Gov. Jennifer Granholm says, ‘We’re gonna be all right’ at town meeting at MMCC April 23

Gov. Granholm at MMCC Town Hall Meet April 23

HARRISON – At an April 23 town hall meeting on the campus of Mid Michigan Community College, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said that everything is going to be OK.
“I wish I had a magic wand,” Granholm said, “to fix the economy, but we don’t. We all have a role in making the state the best it can be.”In her 45-minute speech regarding how the stimulus money is going to be spent, the governor outlined many specific programs and areas the money will be direct to.
“The Recovery Act was signed into law in February,” Granholm said. “It aligns with our state’s plan, which allows us to accelerate what we are already focused on. No. 1, diversify our economy. We need to add new sectors, we are so auto-centric, which has caused us to be economically challenged.”
The second part, she said, is education.
“Out citizens double the number of college graduates,” she said. “We’ve got to be like other states and the states that are weathering this recession: the best have the highest number of college graduates. The point is we have got to have people considering learning to be a part of their life.”
The third aspect of the Recovery Act is to protect the people, she said.
“If we are wise about how we use these Recovery Act dollars, we can step on the gas,” she said. “Money is going to come to Michigan in three different ways: first through a number of existing programs…second through competitive grants… and third through tax cuts – $11 billion of the $18 billion in stimulus money coming by way of tax cuts.”
This means, Granholm said, that that $11 billion is coming straight to citizens.
“The $18 billion will save or create 109,000 jobs,” she said. “But the problem with that is since 2000, Michigan will have lost in that eight-year period about 700,000 jobs. So this is not the solution to all of our problems, it will slow the pain and we have got to continue to focus like a laser on increasing the sectors of our economy.”
Granholm encouraged people who haven’t yet, and qualify, to apply for the Earned Income Tax Credit.
“If you’re working and you don’t file for the Earned Income Tax Credit, you’re missing out,” she said. “The state also has an earned income tax credit and you can still apply for that and get your money.”
The governor said that unemployment has been extended by 20 weeks and they increased the amount by $25 a week.
“If you’re somebody who’s on unemployment you can get that check for up to 79 weeks, which is over a year,” she said. “What can you do in a year? You can go to the community college and get a degree in an area of need.”
She also encouraged people to apply for food assistance.
“Food assistance is not food stamps,” she said. “It looks like a credit card, and nobody will know the difference. We’ve got about 6,805 people in Clare receiving food assistance.”
Stressed highly in her presentation was the emphasis on the importance on higher education, stating that with Pell grants alone, one could fund their degree at a community college or combine it with Michigan Promise scholarships to help for a four-year university.
“And adults,” she said. “If you have had the rug pulled out from under you, go to the Michigan Works Agency now and sign up for No Worker Left Behind. There’s been explosive growth in those who are singing up for training and we will pay for training for adults up to 5,000 a year for two years.”
Weatherization of homes is also an important part of the act that Granholm asked Jill Sutton of the Mid Michigan Community Action Agency to speak about. “We can do anything from replacing insulation, wall and door seals and windows replaced. Fix or replace the furnace or refrigerator. Anything that will bring more energy efficiently,” she said.
The governor said that working on renewable energy is a huge aspect of how Michigan can diversify their economy.
“Look at our assets,” she said. “We can capture wave movement and convert that into energy. Michigan is the fourth best state to harvest wind energy.”
Granholm said that a company in Manistee is going to start manufacturing parts for wind turbines that can be put in back yards of homes or at businesses.
“We are number one in the state for the stuff that goes into solar panels,” she said. “We’re going to produce batteries to power cars because we do not want to replace dependency on foreign oil, with dependency on foreign batteries. We want to give you hope, we’re gonna be all right.”