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Gov. Whitmer at the State of the State (Photo: WXYZ screenshot)
Michiganders hoping to get a clearer sense of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's agenda for her first year in office walked away empty handed from Tuesday's State of the State, as the new leader offered more platitudes about working together than she did specific proposals.
Whitmer spent much of the approximately hour-long address providing often-cited evidence on the state's myriad problems — namely, its bad roads and poor-performing K-12 schools — but just about every riff, with the exception of one on higher education, fell flat.
She urged we act "boldly and swiftly" to fix our damn D-grade roads, or risk "worsening the severity of the danger and costing drivers across our state even more." But no possible solution was floated, and the 47-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase recently proposed by a group of bipartisan ex-lawmakers went unmentioned.
On K-12, Whitmer said "we have been failing" the "devoted educators" across the state. "It's our system that has been broken, and while we can't fix it overnight and greater invesment alone won't be enough, we are going to do it." What, exactly, we are going to do, was not made clear.
Whitmer did propose a series of initiatives that could help people who've already graduated from our crappy schools. She set a goal to increase the percentage of Michiganders with a post-secondary credential from the current 40 percent to 60 percent by 2030, unveiled a proposed program called Michigan Reconnect that would teach adults in-demand skills, and proposed a scholarship that would guarantee two years of debt-free community college or two years of tuition assistance at a four-year school for graduating high school students who qualify.
The speech ended on a note of bipartisanship, as Whitmer sought to humanize the unsmiling Republican leaders seated behind her. She shouted out Republican House Speaker Lee Chatfield's five kids and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey's 12 grandchildren (as an aside, neither one of these family men stood after Whitmer spoke on the threat of climate change, citing the 50-degree heat that recently replaced a negative 50-degree wind chill).
"We all want what's best for our communities across our state and it's important to remember that the enemy is not the person across the aisle," Whitmer said. "The enemy is extreme partisanship ... when we stand together as Michiganders ... we can get the job done for the people of our state."
But despite the kumbaya moment, and the unambitious goal to equip just 20 percent more state residents with a post-secondary education in 10 years, Whitmer suggested that incrementalism — the near-certain result of political compromise — would not be enough to tackle the state's systemic issues.
"Turning a blind eye or passing phony fixes won't solve problems," she said. "In fact, they make it harder. Filling potholes instead of rebuilding roads; pretending that little increases can fix an education crisis like we have ... A government that does not work today can't get the job done for tomorrow and that ends now."
And it may be that incrementalism-just-won't-do mantra that inspired one more proposal. Whitmer kicked off a social media campaign to highlight the urgency of tackling the state's infrastructure problems as a possible road funding showdown with Republicans draws near. So if a pothole takes out your tire and strands you on the side of the highway, be sure to follow the governor's advice to take a selfie and post it to social media.
"#FTDR," said Whitmer. "You know what that stands for."
