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Industry Insider

By Mike Johnston
VP of Government Affairs
Michigan Manufacturers Association
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After the August primary, the political field narrows and we are hopeful that the political discourse becomes more focused on policy. Recognizing that Michigan is truly a manufacturing state and that our future is rooted in our manufacturing strength, MMA’s 2010 Structural and Economic Reform Agenda lays out a road map for the future of Michigan for all candidates and elected officials to follow.

We shared our agenda with all candidates to provide our best advice on how to improve Michigan’s competitiveness and attract much-needed jobs and investment to Michigan. Our agenda is a comprehensive plan for the future. It addresses the primary barriers to economic success in Michigan and offers specific actions for the legislature to take, including those outlined below:

Structural spending reform
State spending curves continually trend northerly, while total tax revenues trend southerly. Taking aim at one of the most costly areas of state government, MMA recently co-signed a letter to the two gubernatorial candidates to highlight the need to curb spending on the Department of Corrections. We pointed out some startling facts: 1) the prison system accounted for two percent of the state’s General Fund budget in 1971. Today, it is more than 20 percent of the General Fund, a tenfold increase in a generation. 2) Michigan is one of very few states spending more tax dollars on prisoners than on higher education. Simply put, prisons are crowding out other important budget priorities. Curbing correction spending must be a top priority.

Tax reform to grow jobs
We continue to highlight the need for an economic policy that encourages manufacturing investment and job growth. We need to eliminate the specific tax on the assets of production, known as the Personal Property Tax, as most states have. Michigan must also eliminate the job killing surcharge on the Michigan Business Tax and turn away from a gross receipts-based tax that disproportionately taxes manufacturers. Other states work aggressively to lure away our industrial assets, and the job multiplier effects that go with them, with tax incentives that include upfront cash, land, job training and even equipment. Michigan cannot disarm in the battle for jobs and investment.

Benchmarking state government
To make Michigan competitive, we must run the state more like a business. The state must institute a performance benchmarking system to identify areas of improvement, measure progress toward success and compare ourselves to our competitor states. We need to know the facts and benchmark our performance if we expect to be more competitive for jobs and investment.

Competitive regulatory reform
We must stop making Michigan less competitive than our competitor states through excessive regulation. The legislature’s oversight authority to constrain the power of regulatory agencies to create new regulations was significantly hindered in a decision by the Supreme Court in the mid 1990s. Since then, new regulations have been growing unchecked. To remedy this problem, we advocate passing a law that prohibits regulatory agencies from creating new regulations that exceed federal standards, without explicit prior approval of the legislature.

Elections
We are hopeful that the 2010 Elections will reflect the voices of manufacturers with a strong turnout on November 2. We will communicate our endorsements to the general public and to our members and encourage our members to share our endorsements with their employees.

Now, more than ever, we need to support those candidates who closely align themselves with pro-manufacturing policies. Getting out the vote is critical. But is it is also important to support pro-manufacturing candidates in whatever way you can. It takes more than a solid platform to win. Pro-manufacturing candidates also need financial support to be able to run an effective campaign. MMA encourages all Michigan manufacturers to support the candidates who will make a difference in the upcoming election by contributing to the MMA PAC or directly to their campaigns. Candidates can’t effectively move pro-manufacturing policies if they don’t win.

For a copy of MMA’s 2010 Structural and Economic Reform Agenda, visit the MMA website at www.mma-net.org.

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