Tisdel, Gov Chat About Job Creation Revisit
- Team MIRS
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
(Source: MIRS.news, Published 12/30/2025) House Finance Committee Chair Rep. Mark Tisdel (R-Rochester) got a call earlier this month from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who wanted to compare notes on crafting a new job incentive program because, as the chair said, "what we've been doing is not working."
He shared with her what he calls the "three key elements" in any new strategy, beginning with "performance pay only." This translates to mean: "The money goes out after the fact. You identify desired behaviors. You identify desired outcomes. When these are obtained, then a benefit is paid."
The second item he shared appeared to be a road block as he and Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) want to see any new program be administered by the state treasurer rather than the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) or the Strategic Fund.
"We want to keep this a simple treasury program. They do a good job of collecting money and a good job of dispersing it," said Hall.
Hall recently said, "The big sticking point is we don't want it to go through the MEDC and, traditionally, it goes through the MEDC … I don't trust them."
Tisdel revealed that the "third key element is that all businesses are eligible." Under that approach, "whether it's one business that creates 1,000 new jobs or 1,000 businesses creating one job each, it gives everyone a chance" to benefit from state incentives if they fulfill provision number one.
Rep. Mike Hoadley (R-Au Gres), who chairs the Economic Competitiveness Committee, sent a 10-point proposal to the speaker's leadership team while their “Real Jobs” bill remains in committee and is set to be debated next year.
To buttress his argument that current incentive programs are not working, Tisdel reported that since 2000, "the state has spent $20 billion on corporate incentives, and we've lost 145,000 automotive industry jobs." He conceded that some of those can be traced to automation (but) "it's just a fact we're in the bottom 10 states in education (and) we're one percentage point behind Louisiana in attracting out-of-state residents" to come here. The southern state has 77% of its population home-born while Michigan is at 76% native residents.
On the income front, underscoring the need for a new program, he indicated that 24 years ago, "we were 16th in per capita income nationally. Now, we're 40th."