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Gov. Whitmer signs billion-dollar spending deal

Michigan Capitol Building
wikimedia commons
Michigan Capitol Building

State officials are celebrating the signing of a billion-dollar spending bill Tuesday

The new law dedicates over 800-million-dollars for a fund to attract large scale economic development.

Critics, like Mackinac Center for Public Policy's James Hohman, say the state shouldn’t be giving companies large amounts of money to build here.

“When costs are considered, these things are a net drag on the economy as in they cost the state jobs, they don’t create them. And part of that reason is because the money that you use to subsidize one company can be used on a whole host of other services.”

But Brad Williams with the Detroit Regional Chamber says the state can take an “all of the above” approach:

“We can’t focus on just one thing. We have to look at livability but we also have to look at issues surrounding our business climate if we really want to be successful and grow.”

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