This year’s annual summer meeting of the National Governors Association in Traverse City focused on using innovation to drive economic growth and success in a global economy – a topic that every state in the nation is discussing.

In Michigan, we’ve already seen that globalization – and our response to it – can have an enormous impact on families. For some, like the displaced workers whose jobs have been sent to China or Mexico, the global economy can be devastating. And for others, like those who are trained in new skills and get high-tech, high-paying jobs that didn’t exist a decade ago, globalization can mean amazing opportunities.

Our innovative education initiative is a great example of the groundbreaking, comprehensive approach that has been put in place in Michigan to improve competitiveness and promote economic growth. The Michigan Promise scholarship offers all students an opportunity to get $4,000 for college, allowing Michigan students to benefit from training that is critical for success in a knowledge-based economy. And, rigorous new high school curriculum standards ensure that students are well-prepared to enter the workforce and to continue education beyond high school. All of these measures bolster Michigan’s position as a desirable location for cutting-edge technology businesses to locate and grow jobs.

We’ve already set in motion an aggressive economic plan to help those families who are hurt by globalization get back on their feet. Our plan is to bring more good-paying jobs and create more knowledge-economy success stories – the key to everything we are doing is innovation.

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