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After all the hype, all the talk and all the adoration, we will finally see if Barack Obama will be a good president. I'm not sure. The president is like a quarterback... he gets too much blame when things go wrong and too much credit when things go right. Obama has many challenges in front of him and many messes to clean up, especially the economy, so I am willing to cut him some slack... for a while at least.
However, when it comes to the great state of Michigan, I will have less patience with Mr. President than I will with how he deals with the rest of the country. That's not to say he has to come into office and come up with some magical plan to get Michigan back on track within the next six weeks. No, after the mismanagement this state has seen for the past 10 years even Obama can't work that kind of magic.
When it comes to the Obama Administration, Michigan needs a sound, long-term plan to bring back manufacturing jobs and revive the auto industry. Michigan also needs to use its natural resources... you know, the Great Lakes and coal to name a couple.
Unfortunately, Obama's track record shows he's against some of the things this state needs to succeed. First, his environmental record shows he is more than willing to line up with the Nancy Pelosi's of the world and impose ridiculous gas mileage standards on the Big 3 in the name of Global Warming, er... Climate change (now that many scientists are coming and saying Global Warming is a myth Al Gore and Company need another rallying cry.)
Obama also opposes coal production and that hurts us. Michigan has a lot of coal and with the energy crisis (gas prices will be hurting us again) we need to be at the forefront of coal production. Yes, coal mining can be a dirty business but new technology has made it a cleaner business and more research and development can make it even cleaner.
Obama could surprise me and help the Big 3 with more than just cash. He could come up with a strategy to help make the United States auto industry relevant again. Obama could also surprise me by not getting in the way of coal production in this state.
My advice to Obama is this: He should come up with tax credits, not handout, to businesses that create cleaner ways of producing coal. We don't to give billions to companies to try to find ways of making coal cleaner, we need to offer BILLIONS in tax credits to companies willing to lead the way and FIND solutions.
Second, Obama needs to help the Big 3 by offering them tax breaks for creating jobs and making more fuel efficient vehicles and not punishing them for making SUVs and trucks.
As far as tax breaks go, ALL businesses need breaks for creating jobs and businesses willing to relocate to the United States need tax breaks as well if they are bringing a lot of jobs with them.
Here's a request, Mr. President, get people back to work. Put politics aside and do what it takes to get this economy going again. And please, keep Michigan on your mind.
Michigan has a lot to offer. If we can rebound, it won't be long before the rest of the country follows.
Until next time, enjoy Michigan!
