Senate candidates differ on how to improve Michigan's economy
2006-09-11
Source: Detroit Free Press
email this
print this
del.icio.us
digg this
rss feedRepublican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Bouchard recently drove across Michigan in a U-Haul moving van, saying it symbolized people leaving the state in search of jobs.
Democratic incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow called for the creation of a U.S. trade prosecutor to enforce international agreements while touring a northern Michigan aluminum products manufacturer. She says unfair trade agreements have undercut Michigan jobs.
Stabenow and Bouchard, who square off in the Nov. 7 election, agree that the faltering economy is one of the biggest issues facing the state today. The state's unemployment rate of 7.0 percent was tied for second-highest in the nation in July and the Michigan rate has been higher than the national rate since late 2000.
But Stabenow and Bouchard have different ideas on how to improve the state's economy.
Stabenow, seeking a second term in the Senate, says Michigan jobs have been lost to foreign competition in part because President Bush hasn't protected the interests of the state's automakers and other manufacturers. She says trade agreements with other nations need stricter enforcement.
"We need a 21st century manufacturing policy in Washington," Stabenow says. "We need to force other countries to compete with the U.S. -- that's a race we can win."
Click here to see the full article.
