Governor John Engler
First Inaugural Address - January 1, 1991
As we gather today for the Inauguration of a new Governor, we once again do so in the
shadow of the building which, more than any other, symbolizes our state government.
But today, things are a little different. Our old beloved Capitol is undergoing much
needed repairs. Indeed, our Capitol restoration project will truly breathe new life into
this grand structure.
Fellow citizens, just as we are restoring and renewing this great building, it is now
our opportunity and our responsibility to restore and renew this great state.
For as we enter this new decade, and as we look ahead to the new century beyond, it is
abundantly clear that Michigan's future greatness is directly linked to our ability to
restore and renew the important and fundamental values, institutions and resources that
led to Michigan's greatness in the past.
To begin, we must restore the spirit of enterprise in Michigan.
At the turn of this century, the spark of entrepreneurial genius that caused America to
lead the Industrial Revolution was ignited right here in our state.
It was in the garages and workshops of people like Henry Ford, R.E. Olds, the Dodge
Brother and the Fishers that the ideas for a whole industry and indeed a whole system of
manufacturing were born.
Fellow citizens, those were not produced by state government.
Our industrial might was not forged in the planning divisions of state agencies, it was
molded by the hard work and the creative spirit of our people. And we must not forget
that.
We still have the same creative spirit. But sadly, because of government, it has been
impaired. And, as a result, the capacity of citizens in Michigan today to achieve their
dreams has been diminished.
My friends, it is our job, it is our duty, to allow that spirit to fully flourish
again.
We must restore the values and principles that ignited the genius of the Michigan that
was the arsenal of democracy and the manufacturing leader of the world.
As we enter this century, we must allow the inventors and entrepreneurs of today the
same opportunities enjoyed by their predecessors when this century began.
To start we will restore the most fundamental principle of economic growth: a
commitment to a true market-based economy.
No bureaucratic decision as to who should be an economic winner or loser will ever
substitute for the decisions made in the marketplace.
Therefore, it is time to renew our commitment to free enterprise.
We must free our economy from government planning, and reduce the intervention and cost
of government in the operation of that economy.
Today, the grip of state government on individual initiative has become a stranglehold
on individual initiative.
And the tightest grip of all is taxes.
Revitalizing our economy means reducing our tax burden.
On election day the people demanded a significant tax cut.
We will answer their call without compromise and without delay.
We will cut taxes.
But just as we must, in many ways, reduce the role of government if the spirit of
enterprise is to thrive, we must also recognize that there is an important role for
government to play if we are to foster the spirit of which I speak.
Our task is to establish new priorities for government and make sure government
performs more effectively.
The reality of our age is that Michigan is in fierce competition with 49 other states
and most foreign countries for economic survival.
Future jobs will be created where employers find workers who meet the ever-higher
standards made necessary by global competition.
The skills needed to fill the jobs of tomorrow are no longer ones that can be learned
in the family workshop. Nor can they be learned by those who attend inferior schools. Or,
especially, by those who do not graduate at all.
For the children of Michigan to compete, we must revitalize our state's education
system.
The jobs of tomorrow demand it.
And our commitment to provide real opportunity for every one of our children demands it
as well.
We must assure that our schools and teachers are committed to excellence at all levels.
And we must guarantee that a fixed percentage of all state revenues will forever be
dedicated to the education and training of our youth.
Just as we must restore the spirit of enterprise in Michigan, it is also critical that
we restore our citizens' full confidence in our government.
In an age of declining voter turnout and declining respect for public officials, it is
imperative that we address the root causes of this decay.
We will build public trust in Lansing by providing the citizens of Michigan with the
most direct possible opportunity to know their leaders and let their leaders know them.
To do this, we shall rely on a time tested method: We will let them meet each other.
Beginning next week, and for every week of the Administration, this Governor's door
will be open to all citizens as we institute regular public office hours. And the same
will be the case for each department director who serves in this Administration.
In the same sense, this Governor's office will reach out to people in every corner of
our great state.
I will visit every one of our 83 counties every year of my Administration.
We pledge to talk to people and let them talk to us. And, most importantly, we promise
to listen.
It is time to restore a strong bond between the Governor and the legislature. And I
will seek cooperation with our legislative leaders in matters of state.
Finally, if we are to restore the confidence of people in government then we must
directly address the ethical and moral issues which confront public officials.
My Administration will work to reform our ethics and election laws. And we will insist
upon the highest standards for our appointed officials, so that our citizens will have
full confidence in the integrity of our government.
I know this state; I know it's people; I understand their spiritual strength and their
determined presence of mind.
Of all our extraordinary resources, the most valuable are our people -- all of our
fellow citizens who pay taxes, raise the children, farm the land, and build the future.
Every one of us has a stake in our success -- and in each other and I believe in the
people of Michigan.
Therefore, in each and every one of our endeavors, this administration will be guided
by an undeviating principle: we will trust the people of Michigan.
We will restore the power of individuals and families to shape their lives.
As a step in that direction, we will pursue the promising agenda of choice in
education.
The decision to select one school or another for a child is best made by the child's
parents -- not by government officials. Choice is fair; and I am convinced that it will
restore a great Michigan legacy: the finest schools in the nation.
For the too large number of us who are disadvantaged, we will build an era of renewed
hope and opportunity -- through welfare reform, enterprise zones and private control and
ownership of public housing.
Our message will be: we will not consign you, or anyone else to hopeless oblivion. You,
too, are stakeholders in the future of Michigan. Your future is our future. And you, too,
will help us restore the greatness of our state.
Today I have spoken of our need to renew many things. The spirit of enterprise,
confidence in public officials, the proper role of government and the fuller empowerment
of people.
But all of these objectives, even when met, will not alone restore Michigan's full
promise unless we also restore the most central of all characteristics of human
achievement: the need for individuals to commit themselves to improving their communities
and their own lives as well.
A hundred and sixty years ago, two perceptive Frenchmen, Alexis de Tocqueville and
Gustave Beaumont, made their difficult way through the Michigan wilderness from Detroit to
Saginaw. Detroit then was a little town of two or three thousand people. Troy consisted of
a few log houses. Pontiac had twenty buildings. Saginaw, a far-flung outpost of
civilization, had a population of thirty. There was then no Lansing.
Tocqueville, who was yet to write his great book about democracy, was mightily
impressed by the high degree of personal responsibility he saw among Michigan's pioneers.
Though lacking capital, governmental assistance, roads, and most machines, within a few
decades those pioneer men and women would make out of Michigan Territory a great state of
the Union.
What made the Michigan experience -- the American experience -- so successful?
Tocqueville concluded that the Americans' success was the result of their moral habits
and beliefs -- founded most often upon religious convictions.
They knew that human beings all have duties to perform as well as rights to enjoy.
This unique American belief in personal responsibility turned the howling wilderness of
Michigan into a strong, orderly, wonderfully productive modern state.
Ladies and gentlemen, here at our old Capitol today I appeal to our Michigan heritage,
of moral and personal responsibility. We have built healthy communities in America because
our men and women have been ever mindful of their responsibilities to family, to
neighbors, to local community, to our state and to our nation. And where we have failed,
it has inevitably been because too many have refused or been unable to accept the
responsibilities demanded of them as individuals in a free society.
Fellow citizens, I ask you today to join with me in taking up our common burden of
duties, in high hopes of renewal. Let future generations think of the 1990s as the decade
when the people of Michigan accepted the challenges of difficult times and, employing the
same convictions, hard work and personal responsibility as their forefathers, overcame
them.
During my 20 years in public service, I have come to know many great citizens in our
state. Today, my thoughts turn to two of them. The first is a friend of mine from Mount
Pleasant. Her name is Ethyl Thompson and she is 81 years old. Ethyl was educated in our
schools and learned about values, hard work, and the importance of community up in Sault
Ste. Marie when the century was young. After a long and successful career as a nurse, at
the age of 76, when most people are retired, Ethyl Thompson became an intern in my office.
Ethyl's life is a reflection of the faith and commitment to the traditional values --
that helped build the Michigan Tocqueville described -- the Michigan that rose to
greatness.
The other person I think of today is Annie O'Meara. You heard Annie a few minutes ago
when she led the Pledge of Allegiance. Annie is a fifth grader at Immaculate Heart of
Mary-St. Casimir's school in Lansing. I met Annie earlier this year when she invited me to
visit her class to talk about Michigan's future.
Well, in the way that Ethyl and her generation helped build the Michigan of the 20th
century, it will be up to Annie and her generation to shape Michigan's potential in the
next century.
And it is up to us to make sure that they have the fullest opportunity to do so.
Fellow citizens, the values and spirit of Ethyl Thompson are still alive in Michigan
and it is my commitment to restore and renew them and make them as vibrant and bright as
they have ever been, so that Annie O'Meara and her generation will have the chance they
deserve, to dream great dreams, and fulfill them -- is this, the greatest of all the
United States.
My friends, it is my great honor to serve as your Governor, and I thank you for giving
me this opportunity. Now, I hope you will join me as we build Michigan-together. God bless
you and God bless our great state.
Thank you!
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