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Today, Gov. Jennifer Granholm proposed a “Jobs Race to the Top” for America to encourage other states to adopt programs that create jobs fast over the short term in fields critical to our future like clean energy.
Michigan has been a leader in the clean energy economy. Just this week, Michigan landed its first large wind turbine assembly plant.
And Michigan boasts 109,000 clean energy jobs and counting, lending credence to the notion that our successes can serve as a model for other states. Imagine every state in the union replicating Michigan’s early results, and you get the idea.
But that bold plan will hit the skids if the proposed tax breaks and unemployment benefits package passes as is. Right now, some very important clean energy incentives aren’t yet slated for extension.
Michigan’s been successful due in part to innovative incentives like the ones slated to die. If we’re going to have a national economic recovery, growing clean energy jobs is going to be a large part of it – and that can only happen by using incentives to help the young industry along.