists for two years after leaving office.
• Pursue a broad-based bi-partisan reform agenda that invests in key budget priorities by reducing government expenditures that fail to deliver value to taxpayers.
These common-sense proposals will improve the lives of local seniors, and ensure they have a representative in Lansing who is on their side.
You can see pictures of Dan’s visits here.
September 18, 2008 – 12:28 pm
(Part 6 in an 11-week economic plan to get Michigan moving again and get our people back to work)
This week’s installment of our plan to get Michigan moving again focuses squarely on renewable energy issues and their potential to help get Michigan’s economy back on track. I know I’ve covered much of this before, but with so much action this week on renewable energy – from some long-awaited legislation at the state level to an exciting project to manufacture a new form of wind turbine coming to Manistee – it really does deserve a post all its own.
To start, after a deal was reached on a comprehensive energy package yesterday morning, both the State House and State Senate finally voted to commit to meeting 10% of our energy needs through renewable sources by 2015. Locally, this bill had the support of all three of the individuals who cover the 101st District in Lansing: State Representative David Palsrok (R-Manistee); State Senator Michelle McManus (R-Lake Leelanau); and State Senator Gerald Van Woerkom (R-Norton Shores).
What’s more, these local Republicans also stressed the economic potential of this legislation, with Rep. Palsrok cited by the Michigan Information and Research Service as stressing that doing nothing was significantly more expensive than the cost of the package, and Sen. McManus saying “Had we done nothing, energy rates would have increased and Michigan would have lost out on billions of dollars worth of new jobs and investment. The cutting-edge, clean energy technologies brought forth in this plan will create good-paying jobs and will help ensure a safe and reliable energy future for Michigan residents and job providers.” This echoes the point made by State Senator Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) that “Passage of the bills definitely has the potential to help the region’s economy.” Despite the broad-based consensus of the economic impact of this legislation – including both the jobs it will help create and the long-range negative impact on Michigan residents of doing nothing – my opponent continues to oppose affordable, renewable energy, saying “alternative energy doesn’t work.”
The legislation passed by the state legislature yesterday is an important first step in building a long-range energy plan to make Michigan more competitive and in creating jobs now in this exciting growth area. What’s more, the fact that the legislation was supported by groups ranging from the Michigan Environmental Council to the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Manufacturers Association shows that renewable energy solutions can help slow global warming and protect our natural environment while creating jobs and sparking investment in Michigan. This truly is a win-win, and a step towards a more diversified economy and a more prosperous Michigan. The cost for this: $3 a month. Not bad for a plan that can add 30,000 jobs to Michigan, and as part of an overall clean technology strategy than can reduce our highest-in-the-nation unemployment rate by nearly two points.
Locally, Northwest Michigan is well-placed to benefit from statewide efforts to promote renewable energy technologies. Earlier this week came the announcement that Manistee-based MasTech Manufacturing, Inc. had verbally closed a deal with Mariah Power to manufacture Mariah’s “Windspire” vertical wind axis in Manistee. The $4 million deal will generate 40 new jobs in Manistee over the next few months, with more than 100 jobs to be created over the next three years. This deal was the result of local leadership and collaboration between private companies, local economic development officials, and Manistee County and City governments, as well as a number of committed local citizens. During the process I wrote to both Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Jim Epolito and Governor Jennifer Granholm to formally request that MEDC reconsider its earlier decision to reject a $2 million low-interest loan for the two companies from the state’s 21st Century Job Fund; ultimately the project went ahead without any backing from the state. Bringing the company to Manistee will help create good jobs right here in our community. It will also build on the Michigan Energy Fair – held each June in Manistee County – and the many other local efforts being made to position our area to lead in the high-growth renewable energy industry. The economic potential of renewable energy is not theoretical; we’re seeing first-hand how important it can be to our region, and how we can compete to lead in the high-growth renewable energy arena.
Finally, this week also saw a visit from New York Times columnist Tom Friedman to our state, where he reminded us that as important as the energy bill and other efforts are, they are only a first step in building our energy future. Friedman has been a strong proponent of efforts to promote clean technology, and has argued that investing in renewable energy and other “green” initiatives is, in his words, “geostrategic, geoeconomic, capitalistic and patriotic.” His essay last year, “The Power of Green,” is a must-read for anyone who hopes to truly understand the global forces, scientific evidence, and economic opportunities that climate change presents. So when Tom Friedman comes to Michigan to talk about how we can position ourselves on the cutting edge of the green economy to improve our state’s economy, we should all pay attention. In his speech, Friedman argued that Michigan needed to go beyond simply joining the ranks of those states with Renewable Portfolio Standards and should instead “have the highest renewable portfolio standard in the country,” saying that this will help ensure that Michigan-based innovators have a domestic market for their products.
Friedman reminds us we need to measure our success not by how we compare to Michigan five years ago, but whether we’re truly positioned to lead renewable energy efforts in an increasingly globalized world. The announcement earlier this week by MasTech and Mariah Power shows just how exciting an opportunity this is for our region, and the jobs impact leadership in this sector can have. And the passage of the energy package by the state legislature is the necessary first step to diversifying our economy, securing reliable, affordable energy for Michigan residents, and bringing jobs back to Michigan. It’s an exciting week to live in Michigan!
September 17, 2008 – 2:44 pm
For the past 2 years, legislators in Lansing have been dragging their feet about whether or not to pass the renewable energy portfolio standard.
C’mon already!
Time and time again I have highlighted the importance of Michigan’s investment in renewable energy. The faster we pass this legislation; the sooner companies will be given the go-ahead that it is safe to invest in Michigan. Indeed, a report released earlier this month shows that investment in renewable energy has the potential to create 60 thousand jobs right here in Michigan. With a quality workforce that is ready to embrace the ‘green-collar’ jobs of the 21st century, and the quality of life to keep them here, we are well placed to lead America into the jobs of the future.
My opponent disagrees. In launching his campaign earlier this year he told the Ludington Daily News that “Alternative energy does not work.” Not only that, he doesn’t even believe in climate change. This shows that not only is he wrong on the science, but by putting ideology over common sense he costs Michigan jobs and continues to hurt efforts to improve our economy.
Even local Republicans disagree with my opponent on this issue.
State Senator Jason Allen, told the Traverse City Record Eagle last Sunday that, “Legislation is important to show how the state will use renewable resources in the future. Passage of the bills definitely has the potential to help the region’s economy.”
Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the country, and by pursuing a right-wing ideological agenda instead of the common-sense efforts needed to create jobs now, my opponent shows just how out of step he is with the concerns of ordinary residents of this district.
We can do better.
September 11, 2008 – 2:07 pm
(Part 5 in an 11-week economic plan to get Michigan moving again and get our people back to work)
In 1935, President Roosevelt issued an executive order creating the Rural Electrification Administration; Congress followed Roosevelt’s lead the following year by passing the Rural Electification Act, called one of the most important elements of the New Deal. Prior to Roosevelt’s action, just 10% of rural families had electricity, a number that jumped to 40% of rural households in five short years! Congress amended the REA in 1949 to extend telephone service to rural areas, and today the agency also helps modernize water and sewer systems in our rural communities.
By making loans available to local electrification cooperative, which were often driven by farmers, the Rural Electrification Act helped farmers modernize their operations, provided the encouragement necessary for private electric companies to connect rural households (which ultimately lowered electric rates), and made it possible for businesses to remain and grow in rural America.
So what?
Well, as important as extending electricity to rural areas was to reviving the economy of the 1930s, access to broadband is at least as important to growing Michigan’s economy today. Indeed, as former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta and media expert Robert McChesney noted, broadband represents “a technology that, in terms of powering economies, could be the 21st century equivalent of electricity.” Moreover, while many assume that access to broadband is universal, 60% of American households do not have access to broadband either because it is unavailable or unaffordable, and our global position is getting worse: “since 2001, according to the International Telecommunications Union, the United States has fallen from fourth to 16th in the world in broadband penetration.”
We can do better. Indeed, a number of efforts to expand access to broadband are already underway in our communities.
Fittingly, many of those leading the charge to connect our local rural areas to high speed internet are also farmers, inheritors of the legacy left by those who helped bring electricity to rural America nearly 75 years ago. In my experience as co-chair of the economic development committee for the Northport-Omena Chamber of Commerce, it was a local cherry grower, concerned about his ability to conduct his business in the 21st century without high speed internet, that led our local efforts to bring broadband to those parts of Leelanau Township that currently have only dial-up.
Access to broadband is particularly important to employers and employees alike in an era of high gas prices. Some states are already experimenting with the idea of a four-day work week, and at least one Michigan county is following suit. While many of these changes are simply a reshuffling of hours, efforts to expand broadband connections can help accelerate these workforce changes. In addition, an increasing percentage of our workforce – especially the knowledge workers Michigan is trying hard to attract – are able to work from anywhere they have a high speed connection. With all that Michigan has to offer, from natural beauty of our state to the unique character of our communities, we need to ensure we’re not placing obstacles in the way of these knowledge workers locating their business operations in Michigan.
I have seen first-hand the opportunity access to broadband presents for Michigan’s economy. My work with my local chamber of commerce on these issues, as well as knowing people across the district who would be forced to live and do business elsewhere without access to high speed internet, have made me a true believer in the economic impact a more aggressive broadband strategy can have. Indeed, according to a 2001 study from the Brookings Institution, the widespread adoption of basic broadband could add $500 billion to the U.S. economy and create 1.2 million new jobs per year. Here in Michigan, we simply cannot afford to allow those jobs to pass us by, and as State Representative I will work to ensure we’re enabling all Michigan residents – regardless of where they live – to plug into the economic opportunities broadband access can provide.
September 8, 2008 – 4:27 pm
Scripps Launches
‘New Michigan Now‘
Campaign will fix broken Legislature, create jobs for Michigan workers
MANISTEE – House candidate Dan Scripps (D-Northport) today launched the “New Michigan Now” campaign, a sweeping plan that aims to create good-paying jobs that cannot be outsourced, reform Michigan government, strengthen education and expand the role of renewable energy in Michigan.
“Our residents deserve a ‘New Michigan Now‘ – they are sick and tired of watching their jobs outsourced to other countries while the Legislature does nothing,” said Scripps, a candidate for the 101st House District, consisting of Benzie, Leelanau, Manistee and Mason counties. “The special interests and big corporations have far too much power in Lansing. As State Representative I will be a strong voice for working families, and that means returning the Legislature to the people, where it belongs.”
Announced across the state today, the “New Michigan Now” campaign encompasses a six-point plan to move Michigan forward by:
• Creating good-paying jobs and protecting Michigan workers.
• Reforming state government, cutting government spending and cutting taxes for homeowners.
• Strengthening education to create the new workforce for the 21st century.
• Building our energy independence and creating jobs.
• Protecting Michigan’s land, air, water and quality of life.
• Strengthening health care and protecting Michigan residents.
Scripps is an active member of his community, serving as the co-chair of the economic development committee for his local chamber of commerce and as Vice President of the Leelanau Children’s Center. An attorney, he is an expert in environmental and energy issues, and participated in a think tank discussion on climate change and energy policy solutions at the Rothbury Music Festival in July. Scripps and his wife Jamie are members of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church near Beulah.
“Northwest Michigan is home to the hardest workers in the country,” Scripps said. “They deserve good-paying jobs, quality health care and a great education for their children, and that’s exactly what ‘New Michigan Now‘ will give them. We need to get our state back on track, and this plan will fix our broken legislature and get our economy moving again.”
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You can read more about the ‘New Michigan Now’ campaign by downloading a PDF here.
You can watch the press conference in two parts here:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ3uwfi1Fjw[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXc1-x9CPfE[/youtube]
September 4, 2008 – 5:19 pm
(Part 4 in an 11-week economic plan to get Michigan moving again and get our people back to work)
This past Monday we celebrated Labor Day. For many people, Labor Day marks the end of summer, or a chance to enjoy a three-day weekend. For politicians and the media, Labor Day is the semi-official start of the fall election campaign. But at its heart, Labor Day is a celebration of our working families, the hard-working men and women who drive our economy. And so it’s fitting that as we continue to outline a plan to grow our economy and bring prosperity back to Michigan, we take a moment this Labor Day week to ensure that all of us have the opportunity to share in the new prosperity this plan creates.
A recent study from the Economic Policy Institute illustrates the scope of the problem. As the study notes, during the last decade “Gross domestic product and historically high productivity growth should have raised paychecks up and down the income ladder, but instead the benefits of that growth have bypassed most of the people who made it possible.” This is in contrast to the U.S economy’s performance during the 1990s, when under President Clinton the expanding economy also created a record number of new jobs and lifted the wages of workers at all income levels. As one of the study’s authors noted, “If job growth from 2000 to 2007 had matched the 1990s cycle, the economy would have added 7 million more jobs than it did.” Indeed, according to a report released this morning by the U.S Department of Labor, worker productivity rose 4.3% in the second quarter of 2008, even while the number of unemployment rate continued to increase.
We cannot afford to continue down this path. Simply put, it is shameful that increases in worker productivity are often reflected only in increased profits for investors, while the men and women who made those profits possible fall farther and farther behind. Worse, too often the only thanks workers receive for their efforts is a pink slip, letting them know that despite their work, and despite the increases in their productivity, their jobs are being shipped overseas. As State Representative, I will fight for Michigan working families by eliminating tax breaks and ending state contracts for any company that outsources Michigan jobs. And I will make Michigan more attractive for those businesses that are interested in putting our people back to work by cutting taxes for companies that hire Michigan workers and requiring that all businesses that contract with the state hire Michigan workers. No longer will we subsidize with our state tax dollars the outsourcing of Michigan jobs, and by supporting efforts to “Hire Michigan First” we can create jobs while cracking down on illegal immigration.
However, while we need to restore economic fairness to Michigan’s working families, we also need to step up our efforts to provide education and skills training for those workers who have been displaced by changes to our state’s economy. Efforts such as the “No Worker Left Behind” program are essential if we’re going to develop the highly-educated, highly-skilled workforce we need to compete in a globalized information economy. We must and can do much more to ensure that those Michigan workers who have lost their jobs because of global changes to Michigan’s economy have the skills training they need to reenter the labor force at a competitive wage.
Finally, as State Representative I will continue to stand up for Michigan’s middle class and actively oppose efforts that would gut the ability of Michigan workers to join a union. Keeping our labor protections in place is a central element of restoring broad-based prosperity for all of us – whether we belong to a union or not. The simple fact is that wages in so-called “Right to Work” states are 6% to 8% lower than they are in states where the ability of workers to join a union is protected. Especially now, with the price of food, gas and other essentials continuing to increase, none of us – whether we’re union or not – can afford to cut wages to Michigan’s working families.
Going door-to-door, meeting the men and women who have brought Michigan a middle class that is the envy of the rest of the world and created a century of broadly-shared prosperity, I know that it will be Michigan’s working families who will drive our economic turnaround. And especially during this Labor Day week, our working men and women deserve our thanks.
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