I’m too sleepy to watch it all right now… If you could watch it and let me know what you think, I’d appreciate it.
Here, before I drift off, I’ll get the ball rolling with something positive. I like his pro-immigration stance. With so many states flying the anti-immigration banner these days, I like the idea that Michigan could distinguish itself as immigrant-friendly. As the only state in the nation losing population, it only makes sense. And, if we’re going to turn the economy here around, we’re going to need knowledge workers, from wherever we can get them, who will stay here and put down roots.
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I liked how he told public workers, teachers and University employees how they’d have to tough it out, tighten their belts and get by with less, only days after giving the new head of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation a $50,000 dollar a year raise.
I was too sleepy to watch the whole thing too, but I did notice that he was brave enough to be pro-imigration, so I’m looking forward to watching the whole thing a little bit more, now.
Michigan Radio has the outline of the speech for anybody who doesn’t want to spend 45 mins watching it.
His support for the DRIC (second, publicly-owned, bridge to Windsor) really is as interesting as the news is treating it – recall this is a project that was blocked by the Republican State Senate last year, even though their alternative, a second, private bridge next to the Ambassador, was not going to be permitted by the Canadians, and Canada had further offered to pay for our share of construction costs for the DRIC.
As if a free, possible bridge wasn’t already a better idea than a purely fictional private bridge, Gov. Snyder has apparently convinced the Federal government to treat the $550m the Canadians would be covering for our share of the bridge as Michigan spending for purposes of matching Federal road dollars – money we would have been leaving on the table (to go to other States) due to our inability to come up with a match. If that works out, it would be a brilliant debut – though, for his sake, one hopes that he let some of the Republican leaders in the legislature know that he was going to start his term by picking up one of the biggest pieces of unfinished Democratic business from the last term.
Murph, did he give any hints about trains, and whether he’d support the state match we’d need to make the Detroit – Ann Arbor line happen?
And, yes, he’s pro-immigration, but it’s not migrant workers he’s talking about. Still, it’s good to hear someone say something good about immigrants for a change. This is something that he’s been passionate about for years, though, so it’s not really a surprise.
As a UM employee I can’t imagine getting a lower raise than I already get. Isn’t 1% low enough?
As a teacher, I can’t imagine how much more belt tightening I have to do…oh wait, yes I can :( :(
Attracting more highly-skilled immigrants to spur innovation and start businesses is fine, but begs the question: Why aren’t we doing more to develop our own highly-skilled professionals and entrepreneurs?
I fear this plan will only serve to fuel inequality and resentment between the “successful” new arrivals and the millions of Michigan residents who have fallen behind in income and education.
I like cutting the Michigan business tax, although I don’t remember him saying how we’d make up for the lost income.
I like the continued support of the Pure Michigan campaign. It’s expensive at $25 million a year, but it’s proven to be worth the investment.
I like the idea of the Michigan dashboard (http://www.michigan.gov/accountability/). It’s kind of gimmicky, but there’s some good data, and I like the idea that we can monitor it.
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/accountability/MichiganScorecard_V6_343176_7.pdf
One thing I didn’t hear, though. I didn’t hear Governor Snyder tell when he plans to make his birth certificate public. That causes me a great deal of concern.
Edward – nothing specifically mentioned about trains, though he did reiterate, generally, that MDOT was paired with MEDC, MSHDA, and DELEG in the Mike Finney-headed “executive group focused on economic growth”.
I will note that Rep. Wayne Schmidt has reintroduced the match legislation from last session; it’s now HB 4035.
I believe the Michigan Business Tax will be replaced by a 6 percent net corporate income tax.
If the immigration thing doesn’t upset the Tea Party, I suspect the mandated physicals will.
@Christine
“As a UM employee I can’t imagine getting a lower raise than I already get. Isn’t 1% low enough?”
Imagine getting a pay cut. Many thousands in this state have.