Michigan needs jobs. In order for this to happen, we need to rely on private enterprise and the free market. No government program can produce long-lasting jobs. Creating jobs in the current environment is like planting seeds in an unplowed field. If anything does grow, it will be stunted and will produce little.

Fiscal responsibility must be practiced in government as it is practiced in the household. We must stop wasting our children’s futures. Tax increases will only destroy more jobs. Our state offers temporary tax abatements to lure businesses to our area; but those abatements run out when the businesses begin making money. Then, those businesses are taxed out of existence. Why would any investor choose our state for long term investment?

Green technology is a good way to augment our current energy supply; but it cannot replace it totally. Our day to day lives require a constant source of energy. Nuclear energy must be looked at again. It is a cheap and efficient energy source that will attract industry. Control methods for these plants are far more advanced than during the era of the Three Mile Island incident. Comparing the two would be like comparing today's computer to one from the 1970s. Hollywood activists who killed nuclear power were short-sighted. The pollution created by making energy with alternative means is astronomical.

The DNR, DEQ, and OSHA should be limited to fining industries only for blatant breaches of the law, not incidental mistakes. The money these departments have taken from industries could have been used to reinvest in new jobs.

During these hard economic times, we must show preference to American citizens. Not one of our tax dollars should be spent on those who are not here legally. The money saved should be put into schools and into our children’s futures.

When the cabin of an aircraft loses pressure, passengers are urged first to put on their own masks on before helping others. Let's apply this strategy to our failing economy by fixing our economy before helping others.

We need to shrink government and get it out of the way so American entrepreneurs can create jobs.