G4G talking points for 09-05

[SharonRB]

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 (63 Days until Victory 2006)

"Clearly we need a partner at the federal level as well. We have a federal administration that is allowing the off shoring of jobs, the outsourcing of jobs by the failure to enforce trade agreements." – Governor Granholm speaking about jobs on Labor Day.

Putting Michigan First: Last week, Governor Granholm helped to establish the first ever Earned Income Tax Credit to help low income families, and next month the minimum wage increase she signed into law will raise the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $6.95 per hour. In the next 20 months it will go up to $7.40.


Fighting for Special Interests: Dick DeVos, on the other hand, supported reducing taxes for businesses in a way that jeopardizes that security of Michigan families and may require deep cuts in education, health care and public safety.


Mentor Michigan: Governor Granholm completed the annual Mackinac Bridge run/walk with 20 Mentor Michigan teams, including her mentee. Governor Granholm launched the Mentor Michigan program as attorney general and she has continued to bolster the effort as Governor. Click here for information on becoming a mentor…http://www.michigan.gov/mentormichigan


Headlines from Around the State

ABC-12: Michigan observes Labor Day
"Labor day is really workers day. It acknowledges the work workers have performed to make this country so successful," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. The Allen Park Marching Band appeared in today's Detroit Labor Day parade. The first parade was in 1886, a year of intense labor strikes. Workers decided to hold the parade mid-day starting from Grand Circus P. An estimated 10,000 people marched. Now 120 years later, 50,000 rallied together. Plumbers joined electricians, auto workers and airline pilots. Sweeney says this is a day to remind people how important workers are and how they have to share in the success in our economy. Governor Jennifer Granholm was also in Detroit for the parade. "It's so important to stand up for these workers and labor unions. (They) have really helped to create the middle class in this country," she said.
Click here to read the full article... http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=local&id=4528036

Detroit Free Press Cartoon:


Click here for the cartoon on the Free Press website...http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060904/COL25/60901032/1106

Jackson Citizen-Patriot Letter: DeVos not the right leader for Michigan
I see on TV how Dick DeVos has lots of plans for Michigan, but I have yet to see how he plans on paying for them and I have read his Web site exhaustively. The estimated cost of his economic plan is $5.1 billion, more than 60 percent of Michigan's general-fund budget. New spending that would require massive cuts in services or tax increases – neither of which Michigan's hard-hit economy can afford. He has refused to tell us how he plans on paying for all of his proposed spending until after the Nov. 7 general election… Mr. DeVos talks about creating jobs in Michigan after he laid off nearly 1,400 people as head of Amway. He's invested $200 million-plus in manufacturing plants to create jobs in Michigan -- oops, make that China. He cares more about his profits from Chinese cheap labor than about giving Michiganders jobs and helping his own state.
Click here to read the full letter...http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1157277938210950.xml&coll=3