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Michigan has a population problem. That’s undisputable. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Growing Michigan Together Council was created to help formulate policies to reverse this challenging trend where Michigan had the 49th slowest rate of population growth among 50 states. That’s laudable. We share that vision.
But a vision must be steeped in reality. We are increasingly worried that both recently enacted policies from Lansing and early reports from this council seem poised to make the problem worse, not better.
Our shared future depends on economic growth and opportunity, not excessive government intervention, burdensome tax increases and central planning principles.
That growth and opportunity are anchored on the premise that Michigan is home to stable, thriving businesses that are creating and providing meaningful, good-paying jobs of today and the tomorrows to come.
Too much of what’s happening now sends the opposite message. And it’s making it harder for the state to be seen as open for business and the place where our young people and families want to live, work, play or start a business.
Business leaders are frustrated with the onerous mandates, anti-employer and anti-growth policies streaming from Lansing.
We hear from members of every size and industry in all 83 counties about continued attempts from other states to utilize these harmful proposals in Michigan as marketing fodder to lure businesses and their employees.
That’s why we helped found the Great Lakes Growth coalition, to be a unified voice that can convey how policies may impact employers, employees and communities, and to ensure we don’t negate the progress and vision we all share to build a flourishing state with a growing economy and population that works for all.
This shouldn’t be an impossible puzzle. Public opinion surveys, regardless of who conducts them, routinely point to key values supported by a majority of citizens: Strong K-12 schools and post-secondary opportunities, modern and well-maintained infrastructure, affordable housing and safe communities, protected natural resources, outdoor and cultural opportunities and a stable tax and regulatory structure that supports jobs now and emerging careers to come.
Holding those drivers against the current direction our leaders in Lansing are headed, it’s hard to see a blueprint for economic competitiveness and population growth.
Elected leaders must acknowledge that to reach our full potential they must restore civility to public debate and respect the process. Substantive disagreement can actually lead to practical solutions when we can listen, learn and respect one another’s opinion enough to have meaningful conversations focused on policy outcomes, not political gamesmanship.
Michigan has a lot to offer, and we must embrace our collective strengths. That includes realizing that businesses aren’t a problem to be solved, but rather an instrumental part of the solution.
Our business and economic climate do matter. A lot. It’s an underlining driver to building a stronger state for all. Especially if we are serious about competing with other states for population.
The sooner we can realize and embrace that reality, the faster we all can achieve our shared vision and future.
Jim Holcomb is president & CEO of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
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