February 29, 2008
LANSING - In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today reported that progress has been made on her economic stimulus package unveiled in her State of the State Address last month, helping to jumpstart our state's economy and create jobs.
The governor announced this week that 34 road projects across the state have been fast-forwarded to this year - projects that were originally scheduled for the 2009 construction season.
"By repairing state roads and bridges in counties across the state, we'll pump money into the economy, and, most importantly, we'll put 2,100 people to work in good-paying jobs," Granholm said.
The governor also said that progress is being made on her long-term effort to replace the jobs we've lost in our manufacturing sector, another critical component of an aggressive and comprehensive economic plan.
"Experts predict that renewable energy and energy efficiency alone will add $4.5 trillion in value to the U.S. economy by 2030 and create millions of good-paying jobs," said Granholm. "We're working hard with the state Legislature on a comprehensive energy package to make sure a large share of those jobs are right here in Michigan."
The governor's weekly radio address is released each Friday morning and may be heard on broadcast stations across the state. The address is available on the governor's Web site at (
www.michigan.gov/gov
) for download, together with a clip of the quote above. The radio address is also available as a podcast on the Web site, as well as on iTunes and via RSS feed for general distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers. Links to the audio files and text of today's address follow.
GOVERNOR JENNIFER M. GRANHOLM
Radio Address - Stimulating the Economy
February 29, 2008
Last month, in my State of the State Address, I unveiled an economic stimulus package to help jumpstart our state's economy. It's part of an aggressive and comprehensive plan to create jobs today and jobs tomorrow, and I'm pleased to report that we're making progress on both fronts.
This week, I announced that we're fast-forwarding 34 road projects across the state - projects that were originally scheduled for the 2009 construction season.
By repairing state roads and bridges in counties across the state, from Bay to Oceana, from Wayne to Ontonagon, we'll improve our state's infrastructure, we'll pump money into the economy, and, most importantly, we'll put 2,100 people to work in good-paying jobs.
And these are just a fraction of the road projects that will be underway this year. So get ready Michigan: The dirt is going to fly this summer!
Another critical component of our economic plan is our long-term effort to replace the jobs that we've seen disappear in our manufacturing sector. As we've said before: Michigan is the state that put the world on wheels, and we can be the state that leads the way in using alternative energy sources to fuel our cars and power our homes.
Michigan is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this evolving green energy revolution. Our untapped wind resources offer us an almost unlimited source of clean, zero-carbon electricity. Our productive farm and forest land can be put to use to grow the fuels of the future. Our universities and corporate research centers are becoming world leaders in alternative energy science. And our manufacturing know-how can build the components of the green-energy economy.
Just last week, I met with my fellow governors in Washington where we heard from industry experts who confirmed that the nation must pursue renewable energy for many reasons. But for Michigan, renewable energy means jobs.
Experts predict that renewable energy and energy efficiency alone will add $4.5 trillion in value to the U.S. economy by 2030 and create millions of good-paying jobs. We're working hard with the state Legislature on a comprehensive energy package to make sure a large share of those jobs are right here in Michigan.
Yes, it's been just a month since we laid out our economic agenda for the year, but already we're seeing what can happen when we're all focused on our top priority - growing our economy and creating jobs.
Thank you for listening.
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