Michigan Legislature praised for reform bills

Lansing— Republican House and Senate leaders say they are proud of the hundreds of reform bills the Legislature passed this past session to turn the state's economy around.

But critics say the changes will do more harm than good.

Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville of Monroe and House Speaker Jase Bolger of Marshall said a sweeping overhaul of Michigan's tax system and major reforms to unemployment and workers compensation are among the measures they believe will attract business and create jobs.

"I don't look at it as being one single thing. I look at it more as getting a comprehensive agenda done," Richardville told The News.

The Senate leader said the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post have noted improvements in Michigan's economic climate. Bloomberg rated Michigan one of the top two states poised for economic recovery, he added. Fitch moved Michigan's financial rating from stable to favorable.

"Its one thing for politicians to say that they are improving the business climate, but it's a whole other thing when independent organizations are pointing at Michigan and saying that's what we should be looking like," Richardville said. "Everybody was talking about jobs and the (economic) environment."

Bolger said his biggest surprise this year was the strength of the House Republican caucus.

"A lot of people say that politicians aren't strong enough to make the tough decisions, to make the long-term decisions, but I would say that the strength and the focus of my caucus has been a very pleasant surprise," Bolger said. "They're courageous, and their decisions are clearly based on what they believe is the best thing for the future of Michigan."

Still, those painful decisions resulted in thousands protesting outside the state Capitol in March and April as lawmakers passed a new tax on public pensions, slashed education funding and adopted teacher tenure reforms. Republicans cut social safety nets, started asset tests for food stamp recipients and capped cash benefits for welfare at 49 months.

"There isn't a metric in the world that would suggest that slashing education, raising taxes on middle class workers and blindly handing that money over to large corporations is going to create a single job," said Bob McCann, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing. "Those kinds of disinvestments in our state and in our work force are actually going to make the economic climate of our state much worse.

"It's somewhat shameful that what they're calling accomplishments are things that are going to have such a direct negative impact on so many Michigan families."

Michigan State University Economics Professor Charles Ballard said the reforms are positive, but he doesn't think they address the real cause of Michigan's economic meltdown.

"These are small steps in the right direction," Ballard said.

Ballard said Michigan had a very inefficient tax system with high taxes on some businesses and low taxes on others, and some receiving subsidies through a cloud of credits. But that had little to do with the loss of 845,000 manufacturing jobs between June 2000 and December 2009.

"I don't think very many of those (job losses) were due to our tax structure," Ballard said. "The biggest good thing that has happened to the Michigan economy is the auto bailout."

While the tax changes are positive, lawmakers should also invest more in education and job training, according to Ballard.

"For the longer haul, by far the best thing to do for our economy is improving the skills of our work force," he said.

When Richardville was asked if he's worried about a recent poll by Ballard that found support waning for Snyder and confidence in Michigan's economy dropping even among Republicans, he said he's concerned the public doesn't always understand the long-term benefits of the changes under way.

"Painful decisions are painful decisions, and nobody likes pain," Richardville said. "But when it's all said and done, these things are really working. Over time people will see that these policies — while difficult to implement — are creating results."

Asked if he's satisfied with the work he accomplished this year, Bolger said he is not.

"We'll never be satisfied, we never will feel that the job is done, because that builds complacency," he said.

kbouffard@detnews.com

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