Last night was Michigan’s State of the State address given each year by the sitting Governor.  I have for years believed and stated that the State of the State and for that matter, the State of the Union addresses should just be given in writing.  They are basically the wish list of the sitting Governor or President as well as touting their perceived or real accomplishments over the past year.

There were no real or perceived accomplishments by Governor Whitmer over the last year so she spent most of her 35 minutes in her speech talking about her wish list for the upcoming year and the remainder of her first term.

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy every year analyzes the Governors State of the State addresses to determine the number of proposed government expansions and limitations if any.

This year they analyzed the Governor's speech and found that she has called for eight expansions of our state government and zero limitations on our state government.

The following is a list of those eight expansions of state government proposed by Governor Whitmer in last night’s State of the State address:

  1. Issuing state road bonds
  2. Expanding overtime pay to tens of thousands of Michigan workers
  3. Making pre-k universal for kids living in districts where test scores are low or poverty is high
  4. Having literacy coaches train educators to assist struggling readers
  5. Launching the “Governor’s FAFSA Challenge” to encourage high schoolers to fill out the financial aid form
  6. Enshrining Obamacare rules into Michigan law
  7. Creating a task force to focus on prescription drug transparency and lowering costs
  8. Extending health coverage for low-income women with babies

Brought to us by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy you can view the past number of expansions and limitations by gubernatorial administrations since 1969 here.

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