Republicans saw the economy as Whitmer’s major weakness in the election. Did this change? ⋆ Michigan Advance

Republicans have spent most of the 2022 cycle hurling attacks on the economy and inflation under Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and President Joe Biden — which many political analysts say should help the party post gains during the intervening period.

“The entire Whitmer administration is infected with a culture of progressive, anti-business political activism. It is stifling growth and destroying our state’s economic future by sending the wrong message to job seekers and businesses, by telling them we don’t want them here,” GOP Board of Governors candidate Tudor Dixon said last week during their “Open for Business”. Trip.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake), April 20, 2022 | Laina G. Stebbins

After the GOP-led Legislature approved Republicans’ $2.5 billion tax cut plan in May, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) blamed Whitmer and Biden for inflation.

“The rising cost of basic necessities affects us all, putting ever thinner strains on family budgets – especially for the working class and the less fortunate – while government revenues soar. These are the unfortunate, if unforeseeable and avoidable, consequences of the economic policies that President Biden and Governor Whitmer have been pushing for the past two years,” Shirkey said.

Whitmer appeal filed the legislation, which calls the sweeping changes in tax legislation constitutionally “invalid and unenforceable.”

Whitmer instead proposed targeted tax breaks, eliminating the tax on retirement income, which she says will save half a million seniors an average of $1,000 a year, and raising the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for Michiganders out of town Working class from 6 to 20 percent of federal credit, which it claims will “put nearly $3,000 in the pockets of 730,000 working families.”

While the GOP plan would have cut the state’s income tax rate from 4.25% to 4%, Dixon has promised an even bigger tax cut if elected. The Republican wants to phase out the personal income tax until then eliminatedModeling states like Texas.

Personal income tax brought in $14.5 billion during fiscal year 2021, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury in May, and is one of the largest sources of state tax revenue.

In recent weeks, Whitmer has gone on the offensive on economic issues, touting the success of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), his plan to reduce student debt and the post-pandemic economic recovery. This comes despite some Republicans having suggested that Whitmer, who is running for re-election against former right-wing commentator Tudor Dixon, would distance herself from an unpopular president.

However, Biden’s poll ratings have risen since he signed the $750 billion IRA in August, while Whitmer has a steady lead over Dixon.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer at the Eastern Market in Detroit on March 16, 2022 | Ken Coleman

The law cuts healthcare and energy bills, creates new jobs, cuts the country’s deficit by $300 billion, ensures billion-dollar companies pay at least 15% in taxes, and invests in communities’ infrastructure and natural resources. It is estimated that 1.4 to 1.5 million jobs will be created across the country by 2030.

“The Anti-Inflation Act will create and protect millions of high-paying manufacturing jobs across the country, and I’m taking action today to ensure Michigan is ready to reap its full benefits,” Whitmer said in a statement this month. “Together, we can create and protect hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs here in Michigan, build and convert factories, boost clean energy production, and do what we do best — get the world rolling. The IRA’s job creation investments will build on our momentum and keep unemployment low and economic growth high.”

Whitmer earlier this month signed a series of executive directives accompanying the passage of the IRA.

Executive policies aim to reduce Michigan prescription drug costs and use available IRA resources to create jobs in Michigan and Mobilizing government agencies to help businesses reduce energy and supply chain costs by helping businesses reduce emissions, retrofit facilities and use clean energy to operate.

Dixon has made her opposition to the IRA clear.

Before the IRA made its way through Congress, Dixon urged Whitmer to join her in asking US scythes Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) and Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.): “Vote NO to the misleadingly named Inflation Reduction Act because it will raise taxes for all Michiganians, which is the last thing they can afford right now.

Biden too released his long-awaited student debt plan last month. It Student loan debt forgiven of up to $10,000 for borrowers earning less than $125,000 and married couples earning less than $250,000, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, in Michigan not treated as taxable income.

Whitmer has also touted this as a win for the nearly 1.4 million Michigandians who have federal student loans.

“People can use these savings to buy a home, start a business, get married or start a family,” she said in a statement.

But Republicans in Michigan and across the country have harshly criticized Biden’s move.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon during a Farmers for Dixon press conference at Swisslane Dairy on September 19, 2022 | Allison R Donahue

Out August 25th on Fox and Friends, Dixon panned the plan as “the tax they said they would not levy.” It’s all humans [that] said, “I don’t want to take out a loan” or have paid off their student loans and are now looking for other people’s loans [sic].”

Dixon also dismissed Biden as a politician.

“And let me check my watch,” she said. “It looks like midterms are coming up. I think it might just be another way to buy votes.”

Democrats defended themselves against high inflation rates ahead of some signs of economic recovery over the summer.

The US inflation rate is still estimated at around 8.3% in August, but has fallen. This year, it peaked in June with rising prices 13.3% from January 2021 to June 2022, according to the US Joint Economic Committee. In June, when the report was released, Michigan had the second-highest monthly cost of inflation, up $103 – only behind Illinois ($115).

After months of high gas prices, motorists have gotten some relief at the pump. In June, the highest price recorded was $5.02 per gallon. That Average The national price per gallon is now $3.75 per AAA, which is still above last year’s average of $3.19 per gallon. There are concerns that prices could rise again as Hurricane Ian hits Florida. Gas averages $4.12 per gallon in Michigan, with a recent increase due to a Fire in the refinery in Indiana. That’s more than last year’s average of $3.24.

Whitmer attributes some of the falling gas prices to an executive order she signed last month that was repealed Limits on the hours drivers can drive when hauling gasoline and diesel and allowed the state to begin transitioning to fueling in the fall.

But Republicans are still attacking, saying Democrats should have rolled back the gas tax.

“Failed Biden administration policies continue to hurt the Michigan economy, and now gas prices are rising again,” Republican State Leadership Committee spokesman Mason Di Palma said Tuesday.

Other economic indicators were more positive. The Treasury reported at the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference in May that Michigan wages and salaries rose 9% in 2021 and are projected to rise 9.8% in 2022.

The national unemployment rate is low at 3.7% for August. Michigan’s preliminary unemployment rate for August is slightly higher at 4.2%. That number has been declining since April 2020, when the pandemic began.

Ken Kollman, director of the Center for Policy Studies at the Institute for Social Research and a professor of political science at the University of Michigan, said it’s not surprising that Democrats like Whitmer are adapting their campaigns to the dynamics of the improving economy.

“They will adapt to the moment, and especially if they get some traction by touting their recent student loan forgiveness policy or the recent statewide cut in gas prices,” Kollman said. “The Democrats, of course, given that the governor and the president are incumbents, will tout any economic successes they can.”

In May, the Detroit Regional Chamber released results from a statewide survey of Michigan voters showing that the top concerns of Michiganns at the time were inflation and the economy. Almost 73% of respondents said the economy was on the wrong track because of inflation.

Of course, given that the governor and president are incumbents, Democrats will tout whatever economic successes they can.

– Ken Kollman, director of the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for Social Research and professor of political science at the University of Michigan

An August poll by the Left-leaning San Francisco-based firm Data for Progress (DFP) and Evergreen Collaborative, a left-leaning political advocacy group founded by former staffers on Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s 2020 presidential campaign, show that 64% of Michigan voters support the IRA . This includes 87% of Democrats, 65% of Independents, and 42% of Republicans in the state.

A EPIC MRA survey polled Michiganders this month and found that abortion and inflation were voters’ top issues ahead of the election, with 24% of respondents listing both as their #1 priority.

Kollman said focusing on the economy could help Democrats switch voters instead of focusing on some of the hotter cultural issues like school curriculum and LGBTQ+ issues.

“[Democrats] will try to avoid those problems because they’re not winning among the people who’ve had to swing them for the past few months,” Kollman said.

He said Democrats clinging to the economy could stymie efforts by Republicans campaigning for recession during the pandemic, businesses closing their doors and businesses that have moved out of the state in recent years .

“Whether it succeeds or not, it’s certainly an attempt to dull some of those criticisms,” Kollman said.

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