I do not believe the federal government should play a role in our state education policy. Education is near and dear to my heart. As a student of both public and private school education, I have had the unique perspective of experiencing both. Since 1978, Michigan student enrollment is down 25 percent. This is due to increased private education enrollment and the loss of approximately 1.5 million people due to the loss of manufacturing jobs. 

Currently Michigan public education students perform among the bottom ten states in grades and key subjects. Even worse, we are dead last in terms of proficiency growth.

This is unacceptable. 

At the same time, we have increased public education spending to historic levels and are spending more than most states. Something is very wrong with education in our great state. More money is obviously not the solution. I believe we need drastic change. We owe it to our children and OUR future (because they are OUR future). 

I call it the “backpack full of cash” solution. Imagine if families could CHOOSE the best available education for their kids. Public schools, Charter schools or Private schools. Let’s try it for ten years! What have we got to lose? If our student’s grades and proficiency don’t significantly improve, we can scrap Schools of Choice and try something else. 

During the last fifteen years, the Michigan Median Family Income level has essentially remained stagnant. Meanwhile, we have increased taxes and fees and have given Lansing a 2.5 – 5 percent annual raise. Imagine if your family had automatic, guaranteed increases in pay over the last fifteen years! 

The annual cost to run our state government is approximately $6,000 for every MAN, WOMAN and CHILD. This $6,000 is a hard, fixed cost to do business in Michigan. We are competing with states where this cost of government is much much less.  

I will work to eliminate the Michigan Income Tax to make us competitive.

Michigan is doing a little better but not “better enough”. We need to do something positively bold to compete with states in our region. Michigan has one of the highest tax burdens. We are competing with several states with NO income tax. These states are gaining billions of our wealth and hundreds of thousands of our citizens. It’s difficult to attract industry when our competition (surrounding states) have made drastic and innovative policy changes to make their states more appealing than Michigan. Instead of giving “tax holidays” and tax rebates to certain “hand-picked” companies and industries (film and battery), let’s give everyone in Michigan the same tax advantage! Creating a low-tax climate will lure additional businesses to Michigan, employ more people and provide additional (new) tax revenue. I believe government often gets in the way of free enterprise growth and if we’re not careful with the fine balance of prudent regulation, this will continue to slow job growth.

Currently, our state taxpayer-funded economic development corporation (department) is behaving like a double edged sword. These “sweet deals for the politically connected” that provide tax breaks to certain businesses while, in the same swing, created a tax “disadvantage” to others who are not on the receiving end of the government’s decision to give a competitor a “tax holiday”, government loan or just plain cash. Why should Michigan taxpayers flip the bill for new stadiums when the owner of the stadium is a billionaire and can easily afford to pay for it on their own? This “picking and choosing” done by elected or appointed government officials also create tremendous opportunity for impropriety (kick-backs and political favors). I don’t believe government officials should decide who and which businesses get picked to be the beneficiary of the government handout or tax break. I will never participate in or support any legislation where the government picks and chooses private-sector winners and losers. The free market (you and I) does that best.

Michigan’s infrastructure will soon face another crisis despite the tax increase passed against our will. We are sending Lansing more than enough money to maintain our roads. The problem is, we are not appropriating enough of this tax money dedicated to roads only. Additionally, we are currently using antiquated road building methods that may be cheaper in the short run but are more expensive in the long run. Our Department of Transportation needs new leadership that will be willing to use the new road technology to save us hundreds of millions in the future. We also need to get the federal government out of the way. In 2012, Michigan taxpayers sent just over 1 billion dollars to Washington DC. The federal government removed just over $200 million to pay for their bureaucracy and sent us back only $823 million. That is a bad deal. I estimate that in order to fund a future of stable infrastructure maintenance, future legislators will need to find a way to get another billion dollars into the Road Fund. I will never go to the voters for another tax or fee increase. We are sending Lansing more than enough money. Get this money from the 56 billion we are already sending to Lansing. Michigan families are taxed out. Michigan families have been forced to tighten their belts and I know Michigan government can do the same. We pay enough taxes. I will find ways to cut government waste before we ask our citizens for more hard-earned tax dollars.

Michigan had a part-time legislation until 1963. Michigan is one of only four states with a full time legislature. Michigan and California are almost tied for first place for the number of laws and regulations created by their lawmakers. Michigan has over 30,000 laws on the books while California has almost 38,000 laws. Last year, our law makers were “in session” or working in Lansing a total of 93 days. We pay our state legislators almost a thousand dollars a day to represent us in Lansing! This is essentially part-time work with full-time pay. They also employ full time staffers and chiefs of staff. Another inherent problem with a full-time legislature is that it helps foster career politicians because the pay is so darn good. It also allows almost 24/7 access to special interest groups and lobbyists. I’d rather see our legislators spend the majority of the year and their time IN the district where they are accessible to their constituents not “speed dating” with Lansing lobbyists all day long! We need citizens who are willing to step out of the private sector, step into the public sector to serve, then step back into their private sector industry and let the next leader take their place.

The main reason you will vote for me on August 7th, 2018