From today's Detroit Free Press:
MICHIGAN'S JOB CRISIS:
GRANHOLM: 'We must eat or be eaten'
Gov. Jennifer Granholm sounded an urgent note to the Detroit Economic Club Monday, saying the state faces a jobs crisis that can only be solved with a better-educated workforce, fairer taxes and more-aggressive pursuit of technology industries.
"We must eat or be eaten as a state," she said. "I, as governor, refuse to let us become some other country's meal."
Granholm reiterated her proposals aimed at creating jobs immediately and producing more college graduates in the long term. Highlights of her speech:
Single business tax: "Tax cuts are not the only factor to job creation," she said. "A fair tax structure is important to job growth." But, she added, taxes on manufacturers, who would benefit most from her tax change proposal, are too high.
Loss of manufacturing jobs: "We have to be honest and say those" low-skill "jobs aren't coming back," Granholm said. "We need to wake up."
Education: "Every child in Michigan must go on to college," she said. Granholm said her plan to revamp the Michigan Merit Scholarship will encourage more students to earn college degrees. She proposes paying students $4,000 after they complete two years of college.
Labor unions: Michigan should not become a right-to-work state, she said. Unions "understand the global economy. They understand the importance of making the Big Three competitive."
I like Granholm's tough talk. I am afraid that the Republican-led state legislature doesn't have the cajones to do anything about it.
We will see.
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