1/17/14 - Local Democrats and Republicans are responding to Michigan Governor Rick Snyderâs annual State of the State address last night. Snyder hammered hard at his description of Michigan as the "comeback state,â telling legislators the stateâs economy has come a long way. Trotting out a list of economic statistics, Snyder says Michigan's auto industry has doubled output since 2009 and is at the highest level since 2005. Kate Murphy, a member of the Livingston County Democratic Party Executive Committee, found that particular piece of the speech highly ironic. "What he didn't acknowledge is that the reason the auto industry is doing so well is because of the auto bailout that was orchestrated by President Obama and Joe Biden...I also was disappointed that he didn't connect the dots with the Right-to-Work legislation that he signed into law last year. No mention of the effect that's had on the labor force and working class people." Not surprisingly, State Senator Joe Hune, a Hamburg Township Republican, saw things differently, telling WHMI there were many things the governor touched upon he felt were right on target. "One of which I think I'm most excited about is talking about the likelihood that we will get some type of tax relief for the average, ordinary, hard-working taxpayer in Michigan. We've got a budget surplus that we're looking at in Michigan and looking forward to giving that back to taxpayers...I think that's my number one priority." Snyder said he wants to avoid "playing politics" with Michigan's projected $1.3 billion budget surplus over the next two fiscal years, wanting to use it for a combination of spending on long-term needs like retirement funding and a rainy day fund as well as tax relief for working residents.(JK)
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