By: State Rep. Pauline Wendzel

One of the big motivating factors behind my first run for office was wanting to keep more young people in Michigan and get them engaged in our political process.  I graduated at a time when most of my friends and classmates fled our state to seek new and better opportunities in other states, and what I’m seeing now is history repeating itself from the lost decade.

When I was appointed to this council, I was optimistic that there would be new and innovative ideas presented that could stem the tide of our population loss.  After the final recommendations, I couldn’t be more disappointed.

The council tried to solve fifty-years’ worth of problems in a few months and came up short by proposing weak, vague, and undefined proposals. The governor spent $2 million and six months to get told by a blue-ribbon panel she doesn’t have a strategy five years into her term.  This has been a common theme since Democrats took over Lansing, rushing to solve complex issues on an artificially short timeline, which is probably why council members didn’t get the final report until shortly before the 9 a.m. scheduled vote.   

Essentially, the council played activist for a day. They put forward multiple ideas, some of which have been kicked around by the legislature and study groups for years, without a way to execute them. Many of the recommendations are creating new task forces, new committees, and new study groups. The council didn’t want to hang the governor out to dry by outright proposing tax increases to pay for their ideas, so they passed the buck.  

To grow our state, we need to focus on personal and economic freedom that creates an environment where job creators from any industry can thrive. It’s the opposite of what Democrats have done this year, so I’m hopeful that after reviewing these weak proposals, Democrats in a 54-54 House will work with Republicans to move forward pro-growth, commonsense policies and re-evaluate the damage their policies have done to our state. To achieve success, we need to mimic the actions of high-growth states like Florida, Texas, Indiana, and Georgia.  Taking the playbook from California, New York, and Illinois has been a disaster, and it’s time to hit the brakes.