The MI. Manufacturing Assoc.: The Great Debates

1.) Recognizing that manufacturing remains by far the largest sector of the Michigan economy and is fundamentally different than other sectors of the business community, what is your strategy to grow the Michigan economy? How will you design a competitive tax strucutre and economic development efforts to attract and retain high job multiplier effect industrial capital investment in Michigan, compared to the tax policies and aggressive incentive efforts of other States and nations?

First and foremost since one of the jobs of a State Legislator is to act as a liaison to the Federal government I would ask Congress-inclusive of the U.S. Senate to demand fair trade and if the American auto industry does not get fair trade, e.g., less stringent measures to sale U.S. automobiles in foreign markets, the U.S. should protect its markets with higher tariffs to protect manufacturing jobs that seem to have disappeared with a combination of free-trade/unfair trade imbalances and policies that prohibit a USA penetration into foreign markets.

Next I would promote from Lansing to transform the State Fair Grounds into a Research Park specializing in the Life Sciences and Green Technology, inclusive of bio-mass. Leveraging 143 acres of viable land into a high wage job center. Similarly, I would call for the closure of the Detroit Municipal Airport and transform it into a mega outlet/retail complex, e.g., bringing a CostCo, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart and several major national franchise eateries.

2.) With a per capita income that is about $6,000 lower than the national average, ranking 37th, Michigan must crub its historic spending trend. How ill you address the chronic structural deficit problem in Michigan?
Again, one way to curb spending is to shrink the size of the bureaucracy from 23 Departments and Agencies to about 17 or so and then to privatize non-core services like Housekeeping at Universities, Food Services and Housekeeping in Prisons, and mandating service sharing amongst municipalities like Hamtramck and Detroit and Highland Park, e.g., the school districts. Besides, holding a Con. Con. to determine how to shrink the size of the legislature to a UniCarmeral legislature to reduce the number from 148 to 74 and save tens of millions in the process.

3.) What changes would you propse for the regulatory system to improve Michigan's business climate and make Michigan manufacturers' more competitive?

I would like to speak to the the Michigan Manufacturing Association to determine issues that might be specific to their sector that I could advance meta what I have already advocated.