MDP Launches MichiganDashboard.com to Demonstrate Michigan’s Lack of Progress Under Snyder
LANSING — The Michigan Democratic Party today launched a new website, MichiganDashboard.com, that demonstrates how Gov. Rick Snyder has failed in his quest to make Michigan a “top 10 state.”
“Under the spell of Rick Snyder’s relentless positive spinning, you might think Michigan is a top 10 state,” said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer. “The facts are far from it. Indeed a closer look at the economic statistics shows that Michigan’s recovery is stalled compared to the rest of the nation. Furthermore, Snyder’s agenda of favoring corporations over middle-class families is endangering progress toward economic growth.”
In September 2011, Snyder told a group in Livonia, “We need to take Michigan from the ‘50 out of 50’ columns and put ourselves to the top 10 – or number one.” In December 2012, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley said, “We are on the cusp of becoming a top 10 state.”
Snyder has been touting Michigan as the “comeback state,” but Michigan’s economic recovery has reversed under his administration. A year ago Michigan’s unemployment rate ranked 41st among the states, but as of December 2012, Michigan had fallen to 45th in the nation.
Michigan’s median household income is about $4,500 less than the national average, ranking Michigan at 34th overall. However, Michigan’s middle-class families and seniors will be paying more in state taxes because of Snyder and Lansing Republicans eliminating the child deduction, reducing the homestead property tax credit, reducing the Earned Income Tax Credit and implementing a tax on seniors’ pensions, among other tax increases.
The reduction in the Earned Income Tax Credit will also have a negative impact on Michigan’s ranking in the child poverty rate, which is currently 36th in the nation. The Michigan League for Public Policy estimates 9,000 children will fall back into poverty because of this change.
The Michigan Dashboard provides data on the following measures:
- Jobs and Economy
- Unemployment
- Underemployment
- Per Capita Income
- Median Household Income
- Gender Earnings Gap
- Education
- Pre-K Attendance
- Pupil / Teacher Ratio
- Higher Education Investment
- Percentage of Adults with Bachelor’s Degree
- Quality of Life
- Infant Mortality
- Children in Poverty
- Air Pollution
- Adult Obesity
- Value for Government Money
- Public Corruption
- Credit Rating
- State Government Spending Transparency
- Structurally Deficient Bridges
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