The Republican gubernatorial field has proposed dangerous and irresponsible agendas that would undermine Michigan’s economy and rob working Michiganders by gutting funding for public schools, law enforcement, and infrastructure.
Governor Whitmer has shown she can deliver bipartisan wins for Michigan families and put money back in people’s pockets, and she is fighting to build on this momentum to support Michiganders through tough times.
Governor Whitmer Is Cutting Costs for Families
- Governor Whitmer secured $400 refund checks for every Michigan driver, for each car they own – a total of $3 billion back in the pockets of Michiganders.
- “In the largest effort of its kind in state history,” Governor Whitmer is cutting the cost of higher education and job training with the new Michigan Reconnect and Futures for Frontliners programs. Across the state, these programs have already put more than 170,000 Michiganders on a tuition-free path to good paying jobs.
- Whitmer is making child care more affordable and has expanded low or low or no-cost child care to 105,000 more kids, with the “the largest investment in child care in the state’s history,” “six times the state’s usual resources.” She also started the MI Tri-Share Child Care program, a “first of its kind” program in the country to split the cost of care between the state, participating employers, and workers and expanded it to 59 counties so far.
- Whitmer is cutting the cost of pre-K, helping enroll 35,000 4-year olds in affordable, high quality preschool through the Great Start Readiness Program. Whitmer’s 67 percent increase in GSRP funding is helping “steady the child care sector in Michigan’s lowest-income communities.” Since Whitmer delivered this historic investment, more affordable preschools have opened across the state, “including new sites which are affiliated with 61 community-based organizations and 21 school districts.”
- Whitmer signed bipartisan bills to lower the costs of prescription drugs by capping copays, empowering patients to access cheaper treatment, and preventing middlemen from “driving up drug costs.”
- Increasing access to affordable health care, Governor Whitmer extended Healthy Michigan to cover over 1 million people.
Governor Whitmer Cut Taxes For Michigan Small Businesses and Is Putting More Money Back in Michiganders’ Pockets
- Governor Whitmer cut taxes for hundreds of thousands of local Michigan businesses, adding up to $200 million in annual savings.
- She cut personal property taxes for small business owners through bipartisan legislation that will equate to $75 million saved for local businesses.
Governor Whitmer Is Fighting to Save Michiganders Thousands of Dollars in the Upcoming Budget
- She proposed sending an immediate $500 rebate to the families who need it the most as they face rising costs on everyday expenses.
- Governor Whitmer wants to fully repeal the retirement tax, which would save half a million households an average of $1,000 annually.
- Whitmer is fighting to cut taxes for working families by more than tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit from 6 percent to 20 percent, saving over 700,000 families an average total of $3,000 a year.
- She wants to cut the cost of dental care for the 3 million Michiganders covered by Medicaid and Healthy Michigan and make affordable mental health care more accessible by investing $361 million to open 40 school based clinics and recruit providers.