Michigan workers have been devastated, and the state’s COVID recovery trails that of every other state in the nation, but none of that apparently will stop President Joe Biden from visiting Michigan on the eve of Independence Day to ‘celebrate’ the state’s miserable pandemic recovery.
Of course, we know what the trip’s really for. He’s coming to town to boost Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s approval ratings.
In politics, the optics matter. That’s why he’ll be hanging out in sunny Traverse City during the Cherry Festival only days after the White House canceled a planned visit to Detroit by Vice President Kamala Harris, where the economic crisis is far deeper.
According to a recent published study, Michigan ranks 51st in the nation, with the slowest recovery from COVID-19 in the United States of America. Analysts ranked Michigan 44th in real GDP vs. pre-COVID levels, 44th in Economy and Labor Market rankings, 46th in job postings, 47th in Leisure and Travel rankings, and 41st in consumer spending.
Nearly 300,000 fewer Michiganders have jobs today than at the beginning of 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Despite the devastation Whitmer’s lockdowns caused to business and industry across the state, the Governor last week vetoed a bipartisan relief package for businesses that experienced unexpected costs protecting customers and employees from COVID.
Instead of posing for photo ops, the President should demand better from Governor Whitmer. As we celebrate our nation’s independence this weekend, the best thing Governor Whitmer could do is get out of the way of struggling families.
Tori Sachs
Michigan is on the verge of adopting what proponents describe as a “new theory of representation,” in which the state’s redistricting process would be built not on actual communities—counties, cities, townships and villages—but on so-called communities of interest. If the proposal goes forward, these new electoral districts will be based on concepts like identity and affiliation groupings. The result will be a representative system increasingly unresponsive to “we the people,” the one grouping to which all Americans belong and in whose name our constitutions were ratified.
According to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in April, COVID-19 case rates in Michigan were high because residents weren’t cooperating with government requirements and restrictions, and the arrival of a virus “variant.” The problem with the claim is the there is no data to support it.
Michigan state Rep. Jewell Jones will stand trial on drunk driving charges. Jones was in court Wednesday in connection to a drunk driving arrest on April 6. He was charged with resisting arrest, operating while intoxicated, reckless driving and possession of a weapon while under the influence of alcohol. Prosecutors said Jones drove from Southfield to Fowlerville where he crashed his car into a ditch. During his arrest, officials said Jones claimed to know Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and threatened to call her if handcuffed.
