General Motors will bring new Cadillac production to downtown Lansing — and 600 jobs to do the work.
Who deserves the credit for this boon for mid-Michigan.
Virg Bernero? He is the mayor of Lansing and he has touted manufacturing and the auto firms as mayor and gubernatorial candidate. He also asked the City Council to approve tax incentives as a lure for the GM work.
The Lansing City Council? Its members voted for the tax incentives, worth a reported $9.8 million. (GM’s overall investment in the expansion is supposed to be $190 million.)
The Lansing work force? I’ve long heard the argument that the UAW locals in Lansing have built a good relationship with GM managers, especially as compared to the more conflict-prone groups in Flint. Did GM decide to expand where it liked what it saw on the factory floor?
GM executives? They made the decision and reportedly could have sited the work in Ohio or even elsewhere.
David Hollister? The former Lansing mayor was the hub of the Keep GM campaign of a decade ago that is credited with landing the existing Cadillac production in Lansing. Once Cadillac was going here, did it just become common sense for GM to add to it?
Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Michigan Legislature? They teamed in 2007 to replace the Single Business Tax with the Michigan Business Tax, which is supposed to be more friendly to manufacturers, like GM.
President Bush? The bailout of GM started under his administration.
President Obama? The bailout and reorganization continued under his administration.
Congress? Lawmakers approved the borrowed money needed to bail out GM.
No one? Is this just an example of a simple business decision in response to the market conditions as they are perceived at the time?
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