Gov. Gretchen Whitmer | Michigan.gov
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer | Michigan.gov
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has approved a $5.6 billion COVID-19 pandemic recovery plan for Michigan, including more corporate handouts, according to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Among her plans is renewing the Good Jobs for Michigan (GJFM) program.
The governor's plans to increase corporate subsidy programs should not be surprising due to her legislative past. "What would be a surprise is if these handouts worked this time around," Michael LaFaive of the Mackinac Center wrote in an op-ed. "Research shows that they are not effective and come at great taxpayer expense."
LaFaive also says that Congress should "reject her call to renew GJFM, along with other corporate and industrial welfare programs."
The Mackinac Center has followed the corporate-welfare votes of over 500 politicians all the way back to 2001. The center has also assessed each politician based on the total dollar value of subsidies authorized by each vote cast.
During her time in the Michigan House and the Senate as a legislator, Whitmer voted to support more than $4.5 billion in corporate handouts. That is 98.1% of the corporate subsidy programs that were presented to her while serving in the Legislature.
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