While Republican gubernatorial candidates plan reckless, unsustainable cuts for roads, law enforcement, and public schools that would cripple the state economy, Governor Whitmer is leading Michigan’s strong recovery by cutting taxes for small businesses and investing hundreds of millions to support jobs right here at home.
Governor Whitmer’s COVID-19 Response Saved Lives and Protected Small Businesses
- Analyses from The Detroit Free Press, AARP, the New York Times, and the University of Michigan’s Center for Health and Research Transformation showed that Governor Whitmer’s decisive actions saved lives, and experts from around the country have praised Whitmer’s response as a model for combating the disproportionate impact of COVID in Black communities.
- Governor Whitmer delivered $420 million in relief to small businesses and launched 23 economic relief programs benefitting more than 25,000 companies and retaining more than 200,000 jobs. She provided $100 million through the Small Business Restart Program to help restaurants and other place-based businesses cover costs by providing grants up to $20,000 for mortgage, rent, taxes, payroll, and other operating expenses.
- Governor Whitmer was singled out by Bloomberg for “presid[ing] over an economy that improved the most in its history since the pandemic began two years ago” and overseeing “the biggest manufacturing boom” in more than a decade.
- Thanks to Whitmer’s strategic investments into small businesses when they needed it most, Michigan saw record small business growth in 2021 with smaller firms adding 170,000 jobs in the first three quarters of 2021 – the fastest growth rate in over 20 years. Michigan was ranked as a top ten state for new business creation in 2021. Last summer experts ranked Michigan’s economic recovery as the second strongest in the country, thanks to a “series of initiatives” outlined by the Governor. And for the second quarter of last year, the state’s economy grew at such a rapid clip that it was the third highest in the nation and the best in the Midwest.
Governor Whitmer Continues to Lead Michigan to a Strong Economic Recovery with Historic Investment, Tax Cuts, and Support for Businesses
- Governor Whitmer is delivering an estimated $200 million in annual tax savings for hundreds of thousands of Michigan businesses. In another move to keep building gains for Michigan’s robust economic recovery, she signed a $75 million tax cut for local businesses.
- Through her Growing MI Business program, Whitmer invested $409 million to help local businesses “retain or create jobs and boost the state’s economy.”
- Governor Whitmer has created more than 20,000 auto jobs. She landed a $7 billion investment in Michigan auto manufacturing, the largest in GM history, creating and retaining 5,000 jobs, while generating thousands more jobs in the community and producing $28.8 billion in new personal income for Michigan families. Whitmer secured another investment of nearly $2 billion to expand electric vehicle battery production in Michigan, supporting over a thousand good-paying jobs.
To connect small businesses with local talent, Whitmer set up free virtual job fairs that have connected over 2,600 employers and 9,900 job seekers. The Governor additionally created nearly 1,500 apprenticeships in new sectors with an emphasis on recruiting Michiganders from historically underrepresented groups, while addressing labor shortages.
