Michigan Economy Quotes

Doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican in Michigan. We want jobs in Michigan.

People in Michigan are good at separating fact from fiction. They know, better than most of the country, what happens to the economy and jobs when the scales are tipped too far in favor of one group over another.

I love the people of Michigan. I'm fighting hard for them with the car industry. I'm constantly talking about the car companies moving out and going out Mexico and other places, Sean, and they know I will protect them. I will not let it happen. We're not going to lose our industries anymore.

As a Michigan senator, I feel a special responsibility to protect the Great Lakes. They are not only a source of clean drinking water for more than 30 million people but are also an integral part of Michigan's heritage and its economy.

Although the reasons for Michigan's malaise are varied, one big reason is our state's almost uniquely uncompetitive tax structure, which one General Motors official called the costliest of all jurisdictions where GM operates.

We are all better off when we raise skills in our state, and I know that Republicans and Democrats are going to hear from their communities, hear from their constituents, hear from the businesses in their areas about really making sure that we've got the workforce to make us competitive and raise wages in Michigan.

I do know that all of the Michigan delegation worked very hard as related to the revival of the auto industry. There was really a choice between bankruptcy and liquidation. There was no one that was willing to come up not only with the cash to keep them afloat but also to serve the warranties of everyone, you and I that drive all these cars. There was no one that could have picked up those pieces other than the federal government. [The auto bailout was] bipartisan from the get-go. [Without it,] Michigan would have hit 40 percent unemployment rates.

During Governor Jennifer Granholm's administration, Michigan has experienced job losses, declining personal incomes, diminishing home values, and the highest unemployment rate in the nation.

Everything I've done in my career has started in and around Detroit, you know, the metro area and Michigan.

In Michigan, in the mid-'80s, the unemployment rate goes way up because a lot of factories shut down. And then, the mid-2000s, to pick a date, the unemployment rate in Michigan isn't that much higher than in the rest of the country. But the main way that happened is people moved.

We hear a lot about rebuilding Detroit, and we just spent $70 billion to bail out the auto industry - well, they need to be cost competitive, too. If they have high-cost energy, those suppliers are going to move to Japan or Mexico instead of Michigan and Tennessee.

Michigan has a lot at stake in the defense industry, and the defense industry has a lot at stake in Michigan.

I think I'll do well in Michigan. I've been talking about cars for five years.

The people of Michigan and the people of our country - we have lost our industries, such a big chunk of our industries and our jobs, and I'm not going to let that happen. It won't happen anymore, believe me.

All 50 states had the same national economy. And on virtually any measurement you wish to look at, Michigan has moved up and improved against the others.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, before NAFTA went into effect, there were 285,000 auto workers in Michigan. Today, that number is only 160,000.

In five years, you're going to be blown away by the strength and diversity of Michigan's transformed economy.