metro
Making A Choice from page 14
entertainment district. We're running
out of housing in Downtown Detroit, so
we're a big part of new housing develop-
ments. We're also doing great things in
the neighborhoods. We're the party that
went and got the funds from the federal
government to help with removing
blight. That program needs to accelerate
and the mayor is doing a great job with
that.
We did the public lighting author-
ity. The trash is being picked up again.
Public safety is improving. We've
launched programs to help the struc-
turally unemployed. We're helping
provide services to families by having
the help they need right there in the
local schools. We're doing microloan
programs to help entrepreneurs. I could
keep going.
IN: Many young Jewish professionals
are involved in the film industry and
want to work in Michigan, but since
film incentives have been cut, there
is not enough work. Do you have any
plans to increase film incentives?
Snyder: No. I thought it was a good
compromise to keep incentives at $50
million. It's a terrible economic decision
to subsidize films. It doesn't pay. We can't
pay 40 to 50 cents on the dollar for any
business to operate in our state. The rea-
son I kept some incentives is because we
started to establish something and we
want to keep some presence and provide
some opportunity. It does create positive
buzz for the state, but I can't justify the
cost of increasing the incentives.
a strong middle class to have a strong,
vibrant economy. We have the fifth
worst unemployment rate in the coun-
try. We're one of the few states that
hasn't recovered all of the jobs lost
in the great recession. Rick Snyder's
economy is working for the wealthy
and well-connected, but not for the
middle class.
To get a good job, you need a good
education, and education will be my
No. 1 priority. I'll put money back that
was cut from our schools. It will be my
No. 1 budget priority.
I believe that we build a strong
economy from the bottom up and the
middle out, not from the top down.
That's why I'll cut taxes for middle-
class and working families. Working
couples raising two kids have seen
their taxes go up 77 percent under
Gov. Snyder. Low-wage earners who
were able to claim the Unearned
Income Tax Credit saw their taxes
go up. Pensioners are now paying
taxes on their pensions. A retired
couple who was born after 1952 is
paying $3,100 more a year because of
increased property and pension taxes.
I want to eliminate the pension tax
and provide tax cuts for the middle
class.
People are being hurt in this econo-
my. Our communities are being hurt.
Our schools are being hurt. Group
after group has been under attack
— working people through Right to
Work, women having access to repro-
ductive health care, the LGBT commu-
nity having domestic partner health
benefits taken away. These policies
aren't working. That's why
I think we need a change.
JN: How would you plan
to make up the revenue
if you eliminate the pen-
sion tax and provide tax
cuts to the middle class?
JN: What are your vision and priori-
ties for Michigan, if elected?
Schauer: I decided to run for gov-
ernor because Rick Snyder's policies
and his economy may work for some,
but they are not working for most
Michiganders. I believe that we need
16
October 16 • 2014
Ji
Schauer: We have to stop
providing tax cuts to com-
panies that aren't creating
jobs or are outsourcing
jobs. I will eliminate a
number of wasteful con-
tracts and wasteful spend-
ing from this administra-
tion. I would stop provid-
ing tax cuts to companies
for oil and gas exploration.
We've got to make our
state government more efficient, more
accountable and more transparent. I
plan to audit every department of state
government and weed out waste and
apply those savings to middle-class tax
cuts, fixing our schools and fixing our
roads.
JN: What is your plan for fixing our
roads?
Schauer: My plan is based on a his-
tory of getting it done. In my first
term in the legislature, when John
Engler was governor, was the last time
Michigan did something significant on
our roads. I was a part of the biparti-
san solution to do that. When I was in
Congress, I helped bring $850 million
back to Michigan for our roads. It's a
question of leadership.
What I will not do is impose tax
increases on the middle class through
the gas tax or vehicle registration fees
as the governor proposes to do.
First, we need to ensure we get our
fair share from Washington. We can
improve government efficiencies and
apply those savings to our roads. And
third, if we still need money, we need
to find a fair solution. It can't be just
balancing this fix on the middle class.
We can't shield the business com-
munity from paying their fair share.
Heavy trucks need to be a part of the
solution as well.
I can't lay out a set of specifics, but I
will reach out to legislators to put their
best ideas on the table. I think all who
benefit from our roads need to be a
part of the solution.
JN: In today's partisan gridlock,
how will you get things done with a
Republican-led legislature?
Schauer: I look forward to it. I've
always represented Republican dis-
tricts. I was in the minority when I
was in the legislature and I worked
with Republicans to get bills passed.
I'm very comfortable working across
the aisle, and I think it's a strength of
mine. This state needs a governor who
respects the legislature as a co-equal
branch of state government. If elected,
I'll reach out to Democrats and
Republicans and start to build those
relationships.
JN: What do you think of the gover-
nor's handing of Detroit's financial
crisis? What would you have done
differently?
Schauer: It's clear that Detroit was
bankrupt due to many reasons, includ-
ing an erosion of manufacturing jobs,
loss of population, a corrupt mayor.
Gov. Snyder cut revenue sharing to
Detroit by $69 million in his first
budget. Bankruptcy was inevitable.
However, the emergency financial
manager tool was one re-imposed by
the governor after voters rejected it.
I would have taken a different, more
Making A Choice on page 18
Fact-checking
The Candidates
Job Growth in Michigan
Gov. Snyder said Michigan has seen an
increase of 300,000 private sector jobs
under his leadership. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics data indicate job growth since
Snyder took office ranging from 182,000 to
291,000. While jobs are increasing, there
are still about a half million fewer jobs in
Michigan today than in 2003.
Mark Schauer said that Michigan is "one
of the few states that hasn't recovered all of
the jobs lost in the great recession." In actu-
ality, according to the U.S. Department of
Labor, 29 states have yet to recover all the
jobs lost in the great recession.
Education Funding
This is fuzzy, according to Bridge Magazine,
put out by the Center For Michigan, a non-
partisan, nonprofit, 501(c)3 "think-and-do
tank" based in Ann Arbor.
According to the organization, "Snyder
can accurately claim education funding is up,
while Schauer can just as accurately claim
school funding is down.
"Snyder has claimed that K-12 spending
had increased by $660 per student since
he took office. That number reflects total
appropriations, which have indeed risen
from $12.98 billion in fiscal year 2011 to
$13.36 billion appropriated for the current
fiscal year, while the number of students has
declined.
"A lot of that increase has gone toward
teacher pension liabilities, which is funding
that may or may not be prudent but is not
money that is flowing into classrooms.
"The state's basic per pupil foundation
allowance is down since Snyder took office,
from $7,316 in 2010-11 to $7,076 in 2013-14."
Rising Taxes on Middle Class
Schauer said: "Working couples raising two
kids have seen their taxes go up 77 percent
under Gov. Snyder."
This is true.
According to a tax analysis conducted
by the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency, a
middle-income family earning $55,000 a
year with two children and a home are pay-
ing higher taxes under Gov. Rick Snyder.
The net income tax paid by that married
middle-income couple before Snyder took
office was $963. The net income tax paid by
the same family after Snyder took office is
$1,702. This means they are paying at least
$739 more in taxes, which amounts to a 77
percent increase.