Balanced article from the Press- but I think the title plays right into the Pub talking points. Michigan's future for manufacturing and loss of jobs started while Granholm was still a kid in California.
The debate over Granholm's economic stewardship will be an underlying theme of her fourth State of the State speech tonight.
Political opponents have tried to lash her to an economy that has remained stagnant for her entire tenure, while supporters say it already had begun to slide on the watch of her predecessor, John Engler. Granholm backers also blame Republicans for stymieing her job-creating agenda.
With Granholm's re-election campaign coming into fuller view, all eyes will be on the economy and whether her fortunes are tied to it, said Ed Sarpolus, pollster for EPIC/MRA.
"Right now, voters see it more as a national economy," he said. "But, she's got to show she's on the job so she's got to go after small accomplishments to show she's getting something done."
In recent polls, voters, by a 2-to-1 margin, blame President Bush rather than Granholm for the loss of jobs and the ailing economy, Sarpolus said. They also think the governor's doing a better job than the Republican Legislature by a two-to-one margin.
"The public doesn't view the Republican mantra of tax cuts as a solution because all of the tax cuts go to businesses," Sarpolus said. "The people who are benefiting from tax cuts are the same people who are laying them off, in voters' minds."
Maybe the voters are smarter than I think. If that 2-1 sentiment is true right now, let's see what they feel like after all the propaganda ads come out this year. After all, by the time the national liars were done, 75% of the people thought Saddam was connected to 9/11, remember? Watch out for the power of suggestion. How quickly we forget...
Does anyone besides me remember the bumper stickers from the 80's , "Will the last one leaving Michigan please turn out the lights?" Wish I could find one of those...
For a quick comparison, I found this stat from a hearing in 1990.
Michigan has relied on the Unemployment Insurance system to stabilize our economy through the horrific recessions in the late 50's and during the back-to-back recessions of the mid-70's and early 80's. As some of you may remember, between the years 1980 and 1983, Michigan's unemployment trust fund was required to borrow $2.6 billion when unemployment rates hit 17%.
Our new state slogan: "Michigan. It used to be a lot worse."