COLUMN: Snyder had missed opportunities in State of the State
On Wednesday, Governor Rick Snyder gave his second State of the State address—as usual, the Governor painted a sunshiny picture, while the Democratic response painted a gloomy picture, and pundits criticized the speech for lacking details.
Ultimately, it is hard to go into much detail in a short speech, and the State of the State is not supposed to be a speech of details.
That being said, Snyder had some missed opportunities. By not going into the details of the Emergency Financial Manager law, he failed to address false criticisms that it is based in racism or union-busting, and while the new law is flawed, the flaw is in its implementation, not its purpose.
Details on K-12 and higher education funding would have been nice to include, even if it was just a general outline. On the other hand, Snyder nailed the issue on the head when he said we need to make sure people are “not just college-ready but career-ready,” emphasizing the importance of vocational schools.
Snyder also summarized what his administration has accomplished: overseeing the state during a 1.9-percent drop in unemployment (larger than the national average), passing a budget on time, repealing the Michigan Business Tax and reforming government transparency.
He also stressed that more work still has to be done. The road funding formula is 61 years old, and he wants to change that, saying, “The state cannot afford to neglect the health of our infrastructure.”
Snyder addressed two transportation issues with southeast Michigan. The first was the need for a regional public transit system, something long overdue in Metro-Detroit.
The second issue is a bit more controversial: the Detroit River International Crossing—a second bridge from Detroit to Windsor. Legislation for the bridge has failed to make progress in the Senate, and the project has stalled for the moment. Snyder encouraged the legislature to move forward with the project, citing “it’s not a bridge issue; it’s a jobs issue,” and special interests should not get in the way.
While catchy, the line he used was flawed, since it is more than just a jobs issue. That being said, we can go forward with this project without taxpayer dollars, and it will both bring revenue into the state as well as ease congestion at the border crossing, so the time has come for the legislature to move forward with the project.
The last main point was that government’s “role is not to create jobs but to create an environment that creates job creation.” This is an area his administration has had success in, but more work can be done, especially eliminating pointless regulations, several of which he highlighted.
Overall, the speech was a good one, even if it was lacking in a couple key areas; Snyder did a good job of highlighting accomplishments as well as goals for the coming year, and hopefully the state can continue its path to recovery.
