Welcome

Issues

​When I get to Lansing there are 2 main issues that I will focus on

Economic Growth
This is a wide ranging issue, but broad based economic growth is the most effective way to improve the lives of the people in this district and the state. In order to achieve this growth and establish a foundation for future prosperity there are certain key areas to address:

1. Infrastructure investment – Our state’s and district’s roads, bridges, sewers and water mains are in need of serious investment. According to the 2009 American Society of Civil Engineers Michigan Section report, the overall grade of Michigan’s infrastructure is a D. Roads and bridges specifically need an annual investment of over $6 billion for basic improvements and proper maintenance. Without increasing funding for roads now, the costs of repairs will continue to grow. In addition to the statewide costs, poor roads have an impact on the everyday driver as well. According to TRIP Transportation Research Group the condition of Michigan’s roads cause an average of $357 in unneeded auto repairs to Michigan drivers. Instead of spending that money on repairs, let’s invest it in our infrastructure.

2. New business growth – In an article in The Review of Economics and Statistics, authors Haltiwinger, Jarmin, and Miranda show that a company’s age is the biggest factor in new job creation. Start-ups and young companies are the engines that drive labor growth. Established companies, while important to overall economic growth and stability, play a much smaller roll in non-farm labor growth. With this being the case, public policy needs to be focused on helping entrepreneurs overcome the hurdles that are present in starting a business. As a small business owner myself, I have the experience and understanding needed to establish those policies that will encourage entrepreneurship and lower the barriers to entry for new companies.

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Mike working at his business (Courtesy John McTaggart)
3. Affordable higher education – The economy of the 21st century is progressively becoming information and technology based. Case in point, you can walk inside an auto assembly plant and you might ask yourself “Where are all the people at?” Jobs have moved from physically attaching parts to designing the systems that accomplish those tasks. This transition will continue in all the other sectors and college educated workers are needed to fill those positions. There will be a tremendous shortage of these educated workers if students today cannot afford to go to college. Working to control the increase in costs of education to the rate of inflation or less, in combination with reasonable student loan rates, gives Michigan the best opportunity to ensure that there is the needed workforce for this evolving 21st century economy.

4. Controlling the ever expanding cost of healthcare – According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit healthcare information source, Michigan’s health care spending per-capita went from $5,449 in 2005 to $6,618 in 2009. That is an average yearly increase of over 5%, which is an untenable trajectory. As seen through the Detroit bankruptcy, healthcare costs are a major concern to municipalities, families, and businesses and having a 5% year over year growth to healthcare costs puts them all in a precarious position. As a state, we need to have policies that encourage and reward preventative healthcare. This is the most effective way to slow rising healthcare costs, and in the process, free up funds to grow other sectors of the economy. 



Commitment to Social Justice
Simply put, social justice means a fundamental respect for the God given dignity that every person has and a belief everybody deserves a fair shake in life. That society’s most vulnerable members (the poor, elderly, mentally ill) are not left behind to fend for themselves while everybody else sees opportunity and prosperity. That everybody has the chance to grab the first rung on the ladder of opportunity.  

From a practical standpoint this means focusing on the following areas:

Commitment to public safety – Independent of income bracket, everybody in Michigan has a right to live in a safe neighborhood. The reality, however, is that lower income areas see disproportionately more crime than affluent areas. Proper policies and appropriate funding need to be established so that all children can play and go to school in a safe neighborhood without worrying about violence and crime.  

Adjusting the Earned Income Credit (EIC) – With wages effectively flat for the better part of the last decade and inflation increasing the cost of living, the EIC is the most cost effective way to help working families make ends meet. In 2012, however, the Michigan EIC was slashed from 20% of the federal amount to 6%. This reduction has put an unfair burden on working families when every dollar is important. It should be accepted practice in this state that if you work full time, you can afford to pay the cost of living. Increasing the EIC is essential to achieving that target.

Mental health funding – As seen through numerous news stories, mentally ill individuals oftentimes are a safety risk to themselves and possibly others. Since 2009 Michigan has reduced the amount spent on mental health funding by over $54 million. These policies, while economically driven, have been counterproductive in their goal. Reducing spending on mental health does not reduce the problem of mental health illnesses. All it does is transfer individuals who should be treated in a hospital with proper care to, most often, a correctional facility ill-equipped to provide this care. On top of this substandard care, there is a higher cost of handling these people in a jail as opposed to a medical setting (Approximately $31k vs $10k per year).

Public defender funding – In 2010 Michigan’s funding for public defender programs was $7.35 per capita, about 38% less than the national average and ranked ahead of only 6 states in the nation. Just this past March, a $750,000 increase was appropriated, but this is still not enough. Having an underfunded program hinders talented attorneys from talking up public defense and leaves these jobs to underqualified and ineffective lawyers. This lack of funding, and the associated lack of talent in the programs, creates two significant and unacceptable outcomes. The first result is that the poorest of our community get lousy representation and oftentimes do not get a fair shake in the court systems. The second is that the state wastes a lot of money. According to the State Appellate Defender Office, Michigan would save $132 million a year in prison costs if it eliminated the excessive penalties judges impose because of improper application of state sentencing guidelines and having capable public defenders will do just that. Additionally, in 2008, 48% of all filings by that same office cited ineffective assistance of counsel as the reason for appeal. This is an increase from 14% in 1981. Increasing funding for the public defenders in this state not only aids the poor in receiving justice, but saves the state money from unnecessary appeals and prison sentences.