Shutting Detroit Down

This week Governor Granholm will address the state legislature in her 7th State of the State Address. Without a doubt we are sure to hear about the lack of jobs and the budget shortfall here in Michigan.

Our unemployment rate is 10.6% - the highest since December 1984. To put it another way, slightly more than one out of 10 people in the state's labor force was out of work last month.

We have a state budget shortfall of $917 million and next year that number could balloon to $1.6 billion.

Even Congress was slow to act in helping out Detroit's auto business which has resulted in musicans writing songs about Detroit. John Rich of the famed country duo Big & Rich just released a song entitled "Shutting Detroit Down."

All is not lost here though - There are a number of actions that the Governor and the state legislature can take over the next 12 months that will create jobs, save people money and protect our Great Lakes.

I hope that in addition to hearing about unemployment rates and the budget shortfall, that Governor Granholm also offers these solutions:

* Increased investment in clean energy by increasing our committment to renewable energy to 30% by 2025 which will create jobs and protect our Great Lakes.
* Increasing energy efficiency programs that save ratepayers money.
* A committment to a Low Carbon Fuel Standard that will offer incentives to the Auto Industry to produce plug-in hybrids
* A phase out of dangerous toxics like lead, mercury and arsenic in children's products and an incentive to use "green chemistry," thus protecting our children and creating jobs,
* Finally, a true committment to restoring and protecting the Great Lakes from toxics, sewage, and invasive species.

Check back here after the State of the State Address for a full report on Governor Granholm's plan to help Michigan.