In News Releases

Contact:
Alex Rossman
arossman@mlpp.org
517.487.5436

LANSING —The Michigan League for Public Policy issued the following statement on Governor Rick Snyder’s 2017 budget presentation. The statement may be attributed to League President & CEO Gilda Z. Jacobs.

“While we support the budget funding proposed today to immediately address the crises in Flint and Detroit schools, we deplore having to clean up state government messes when there are so many other pressing needs. We can’t make the state budget a teeter-totter that helps those in crisis but ignores those in need, or these disasters will repeat themselves in other communities and schools around the state. Improving infrastructure and supporting early education and child care, nutrition and health for low-income families should be priorities statewide, and Michigan needs systemic policy changes and new and stable revenue streams to do so.

“Today’s budget proposal did include some major victories for the people of Michigan that we have been fighting for for years, like expanding Healthy Kids Dental to all eligible kids in every county and increasing the clothing allowance for low-income kids. We hope that these significant improvements survive the legislative process, and that the budget cuts that will surely come do not target these or other vital programs and services that Michigan kids, workers and families depend on. Finally, we hope the governor and Legislature will step up to finally and permanently address the significant racial, economic and geographic disparities that are perpetuated in the budget process year after year to show we truly are ‘one Michigan.’”

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The Michigan League for Public Policy, www.mlpp.org, is a nonprofit policy institute focused on economic opportunity for all. It is the only state-level organization that addresses poverty in a comprehensive way.

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