G4G Talking points for 10-9

[SharonRB]

Monday, October 9 (29 Days until Victory 2006)

The Granholm campaign released a response to DeVos’ deceptive ad talking about the number of jobs lost in recent years.


In reality, Bush economic policies, which Dick DeVos supports, have cost Michigan 186,000 manufacturing jobs – enough to fill the Detroit baseball park FOUR times. Click here to watch the ad…http://www.granholmforgov.com/site/PageServer?pagename=stadiums


DeVos released yet another deceptive ad trying to pin the blame on Governor Granholm for job losses and foreclosures that happened during her first months in office.


Obviously those unfortunate losses were not connected to the Governor’s policies – her comprehensive jobs plan is bringing new industries and jobs to Michigan, and cleaning up the mess left behind by John Engler, a decade of Republican leadership, and the destructive Bush economic policies that Dick DeVos supports.


Headlines from Around the State

Detroit Free Press Column: The questions DeVos can't afford to dodge
The irony is that DeVos has been pretty good at not answering questions. That's OK when he sloughs off queries about his failed nursing home investments, more annoying when he ignores questions about the economic agenda he insists is his campaign's raison d'etre. DeVos is especially elusive when reporters ask how he proposes to recapture the revenues Michigan will lose when its reviled Single Business Tax is allowed to expire next year… Voters know a good deal about what such a replacement tax would look like if Granholm were allowed to design it… In lieu of alternatives, the Republican nominee offers excuses, delegating surrogates to write Op-Ed pieces explaining why no gubernatorial candidate can assess the relative merits of various tax schemes until he has access to the tax returns of every private employer in the state. DeVos also refuses to disclose what government functions he'd eliminate or curtail to cut the $950 million or so he'd like to return to corporate taxpayers… Now, with the election a month away, his continuing evasions are downright insulting. Who will pay the replacement business tax DeVos has in mind, and how much revenue will it generate? How much will he have to cut to pay for the tax cut he envisions -- and where, in broad terms, will he cut it? If DeVos can't answer these questions in Tuesday's second gubernatorial debate, he's forfeited the right to our attention as well as the right to our votes.
Click here to read the full column... http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061008/NEWS05/610080581/1007/NEWS

Kalamazoo Gazette: Granholm: Education key to turnaround Diversification of economy will create new jobs, governor says
The governor said that Michigan is well-positioned to become a center for the life-sciences industry, partially because of the venture capital available through the 21st Century Jobs Fund, but lifting the state's ban on embryonic stem-cell research is critical. With the downturn in the American auto industry, Granholm said that Michigan is in the midst of a massive restructuring of its economy, much as Pennsylvania experienced when the steel industry collapsed and North Carolina faced with changes in its textile industry. Granholm noted that Michigan's economy outside the auto industry is growing at 12 percent, outpacing the national average, but “the auto footprint swamps everything.” “Michigan is getting hit now,'' Granholm said. “The question is what we're going to do about it and how we're going to reshape our future.'' Her economic plan includes: Diversifying the job market through the $2 billion 21st Century Jobs Fund; improving the business climate by overhauling Michigan's business taxes and streamlining the permit process; increasing the Michigan Merit Award to $4,000 from $3,000 per student; raising standards for K-12 education; and making health care more affordable and accessible through a series of initiatives… The governor said that Michigan is well-positioned to become a center for the life-sciences industry, partially because of the venture capital available through the 21st Century Jobs Fund, but lifting the state's ban on embryonic stem-cell research is critical.
Click here to read the full article...
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1160194934115190.xml&coll=7