This past week, we learned sixty-two percent of all jobs in Michigan pay less than $20 per hour. Further, more than two-thirds of those jobs pay less than $15 per hour. To put this into perspective, nationally Michigan ranks 33rd in per capita income in absolute terms.
That’s not good enough. Michigan doesn’t just need more jobs, we need more good jobs-jobs that help people afford the food, housing, child care and transportation they need to be prosperous. Good paying jobs will allow our residents to grow and thrive. Good paying jobs will make our state stronger and more competitive.
At BLM, we’re backing the Good Jobs for Michigan plan because we believe all communities deserve the opportunity to transform their regions by having tools to compete for large scale projects with hundreds of good paying jobs. The Good Jobs proposal is a transparent, performance-based strategy for ensuring Michigan’s competitiveness in a day and age where economic incentives are the norm.
We are losing jobs and opportunities to Ohio and Indiana that frankly should be coming to Michigan. Michigan hurts itself by failing to roll out the red carpet for new and expanding businesses when our competitors are offering such compelling incentive packages.
The state must act to compete for the good jobs we need. Join us in supporting Senate Bills 242-244, and reach out to your lawmakers today! Urge policymakers to adopt this package swiftly, so we can put more Michiganders back to work at income levels that make sense in the 21st century.