Issues

Health Care

Our present health care system is in crisis. It is not a crisis of quality of health, but one of affordability and access. We have 1,156,000 people in Michigan who have no health insurance. We have folks on Medicare who have no prescription coverage. (Medicare Part D pretends to address this issue, but is a complex bureaucratic nightmare). Medicaid is underfunded and does not cover health care costs. Private insurance is becoming so expensive that employers are either not providing it, or are cutting back on the benefits. Companies that are going bankrupt or restructuring are reneging on their promise of health care benefits to their retired employees.

We have to insure that everyone in Michigan has affordable access to medical care and prescription drugs. In the short term we need to make sure we maximize federal Medicaid dollars, buy drugs through Canada or State Consortium's, encourage the formation of Medical Care Access Coalitions, and promote healthy life styles. In the long term we need to start the dialog on how we create universal health insurance for everyone in this country.

Economic Development and Jobs

Every year we lose more and more young people from the U.P. because they can not find good paying jobs to sustain a family. Our first order of business should be to maintain the jobs that we already have. This means that we need to work for adequate funding for our prisons, schools, and universities. We need to develop public policy that protects our environment but allow our industries such as timbering and mining to continue operating. In the longer view we need to look to future job development. Economists tell us that 21st Century jobs are moving to areas that have a perceived high quality of life; a skilled and educated work force; access to good transportation; utilities such as high speed internet and reliable electrical service. Governor Granholm has proposed to jump start this process by selling off a portion of the funds the state would have made in tobacco settlement payments for $1 billion. That $1 billion would then go into three pots — private equity/venture capital, small business loans and cutting-edge technology investments. We in the U.P. must be certain that we are not left out in this development.

Education

Public education has been and continues to be a cornerstone of our democratic society. The job market of today and tomorrow demand more highly educated workers. Educating young people is an investment in our future.

We must continue to support free public education in Michigan. We also must recognize that not one size fits all. Schools in the U.P. are dealing with declining enrollment. Weather and geography contribute to increased transportation and fuel costs. These factors need to be considered when funding schools.

After graduating from high school, fewer students are able to find good paying jobs with benefits at the mines or in manufacturing businesses. Governor Granholm wants to double the number of students who go to college in the next ten years so they have the skills to succeed in the work place. We have to make sure that all our public universities and junior colleges in the U.P. are adequately funded. We need to make sure that college tuition rates don't go up to the point that middle class citizens can no longer afford to send their kids to college. We need to work on public policy that ensures talented poor kids won't be denied a college education.

Energy

You only need to look to the cost of your last fill-up at the service station or your last heating bill to know that this is another crisis we face. In the short term we must look at ways to prevent big energy companies from making record profits at the expense of everyday Americans. The longer term answer is to look seriously at ways of conserving energy, and developing clean alternative energy sources.

Other issues

For sake of brevity I have only touched lightly on some major issues we face in Michigan, the U.P., and in some cases the entire country. I look forward to hearing from you about these issues and others that face us in the U.P. I want to bring the collective wisdom of our citizens to Lansing.