State Rep. Greg Alexander stressed that state government’s focus should continue to be on infrastructure, lowering costs for families and economic growth following Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s State of the State address.

Instead of growing government by billions of dollars with new programs and unsustainable spending like the governor called for in a state budget proposal recently, Alexander pointed to the current fiscal year budget which saw state government tighten its belt just as many families throughout the Thumb have been forced to do with their own budgets.

“I heard a lot from the governor about how we can grow government and have it play a central role in fixing problems that people are facing,” Alexander said. “How is the governor planning on paying for all these ideas on her way out the door? Growing government means taking more from taxpayers, and that’s something hardworking people I represent can’t afford. She has also disclosed a plan to take hundreds of millions of dollars from the state’s rainy-day fund, after Democrats already blew through a $9 billion state surplus previously. Worse, she resorts to fearmongering with things like Medicaid coverage if government revenue does not increase to offset federal COVID-era dollars we already knew were expiring.

“It’s past time to return money to taxpayers, let them keep more of what they earn to meet rising costs, and focus available tax dollars on things an overwhelming number of people want to them used on – like roads, public safety and schools.”

Over the past several months, Alexander has supported cutting red tape and rolling back burdensome regulation in areas like licensing, health care and housing to help workers, families and small business owners save and give Michigan job providers the chance to hire, expand and compete. He said this is just one example of less government being a good thing instead of finding ways to create more government. 

Alexander also said the governor’s plans to increase literacy don’t get to the root of the problem. In 2023, Gov. Whitmer and the Democrat Legislature repealed third grade reading retention laws and A-F grade parameters, despite several states that rank in the top 10 nationally for reading scores having these laws in place. Since the governor took office, third grade reading proficiency has declined and the state slipped 12 spots in state education rankings from 2015 to last year, according to Edtrust Midwest.

“Simply throwing more money at the problem and expecting it to get fixed doubles down on bad policy,” Alexander said. “We have to look at what other successful states are doing, and that starts with clear standards for reading.”

Alexander also criticized the governor for continuing to tout green energy initiatives as a way forward for the state. He has been an advocate for restoring local authority over large-scale energy siting projects and proposals that will ensure reliability for Michigan’s grid.

“We have worked with the federal government to keep power plants online in our state and keep the heat on this winter,” Alexander said. “Many of the governor’s plans for energy aren’t affordable or reliable.”