Over the course of this campaign, I have focused on a single key issue: how to rebuild Michigan’s economy and get our people back to work. As part of this effort to shine a spotlight on Michigan’s economic challenges and opportunities, over the last eleven weeks I’ve laid out a comprehensive plan – one week at a time – to reposition Michigan on the cutting edge of a new century and give our workers the tools to compete and thrive in a globalized knowledge economy.  Today I want to connect the dots of the previous eleven weeks to provide a Blueprint for how we get from the Michigan of today to the state we need to build for tomorrow.

If we’re going to turn our state around, we need new leadership in Lansing that understands the global forces impacting Michigan’s economy.  Here are eleven ideas to get Michigan back on track:

* Focus on economic fundamentals – fiscal discipline; a competitive and predictable tax structure; and investments in human capital.
* Build on Michigan’s strengths by promoting our competitive advantages in the areas of  renewable energy; agriculture and agricultural processing; health care and biosciences; and advanced manufacturing.
* Promote Michigan’s vibrant and growing tourism economy, including the creation of the Michigan Tourism Investment Corporation, a public-private partnership to take the politics out of tourism promotion.
* Investing in Michigan’s working families by promoting efforts to “Hire Michigan First,” and expand the “No worker Left Behind” program for workers who have seen their jobs disappear.
* Expand efforts to promote broadband and high-speed internet access, ensuring we’re allowing local businesses and individuals to connect to the global economy and building the infrastructure of the 21st Century.
* Push hard on renewable energy efforts that are already paying dividends locally with new jobs in Northwest Michigan.
* Build the globally competitive workforce Michigan needs to compete in the new knowledge economy.
* Work to create the competitive and predictable business climate Michigan needs to attract investment and create jobs.
* Streamline outdated and redundant regulations to boost Michigan’s competitiveness while ensuring worker safety, environmental protection, consumer safeguards, and retirement security.
* Stand up for small businesses by working to develop new economic development tools and boosting incentives to create a new entrepreneurial culture in Michigan, and
* End the political delays that harm Michigan’s economic outlook by insisting on common-sense economic and budgetary leadership instead of the same old partisan gimmicks.

This Blueprint represents a comprehensive, cohesive approach to rebuilding Michigan’s struggling economy, and working to build a Michigan that is well-equiped to compete in our global economy.  And this focus on Michigan’s economy has not only been the defining theme of my campaign, it will also be my central priority as our next State Representative.  While my opponent attempts to change the subject to something – anything – other that our economic proposals, I understand that local voters deserve a State Representative who will work every day to create jobs, attract investment, and get Michigan’s economy back on track.