LANSING — Last night, Gov. Rick Snyder gave his final State of the State address. In response, state Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D-Dearborn) issued the following statement:
“While we heard the governor talk a lot about how he believes the state is succeeding under his administration, many Dearborn residents are living a different reality. This past year, the Michigan Legislature passed sweeping proposals and tax shifts that benefit millionaires and developers, but there have been no resulting improvements to our state’s economy and few jobs to show for it. For Michigan to truly become the ‘Comeback State,’ we must urge Gov. Snyder and the legislature to invest in policies that revitalize the economy for more than just a select few. We need to stop giving tax breaks to corporations, and instead invest in developing and retaining our talent through support of K-12 education, higher education and skilled trades.
“Recently, our state lost on out on a major corporation, Amazon, setting up a second headquarters in Michigan. The rationale for not choosing Detroit was poor public transit and a lack of an ability to attract talent. It was great to hear the governor talk about skilled trades, but enough talk. We need to act on this critical issue now.
“We must do more to protect the people of our state. Why was there no mention of a college affordability program? Where is the action on skilled trades? Why does our state have some of the worst public transportation in the country? These are the types of issues we need to focus on to truly build a better Michigan for all.”