Completion of Budget Bills Will Pave Way for Economic Plan .(MP3- 3MB)

Governor Granholm, Swedish Ambassador to U.S. Discuss Mutual Cooperation, Alternative Energy

At the start of this month, I reached an historic agreement with legislators to solve Michigan’s budget crisis with a combination of cuts, reforms, and new revenues. The new revenues were put into place and some reforms were passed into law, but there’s still more to do. The Legislature is finishing up the budget bills with the cuts for this year and has until Wednesday, October 31, to act on these final budget bills. They are making good progress.

In the face of globalization and trade and outsourcing policies that have devastated Michigan’s economy and the fiscal policies of the 90s that blew through a $1 billion surplus, we had to make a lot of tough choices to get this budget agreement in place. And legislators face more tough votes on the cuts in these final budget bills.

Despite the tough votes, this agreement was right for Michigan because it allowed us to avoid massive cuts to health care, public safety, and education. It allows us to invest in schools, colleges, and universities and in our critical local services like police and fire protection – and it will cost just pennies a day per person.

The truth is that there are more tough votes ahead. I’ll keep pushing for prison reforms to bring our state incarceration rates and corrections spending in line with our neighboring states. And we need to rein in health care costs and move to reduce the “hidden tax” we all pay in our health insurance premiums when the uninsured are forced to use the emergency room for care.

All of these next steps are critical in order for us to avoid another budget crisis a few years down the road. And we need to avoid another crisis if we want to make the critical investments necessary to revitalize Michigan’s economy.

Our long-term plan includes doubling the number of college graduates, making Michigan a leader in the cutting-edge alternative energy industry, reinvigorating our cities, finding innovative solutions to control health care costs and extend coverage to all Michigan citizens.

All of this is attainable if our plan is balanced with careful, prioritized spending of taxpayer dollars and further significant government reforms. As the Legislature works to pass the final budget bills for the current year, they are working to put Michigan’s fiscal house in order so that our economic plan can ensure that Michigan is a great place to live, learn, and earn.

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