Lansing — Gov. Jennifer Granholm met with a group of MSU students and area residents Wednesday to discuss her economic plan to stimulate job growth throughout the state.
Granholm asked each person on the panel about how they would alter the state's economy — some suggested combining education with job training while others wanted a plan to make sure their children could attend college.
"What would you do if you were me," Granholm said. "We've asked the legislature to restructure our taxes so there is no impediment to businesses staying here or coming here."
The event, held at Nic's Family Eatery, 3812 S. Martin L. King Blvd., in Lansing, was part of a statewide tour the governor is doing to talk with people about their concerns.
Emily Mixter, a premedical sophomore, said the state needs help to keep kids in school so they go on to receive higher education.
"We had less than 50 percent of people graduate from my high school," Mixter said.
Granholm proposed that by paying for the first two years of a student's attendance at a community college, or giving students $4,000 as part of the Michigan Merit Award, the state's workforce could become more educated and help create more jobs.
"What we can do in Michigan is preserve the jobs we've got," she said. "What we want to do is reshape our state's economy. We need to create a skilled work force for tomorrow."
Creating jobs to work with construction, such as fixing older nursing homes or updating university buildings, is something Granholm said the state is considering.
Ari Adler, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, R-Wyoming, said although the governor's economic plan contains some key points, it still has room for improvement.
"We have been reviewing the governor's plan since it was introduced and we have been working on plans of our own," Adler said. "The plan the governor originally introduced we felt was flawed. We all are interested in economic revitalization, but doing it in the right way."
The state Senate will review a package of bills next week that could generate $1 billion to fund grants for up-and-coming industries and potentially create more jobs statewide, Adler said.
The money would come from selling a portion of the state's tobacco settlement, meaning the money the state gets would drop from about $280 million to $185 million.
"That is going to result in $1 billion worth of investment," Adler said.
As for the Michigan Merit Award, Adler said the Senate is looking into adjusting that in other ways.
"We do not agree with the way she has proposed that," he said. "We are looking at the merit program to see if changes need to be made."
