Candidate for Governor, Rick Snyder

myFOXDetroit.com - 1. Why are you running for office?

Lansing is broken. When I looked around at the candidates running for governor I noticed they all had one thing in common - they are career politicians. They are the same people that got us into this mess. I am not a career politician. I am a businessman. I have spent my career growing companies and creating jobs. When I was the Chief Operating Officer of Gateway Computers, I helped grow the company from roughly 700 employees to over 10,000. As an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, I have started companies from scratch, creating hundreds of jobs in Michigan. I also helped create our community’s regional economic development program called Ann Arbor SPARK, which has helped create and retain thousands of jobs in our state.

My experience in the private sector has given me the skills needed to create jobs here in Michigan. I understand the needs of our businesses.. The role of government isn’t to create jobs; rather, it is to create an environment where businesses are able to flourish. Long-term growth will come from small businesses and entrepreneurs who find Michigan the best place to start a new business. In order to reinvent our economy we must reduce the tax burden, reduce the regulatory burden and use much more discretion when handing out tax incentives.

2. What is the biggest problem facing Michigan residents today and how would you solve it?

The biggest problem facing Michiganders today is lack of jobs in our state. I am running for governor to establish economic conditions that will facilitate more and better jobs to be created in Michigan. I have a proven record of job creation. I will work with elected officials, business leaders and other stakeholders to transform our business environment.

I’ve helped create small businesses and innovative companies and I believe that long-term growth will come from Michiganders starting and growing Michigan businesses. To make it easier on them we have to focus our economic development efforts on helping them as well asreduce the tax burden, reduce the regulatory burden and use much more discretion when handing out tax incentives.

Having spent much of my career in the private sector, I know how difficult it is to pick winners and losers. Politicians and government shouldn’t be making those decisions. When John Engler asked me to serve as the first Chairman of the MEDC, our goal was to attract business and jobs to Michigan and improve Michigan’s business climate. As chair of the MEDC, I focused on retaining and growing Michigan businesses, not excessively doling out incentives and multi-million dollar ad campaigns. Since then, the current administration and career politicians in Lansing have distorted the organization’s purpose and lost their way.

Instead of focusing on creating the best business environment in the country, Governor Granholm has decided to focus on a few select industrial sectors and give excessive tax breaks to the companies that she believes will grow. The better approach is to lower the tax rate across the board and let the free enterprise system that has made our country great actually work.

3. What's a better solution: finding revenue or cutting costs to meet Michigan's public education budget? How would you do it?

I have laid out a detailed plan for reforming our education system and ensuring that students are given the best possible preparation for today’s business demands. Michigan’s education system is in need of key reforms. It is vital to have a standard set of measurements to properly evaluate students and ensure that they receive a full year of education each and every year.

I believe Michigan should implement a data collection and support system similar to the one currently used in Florida, so that students have a portfolio of work that travels through the system with them through their education. Parents should have a school finder website that allows them to evaluate how schools are performing when deciding where to send their kids. Michigan should adopt a system of merit-based pay that rewards better performing teachers and schools, and should quickly address failing schools.

I support need-based scholarships for higher education and would seek to make college affordable for those who would not be able to receive higher education without assistance.

I do not believe it is necessary to reduce spending in schools or to raise taxes. Michigan’s budget system is broken. To address this, I have proposed and written a comprehensive white paper detailing a plan I call ’value for money’ budgeting which is available on my website www.RickforMichigan.com. A similar outcome and results based budgeting system worked successfully for the state of Washington to enable them to eliminate a $2.4billion deficit several years ago and it can work here.

As governor, I will move our state’s budgeting system from a one year system to a multiyear system. Further, every area of state government