Making Michigan a “Top Ten” State
I had the pleasure of attending the Detroit Economic Club (DEC) luncheon on Tuesday. Speakers at this event included: David Brandon, Chairman & CEO of Dominos Pizza, Inc; Anthony Early, Jr., Chairman & CEO of DTE Energy; and John Rakolta, Jr. Chairman & CEO of Walbridge. For those that don’t know, Brandon is the former chairman of the Detroit Renaissance, which has morphed into the Business Leaders for Michigan.
During the luncheon, the executives indicated that the Detroit Renaissance has been focusing on state-wide issues in recent years, which is why they transitioned to the Business Leaders for Michigan. Their goals are to make Michigan a “Top 10” state and to establish a turnaround plan for the state to get us there. They have five steps to a Better Michigan.
1. Change the way we (Michigan) manage our finances.
2. Right-size Michigan and enact structural budget reforms.
3. Get Michigan competitive again to attract and retain jobs.
4. Make investments to create a great job environment.
5. Accelerate job growth through innovation and entrepreneurship
The powerful threesome is taking aim at the government in Lansing to get them to move for the good of the people to accomplish there initiatives. It’s time to put politics aside and get things done.
One specific issue is term limits. The powerful threesome said we must overturn this issue in the state. It hurts everything we do. Early said it is not good to limit people from gaining the experience that will make them a better legislator. The Business Leaders for Michigan’s plan would allow lawmakers to serve for a total of 14 years in the house or senate combined, with no restricted limits in each chamber. This is opposed to the current term limits, which allows legislators to serve a total of 14 years in the legislature; however, the terms are strictly regulated in the house and senate. Lawmakers can spend a max of three 2-year terms in the house and two 4-year terms in the senate.
I think that the proposed unrestricted term limits will allow lawmakers to ultimately get more accomplished in Lansing. They will have the opportunity to build stronger relationships with their colleagues and develop policy that will hopefully make Michigan an even greater place to live and do business.
You can learn more about the Business Leaders for Michigan by looking at their Web site at http://www.businessleadersformichigan.com. There are many statistics on the site that illustrate how badly we need this and how people can get involved.
Brandon, Early and Rakolta encouraged everyone to get involved at the luncheon and to be cautious when voting for any candidates that will not tell you how they plan to help turn Michigan around.
December 17th, 2009 at 11:31 am
term limits - puke! they are a disaster! I would advocate getting rid of them altogether. But for those who want to keep them, then an extension is desperately needed. I like the 14 year plan — not so much because of the number, but because it allows more time to be served in one position and not a constant turn over in each chamber, or the pressure to be looking for your next position.
I would like to see some group take the lead to put this on the ballot. It’s not just enough to talk about changing it, we need someone to step up and lead the change.