When Rick Snyder came into office, Michigan had the nation’s 5th highest unemployment rate. After nearly four years of his relentless positive Republican action, guess where we’re ranked now?
Yup: 5th.
That number doesn’t tell the full story either. The only reason we’re ranked 5th instead of 4th or less is because so many Michiganders have left the job market. Our unemployment rate is still 1.3 percentage points above the national average of 6.1%. The worst news, however, is that our state lost 9,500 jobs between July and August, the highest job loss in the country. By contrast, 35 states saw job growth improve in the same month.
Abysmal numbers like these are the reason that Rick Snyder has pivoted from his “Comeback Kid” or “Comeback State” rhetoric in his campaign ads. Instead, he’s talking about a mythical “road to recovery”. Considering the state of Michigan roads right which are crumbling before our eyes thanks to a profound lack of leadership by Rick Snyder, the use of the road metaphor is laughable. Republicans control every aspect of our government and they STILL can’t get the issue of road repair funding resolved with winter fast approaching.
The bad economic results are also why Gov. Snyder is now running on Obamacare, touting his success at getting Medicaid expansion passed. This is complete historical revisionism since Snyder himself was initially a roadblock to getting Medicaid expansion passed then displayed yet more failed leadership once he hopped on the bandwagon. The effort lost our state hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds and forced countless working poor residents to wait even longer for the healthcare coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act under Medicaid expansion.
Don’t buy the lies. Governor Snyder and Michigan Republicans in general have ensured that Michigan has stagnated. If it weren’t for efforts by the Obama administration and the seeds planted by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to revive the manufacturing sector in Michigan, we’d be even worse off than we are. For Gov. Snyder to take any credit for that is offensive and deceitful. The GOP’s wars on women, workers, senior citizens, students, and the middle class have done nothing to improve our state’s economy. These groups are truly the only thing Snyder has been “tough” on.
On November 4th, Michigan voters will have the perfect opportunity to hold them accountable.
