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1 out of 5 Michigan jobs in 2000 is gone today.
MEDC Reform
As Governor, I will revive the state’s economic development efforts and make the Michigan Economic Development Corporation transparent and accountable as I work to create an envionment in which businesses and entrepreneurs can flourish. -Rick.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) was once a tool that supported a business-friendly climate and assisted entrepreneurs – it needs to be again. Under Rick Snyder’s leadership, the MEDC was once a successful economic development program that leveraged a business-friendly climate, a strong pool of talent, and the state’s assets to accelerate the growth of a diverse business base. It can be again, and it should facilitate a strong network of regional partners working to connect talent with businesses. The MEDC should be focused on 5 key areas: 1) Business Retention and Attraction, 2) Business Acceleration and Startup Support, 3) Talent Enhancement, 4) Enhanced Financial Infrastructure to Support Entrepreneurs and 5) Benchmarking for Continuous Improvement.
The MEDC has been mismanaged by the current administration. When Rick Snyder was appointed by Gov. Engler to be the first chair of the MEDC, Michigan was ranked No. 1 in the nation for five years for new business expansions by Site Selection Magazine. Now the state has dropped to the bottom in business-friendly rankings and is just ahead of Mississippi for new business expansions according to Site Selection.
Lansing’s career politicians have wasted tax dollars on expensive ad campaigns and false incentives while promising job creation – without fixing Michigan’s tax and regulatory system. With a million jobs disappearing this decade, Michigan’s economic troubles can’t be solved through television ads or taxpayer-funded credits. Lansing politicians need to get out of the business of picking winners and losers through incentives. Instead, they should create an environment where the tax burden is low, the regulatory environment is reasonable, and businesses have access to the support and resources that will help them create jobs in Michigan.
The use of incentives should include performance objectives, reportable results, and be transparent to citizens. The state currently gives out $6.3 billion more in tax credits, deductions and incentives than it takes in yearly in tax revenue – more than $30 billion a year in handouts that are supposed to be stimulating our economy. There is little transparency or accountability in what return the state is getting on those investments. Economic development incentives should be used sparingly and measured against the actual number of targeted jobs created to make the data more reliable and less subjective. The results should be posted online for everyone to see.
Rick Snyder is the leader who can make the MEDC effective. Rick has led the MEDC and Michigan toward a healthy business climate before; he can do it again. He’s done it at the local level with Ann Arbor SPARK. Because he’s not a career politician, he has no special interests to pay back. He has one goal: creating jobs and reinventing the state of Michigan.