So, Who Do I Vote For?

One of the most intriguing things about moving to Michigan this year is being stuck in a heated race for governor. On one side is Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), incumbent, and on the other is Dick DeVos (R), businessman. The Governor's four years have been plagued by the auto industry's troubles, which she isn't directly responsible for. Meanwhile, DeVos has been CEO of Amway, a company that sells all kinds of household products through salespeople. Amway has made a lot of money, making the DeVos family very rich. DeVos has also invested heavily in Grand Rapids as I've mentioned before, helping it become a major destination for various conferences. Grand Rapids might as well be called DeVos Rapids or DeVos City, his name is everywhere.

Now when I vote, I do not just simply vote for all Republicans, I get to know the candidates, put them up against my beliefs and see who I want. Tonight was the 1st of 3 debates between the two candidates and of course, I'm now more confused than ever as to who I'll vote for. Here's an idea of what was going through my head during the debate:

Ok, I look at the economic numbers every day at work, they are simply not good. And even though it's not all Granholm's fault, there are some things she could've done better. Siding with the unions isn't good, not going after Honda aggressively enough wasn't good, and raising the minimum wage I think was a bad idea. It sounds good on paper, but it raises firms' labor costs and ultimately excludes the non-union worker out of the labor market since the difference between union and non-union wages becomes small and puts a premium on skilled tradesman, putting the unskilled low wage laborer at a disadvantage.

How about DeVos then? He's done a lot of good. Yes he invested in China but because of the laws there he had to fully invest there, nothing he could do there. He's created jobs, but his company revolves around employees selling products, which through the Amway business model made DeVos a lot of money. But all DeVos talks about is creating jobs, which is good, but Michigan needs long-term solutions, namely education.

Granholm thinks education is important, more funding for secondary schools and universities is a must. Tougher curricula is also a must. But the performance of schools compared to Ohio is not very good. The state is going to be in financial trouble to cover all of the state employees' health and pension plans. More could've been done here. Back to DeVos. We have to invest more in schools, duhh. Then it's back to the old, "we need leadership, yada yada yada."

Ok, well what about social issues. Granholm made a mistake in releasing a prisoner who went onto commit more murders (don't know the whole story with that). DeVos is pro-life, but his stance on births resulting from incest and/or sexual assault isn't clear. DeVos seems to have no idea on what he's talking about when it comes to social issues. He brings everything back to fighting for Michigan jobs and being a true leader. Granholm is asked about cutting back on police officers. She goes back to the budget deficit being the biggest among all the states, Gov. Engler (previous governor) leaving me in a tough spot. I don't like hearing excuses. I'm like Janet Jackson, what have you done for me lately?

So the reigning Governor is putting a good deal of blame on her predecessor, and the challenger has no real answers except he's going to create jobs. The good (or bad) news, there are 2 more debates.

I was gonna talk some sports too but it's getting late, that'll have to wait.