HUGS FOR A SENATOR: There was much ire for legislators throughout Thursday’s events, but one lawmaker received quite a bit of adoration when she arrived shortly before dinner. Senator Patti Birkholz, R-Saugatuck, beamed, having just seen passage of a bipartisan energy package. Some critics found plenty to hate in the new energy package, including increased market power for major utilities and higher rates for consumers. But many Republicans and Democrats smiled on the package because it creates new capacity and calls for 10 percent of state electricity to come from renewable sources. Birkholz was the Senate Republicans’ lead negotiator on the package just a few months after helping lead compromise on new, bipartisan water withdrawal legislation. Many may quarrel with the details of both the energy and water packages. But, in these two deals, Birkholz created a warm flicker of pragmatic cooperation in a capitol that has too often been a cold stove of hyperpartisan inaction.
BEWARE THE MAGIC BULLET: The frustration with Lansing among west Michigan business leaders was intense, as was the desire to “fix it.” For example, near the end of a break-out session on governance, one west Michigan business owner jumped out of his chair, demanded repeal of the state business tax and said, “Let’s make this revolutionary!” The session moderator, former Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, tried to introduce some pragmatics into the urgency. “We used to talk about tax-and-spend Democrats,” Sikkema said. “But now we are tax-cut-and-spend Republicans. I don’t mind getting rid of the Michigan Business Tax, but I want to see the specific list of spending cuts to eliminate it.”
YOU KNOW YOUR NOT ON MACKINAC, WHEN…: Organizers were clearly pleased with the full rooms and long lines at the registration tables. With this event, west Michigan answered southeast Michigan’s Mackinac Policy Conference, long held at the Grand Hotel right after Memorial Day. The two events certainly have their contrasts. Policy discussion in Grand Rapids was far more blunt and angry than the sense of resignation many Mackinac attendees have about their inability to track major policy outcomes from the many rich discussions on the long Grand Hotel porch. Maybe that’s because there’s no charge for the free-flowing cocktails on the porch of the Grand. In Grand Rapids, a pre-dinner gin and tonic was six bucks.
CAN EAST & WEST MICHIGAN EVER MEET? That’s Mary Kramer’s question. The publisher of Crain’s Detroit Business has launched a new e-newsletter called “Bridging 96″ to highlight “innovative companies making a difference on both sides of the state. Sign up at crainsdetroit.com/getemail.
TWO OUT OF THREE: The conference attracted many top-flight business leaders as well as Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, and House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford. Word was Gov. Jennifer Granholm was invited months ago, but chose to go on a trade mission to Japan. She would have faced a largely hostile crowd in west Michigan.
4 Comments
Here’s a bit of a tonque-in-cheek idea. Let’s split Michigan into two states, East Michigan and West Michigan for, say, five years. At the end of that time, assess which state has the best economy, based on such factors as job growth, per capita income and college graduation rates. Then put the two states back together again with the loser agreeing to be governed by the winner’s public and economic policies. It may be the only way to settle the east-west divide.
Good job on both sides for bipartisan work to get the energy bill and water bill passed. Legislation is not always what either side exactly wants and may not have been the best overall bill, but the point to compromise is for both sides to give up something to get something. So getting something is better than nothing.
Nice job Mr. Sikkema on being a fair and good moderator to quell a single minded declaration with a pointed question of experience and knowledge.
It’s worth nothing that of the 53 metro areas in the nation with population higher than 1 million, Grand Rapids ranks 49th in per capita income and 45th in percentage of populatin with four year degrees — significantly behind metro Detroit, with all its problems.
Now, that may be good if you own a factory and want cheap, non-college educated labor.
But if you are father worried about your daughter’s future…is that the kind of economy you want, if you want to see your grandchild down the road?
Let’s just think about what kind of economy we want before buying someone’s — anyone’s — vision.
Since there seems to be some movement in state energy policy, friends of the alternative energy industry should keep in mind that old windmills present waste problems. Here’s a link to an English version of the story that appeared in the Danish newspapers recently:
http://www.cphpost.dk/get/109033.html
Maybe we’ll have to decide whether we want to get in on early in the windmill blade recycling industry. For better or worse, we’ve already got a bit of an industry in Canadian garbage.