State of Michigan Archives: on Budget & Economy

Tudor Dixon: Government programs should not disincentivize work

Mike Parson: Workforce development programs has attracted businesses

In addition to workforce development, we also continued to move forward on critical infrastructure projects. In just over one year, over 100 of Missouri's poorest bridges have been repaired or replaced through our "Focus on Bridges" program. When the program is complete, it will have accelerated the repair or replacement of 250 bridges across the state at a remarkable value for our citizens.

Gary Peters: COVID: Get resources, support to help people get through

Peters: I worked to secure unemployment assistance in the CARES Act for Michigan workers who had been furloughed or unemployed as a result of this crisis. I'm continuing to fight to get additional relief for the many families still hurting even as parts of our economy reopen. I'll be pressing to ensure those who remain furloughed or unemployed because of this pandemic have the resources and support that they need to get through this.

John James: Liberal leftist socialist policies have failed in Michigan

Bill Schuette: Make better jobs cutting taxes, regulations and wastefulness

John James: Focus on cutting waste and getting to a balanced budget

Rick Snyder: Government sets stage for business success

Marcia Squier: Stimulus counters ever-growing income inequality

A: Support. Stimulus is needed due to the ever-growing income inequality. The middle class is disappearing and the lower class is growing astronomically, while the wealthiest become even wealthier, using tax loopholes and other means to continue this rift. Since the wealthiest people don't seem to be in a hurry to help their fellow man, stimulus is needed to ensure a higher quality of life for the rest of us.

Gretchen Whitmer: Most important metric is rising family income

Jack Bergman: Balanced budget amendment to the Constitution

Our debt is over $19 trillion, and we owe a substantial portion of that to China. Our children and grandchildren will be saddled with a bill that will lead to a worsened standard of living. That is not acceptable and why I support a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. The president and Congress should not be allowed to spend away our future because they are afraid to make difficult decisions today.

The next Congress must implement zero-based budgeting so that the Federal Government can begin to get its fiscal house in order. That's why I have made zero-based budgeting a central part of my campaign.

Dave Trott: Rein in out-of-control federal spending

Mike Bishop: Overregulation & red tape stifle job growth & stall economy

Strengthening our nation's economy is the top priority for Mike. The Obama administration has used the tax code, overregulation, and red tape to stifle job growth and stall our economy. Mike Bishop will help develop policies that will promote job growth and jumpstart our economy.

Mike Bishop: Stop out-of-control spending policies

Bishop: Strongly Agree. It's time to stop the out-of-control spending policies in Washington, D.C. and halt government expansion. I believe we first need to curb spending and begin paying down our debt, in order to lead America on a path toward prosperity.

Rick Snyder: Create an environment that encourages job growth

Terri Lynn Land: Opposed reopening government, due to ObamaCare, not jobs

The State Democratic Party Chairman said Land's stance on jobless benefits "doesn't pass the smell test" because she opposed the deal reopening the government, while Land said Democrats were the reason the benefits were not part of a December budget deal.

Michigan's two Democratic senators, Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin voted to move forward on the 3-month extension legislation. While Republicans plan to seek changes so the bill's $6.4 billion cost would not add to deficits, a Land spokeswoman said Land would have supported an extension regardless of whether the cost is paid.

Terri Lynn Land: Opposed deal to re-open federal government

But she has also become the GOP's presumed nominee, and McConnell is hosting a fundraiser [for Land] along with 16 GOP candidates.

Land still believes voting to reopen the government was a mistake. But her campaign declined to say McConnell made a mistake by supporting the deal. "She's not going to get involved in any disagreement there," a spokesperson said. "She's working very hard to unite factions of the party so she can win a contested election in a purple state."

Terri Lynn Land: Federal shutdown was opportunity to address spending

Land said she opposed the shutdown, but the budget process in Washington is "broken."

Peter Hoekstra: TARP & debt ceiling increase were needed to fund two wars

Hoekstra said he was the guy that along with others that shutdown government and led the effort to stop No Child Left Behind, when only 20 Republicans voted no. He said his opponents were distorting his record. On cutting government, Candidate Glenn said he would like to see the IRS, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Education eliminated for cost savings. Pete Konetchy also said he would require government to follow the constitution. "We cannot spend any money out of the federal treasury without a specific power. So anything being spent right now on things such as health, community services or education, energy, whatever at the federal level--it's unconstitutional," Konetchy said.

Peter Hoekstra: Cut agencies which are not in the constitution

Scotty Boman: The government is the problem: cut out welfare and warfare

"The government is absolutely the problem. It's not that we don't have enough tax money, it's that we have too much spending. Cut out welfare and warfare and we could really save some money," he said.

Jennifer Granholm: Two year stimulus package will create 28,000 jobs

Jack Hoogendyk: Pay down the National Debt until it reaches zero

• Since taking office in 1978 Carl Levin has only contributed to the National Debt increasing from $800 billion to almost $10 trillion. This must stop. We need to pay down the National Debt until it reaches zero.
• I am opposed to deficit spending The federal budget should be balanced every year. Carl Levin was the deciding NO vote in the Senate when the balanced budget amendment came up for a vote.

Fred Thompson: Mandatory future spending lockdown is unsustainable

We are on a mandatory spending lockdown that is pushing us in a direction that is unsustainable. We’re spending the money of future generations and those yet to be born. That has to do with our mandatory spending problem. We have to address that.

Fred Thompson: No reason to believe we’re headed for recession

A: I think there is no reason to believe that we’re headed for a recession. We’re enjoying 22 quarters of successive economic growth that started in 2001, and then further in 2003 with the tax cuts that we put in place. We’re enjoying low inflation. We’re enjoying low unemployment. The stock market seems to be doing pretty well. I see no reason to believe we’re headed for economic downturn.

Q: The Dow and the S&P 500 are at record highs, and yet, 2/3rds of the people surveyed said we are either in a recession or headed for one. Why the angst?

A: Well, I think there are pockets in the economy. Certainly they’re having difficulty. I think you always find that in a vibrant, dynamic economy. I think that not enough has been done to tell the greatest story never told, and that is that we are enjoying a period of growth right now, and we should acknowledge what got us there and continue those same policies on into the future.

Fred Thompson: Weak dollar damages us internationally

A: Dangers of a weak dollar is that it will damage us internationally. We’ve got to have a strong dollar because of the creditors that we have there. It helps our exports to a certain extent now, and we’re enjoying that part of it. But any president of the United States has to stand behind a strong dollar. The whole world needs to know that we are good for our obligations.

Mitt Romney: Giuliani increased spending by 2.8%; I held increase to 2.2%

ROMNEY: Well, we both agree with the need to cut taxes and have fought to do so. [But] Mayor Giuliani fought to keep the commuter tax, which was a very substantial tax, an almost $400 tax on commuters coming into New York.

GIULIANI: The difference is that under Governor Romney, spending went up in Massachusetts per capita by 8%; under me, spending went down by 7%. I brought taxes down by 17%. Under him, taxes went up 11% per capita. I led, he lagged.

ROMNEY: It’s a nice line, but it’s baloney. Mayor, you got to check your facts. #1, I did not increase taxes in Massachusetts; I lowered taxes. #2, the Club for Growth looked at our respective spending record. They said my spending grew 2.2% a year; yours grew 2.8% a year. But look, we’re both guys that are in favor of keeping spending down and keep taxes down. We’re not far apart on that.

Ron Paul: Currency inflation counterfeits prosperity & destroys poor

A: Yes. I think this is not a consequence of free markets. What’s happening is there’s transfer of wealth from the poor and the middle class to the wealthy. This comes about because of the monetary system that we have. When you inflate a currency or destroy a currency, the middle class gets wiped out, so the money gravitates to the banks and to Wall Street. See, that’s why you have more billionaires than ever before. Today this country is in the middle of a recession for a lot of people. Poor people know about it. The middle class knows about it. Wall Street doesn’t know about it. Washington, D.C., doesn’t know about it. We’re depending on the creation of money out of thin air, which is nothing more than debasement of the currency. It’s counterfeit. And it is a natural, predictable consequence that you’re going to have people benefit from it and other people suffer.

Rudy Giuliani: Fundamentals: low taxes; few regulations; control spending

A: The market is a wonderful thing. The free market is one of our greatest assets. With the free market, the sky’s the limit. The reality is that what we have to do is look at the fundamentals. A president can’t be a economic forecaster. What are the fundamentals? Keep taxes low. Keep regulations moderate. Keep spending under control. That’s an area where we need a lot of help.

Rudy Giuliani: Romney increased spending by 8%; I cut spending by 7%

ROMNEY: Well, we both agree with the need to cut taxes and have fought to do so. [But] Mayor Giuliani fought to keep the commuter tax, which was a very substantial tax, an almost $400 tax on commuters coming into New York.

GIULIANI: The difference is that under Governor Romney, spending went up in Massachusetts per capita by 8%; under me, spending went down by 7%. I brought taxes down by 17%. Under him, taxes went up 11% per capita. I led, he lagged.

ROMNEY: It’s a nice line, but it’s baloney. Mayor, you got to check your facts. #1, I did not increase taxes in Massachusetts; I lowered taxes. #2, the Club for Growth looked at our respective spending record. They said my spending grew 2.2% a year; yours grew 2.8% a year. But look, we’re both guys that are in favor of keeping spending down and keep taxes down. We’re not far apart on that.

Debbie Stabenow: We waste billions on subsidies for Halliburton

BOUCHARD: She’s ranked the #1 biggest spending Senator. It’s a real problem. If a Republican’s going to waste your money, I’m gonna kick it hard. We need line-item veto, her amendments and votes belie the fact that she’s a big spender.

STABENOW: When I came in 2001, we had a surplus, now we have a deficit. The reality is hundreds of billions of dollars in tax subsidies for fuel companies - Halliburton - no bid contracts - this has to stop.

Mike Bouchard: We need a line item veto

BOUCHARD: She’s ranked the #1 biggest spending Senator. It’s a real problem. If a Republican’s going to waste your money, I’m gonna kick it hard. We need line-item veto, her amendments and votes belie the fact that she’s a big spender.

STABENOW: When I came in 2001, we had a surplus, now we have a deficit. The reality is hundreds of billions of dollars in tax subsidies for fuel companies - Halliburton - no bid contracts - this has to stop.

Mike Bouchard: Federal tax-and-spend is out of control & costs jobs

John Engler: Michigan lagged in 1990s; now restored & renewed

Throughout the ‘90s, after a decade in which Michigan lagged the nation, our goal was to “restore and renew our great state.” We did just that.
• Record cuts in property taxes were combined with record increases in school funding-full funding for every child.
• More than 58,000 children are learning in 183 charter public schools, while 26,000 are benefiting from schools of choice.
• Welfare caseloads are at the lowest levels since the 1960s-down more than 70%.
• With the creation of nearly 900,000 new jobs, unemployment went down from 9.3% in 1991 to 3.4% in 2000, the lowest unemployment rate in Michigan history!
• We are the number one state for new factories, expansion projects and capital investment.
• And Michigan gained nearly 650,000 new residents, the fastest growth since the 1960s and an increase almost 20 times the growth in the previous decade.
• Together, we turned Michigan’s lights back on. You might say we went from watching taillights to welcoming headlights.