2. Vision

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2. Vision

Posted 10 months ago by Engage Michigan

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Engage Michigan said 10 months ago

“The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were.” -- John Fitzgerald Kennedy

We all have a vision of what makes Michigan great; more importantly, we also have a vision of what could make the Great Lakes State even better. The job of turning that vision into reality starts with a conversation. That conversation begins at our issues convention on November 12th at the Lansing Center.

We welcome everyone’s ideas for ways to move our state forward, and we look forward to vigorous, passionate, and most importantly, civil debate. Everyone at the table is there because they are deeply committed to Michigan’s future, and they deserve to have the ideas they hold dear be considered and discussed respectfully.

Note: This forum is for issue based discussions, not election related content. Please adhere to these guidelines or your post may be removed.
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g9rocks64 said 10 months ago

The need to mobilize and take control of our economy is important. Why are schools taking the brunt of cuts, along with social services and job services? The line is "people must be self-sufficient," then we create an economy that holds jobs at minimum pay - remember the celebration when McDonald's was hiring? - while cutting assistance.

Michigan holds the most valuable commodity - water - and should not sell any more water to other states for growing industries. Let them come here if they want access to water, while carefully remembering that even though we have one of the largest fresh water supplies, it must be utilized wisely and with conservation.

Whatever happened to renewable, zero carbon emissions energy sources? Why not have a Michigan railway system, on a electro-magnetic rail so visitors can easily arrive at their destination and businesses can easily and cost effectively travel around the state? Where is solar panel development? Michigan has two major universities - U OF M AND MSU - where the bright minds of tomorrow can conduct research into solving our dependency on oil, foreign OR domestic?

Instead of trying to catch the bus on emerging technologies, why not look to future technologies? Think outside of the box and head into the "twilight zone?" Forging ahead and encouraging scientific research would promote Michigan. But don't forget K-12 education, for if we are truly to be successful, we must have our own citizens be highly educated enough for a pool to draw from, not Snyder's "let's attract foreign students and professionals" approach. Our own talent pool must be sufficient if we are to attract businesses, residents and increase Michigan's economic growth.
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bvwatson said 7 months ago

From my blog post: http://bvwatson.com/GoodGov/2011/06/good_jobs_create_tax_cuts.html

Good Jobs Create Tax Cuts

What does a job-creating government program look like?

We are in a time of higher unemployment, 8%-10% for the general population, and double that or more in the impoverished demographics of the urban core and rural outbacks.

We are also in a time of political aggression against direct government employment. Public workers -- teachers, janitors, office workers, administrators, policy-makers and public safety workers, construction inspectors and road crews -- are all under fire as examples of government waste.

What does a job-creating government program look like?

For 30 years, there has been an insistence that government taxes -- local, state and federal -- have been too high and that they are stifling business expansion. The obvious conclusion from this is that taxes should be lowered on employers. These tax cuts are cast as "job creating" tax cuts.

But are they?

Examining the relationship between individual tax rates and unemployment rates over the last 20 years (from 1991-2011) reveals nothing. Tax rates climbed in 1993 followed by a sustained drop in unemployment. Tax rates dropped in 2001 and 2003 followed by a sustained (and rapid) climb in unemployment. The bare facts are that tax rates have neither created jobs nor killed jobs. Nothing is that simple. There are no job-creating or job-killing taxes.

What does a job creating government program look like?

Perhaps we have it backwards.

We have been trying to produce a government program that offers a reward (a tax cut) in return for a hope (job creation). Such a program of course results in many businesses taking the reward without delivering on the hope.

What if we turn that around? What if we produce a government program that offers a reward (a tax cut) in return for performance (job creation)?

What if good jobs create tax cuts?

A reward in return for actual performance is a well-known concept in business. A CEO gets a bonus AFTER the stock price has reached record levels. A Division VP gets a bonus AFTER his division meets its P/L goals. A salesman gets a bonus AFTER she sells 150% of quota for the quarter.

We have tried government rewards for a promise of performance. But that is contrary to all common business behavior. We should turn that around.

Good Jobs Create Tax Cuts.

This is no longer a "job-creating" or "job-killing" government program. This is a "tax-killing" jobs program. Businesses can participate -- and reap the reward -- or not, at their choice. The performance metric is straight foward:

Over the last tax year, did you increase or decrease your US work force?
Over the last tax year, did you increase or decrease your US compensation?
Over the last tax year, did you increase or decrease benefits to your US work force?

In short, if a business improved the condition of the working class in the US, then they are rewarded with a tax cut. If not, they get no reward.

There are hundreds of ways to detail out this program. Tax benefits may increase based on the degree of improvements in the working class. Tax penalties may be applied to those who degrade their workers, through layoff, wage reductions or benefit reductions. The work force may be segmented into minimum wage, middle class wages, and executive wages, and measured separately (for example, no credits for increases to the executives).

But those are details. The driving principle behind them is the reversal of the discredited belief that tax cuts create jobs. They do not. That principle must be discarded and replaced with:

"Good Jobs Create Tax Cuts"

We've been on the wrong road long enough. It's time to turn around.
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SDPhelps said 6 months ago

Due to the large tent the Democratic Party has constructed, we have many different viewpoints and a plethora of issues near and dear to the hearts of our party members. This has created a diverse environment that has truly been a blessing to our cause, but at the same time offered what sounds like an inconsistent message at best, and a schizophrenic one at worst. Where as issues may change based on the community, the election cycle, the opposition, and the office, we must determine a strategy that encompasses the beliefs that are most universal to Democratic ideals.

Simply put, we need to transition our campaign strategies from running on issues to running on principles.

These principles and their talking points should be able to be used in any campaign, from City Hall to Capitol Hill, and from court houses to the White House. This will better provide for consistency throughout our party, as well as the foundation for the next generation of Democrats to build; issues should be local, principles universal. Otherwise, from race to race, our message is inconsistent and we never create a brand - something Republicans have excelled at. We must link what it is to believe in Democratic values to what it means to believe in American values, and we must link the greatness of the latter to the principles of the former. If we determine these principles, build a message, and consistently communicate it across the board from election cycle to election cycle, we will succeed in creating a brand and controlling how the public sees us. We have spent enough time being who the Republicans have described us as being, let us turn the tide and be assertive when it comes to proclaiming our identity.

The question that remains is this: What is that narrative?
I would suggest our dedication to liberty and equality for all, regardless of wealth or distinction in society. I would suggest our commitment to seeing the chance for happiness and for prosperity to be available to all who pursue them, and for our pledge to see every child in this country have an honest shot at greatness.

We must also reclaim certain traits the Republicans have hijacked along the way: patriotism, family values, and security.

We do not need to abandon issues that are important to us and to our communities; however, we do need to create a context in which we use them to illistrate our principles.

In the end, it will not be good enough to have the right answers; we have always had plenty of those. It will not be enough to simply care more than the other side; we have never been short in the compassion department. To see widespread success, we must win the emotional battle for the hearts of our voters through a cohesive and consistent narrative built on these principles and communicated to the public in a way that will land our message.

Before deciding our next move, we need a blueprint.

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