Rep. Meerman issued the following statement in response to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2024 State of the State Address on Wednesday:

This week, I had the profound displeasure of witnessing the Governor’s State of the State address. To hear the Governor tout progress at a time when mothers and fathers in my district are questioning whether they must find a second job just to keep up with their grocery bill shows her utter disconnect from the working families of Michigan. The Governor’s speech was laden with overtures to union friends and supporters in the green energy lobby. A blind eye has been cast on the families who are struggling, and I welcome the Governor to speak with the members of my community to see how her policies have impacted them.

We have the opportunity to provide real lasting relief to Michigan workers and families. With unprecedented funding in state coffers, we should permanently reduce Michigan’s income tax so Michiganders can keep more of their paycheck and plan for their futures. The Governor has dug her heels in on Michigan law and she and her Lansing cronies fully believe they know how to use your income better than you.

For all the talk of reduced inflation – I challenge the Governor to try to plan a family budget on a limited income. We can mitigate the threat of inflation here in Michigan, we can do better than the national rate of inflation but insofar as the Governor continues supporting her friend President Biden, I have no confidence in meaningful change here in Michigan. For all the talk of inflation slowing and stopping, the historic highs of our grocery bills say otherwise. Our dollar is bloated, and it is because of misguided policies applauded by the Governor.

Our state enacted a convoluted Green Energy Plan that goes even further than the plan enacted in California, the very plan California had to walk back. We cannot reinvent how we get our energy overnight. No amount of government subsidies will make green energy more affordable than the energy sources relied on today. The only factor that must be considered is affordability and that was not a factor that was considered. Affordability and government subsidies are mutually exclusive, and our government should not spend tax dollars on corporate cronies in the hope that they won’t push their profit margins onto consumers. The plan enacted by progressives is unsustainable, it will strain our energy grid, and we cannot afford to let chance dictate or winter heating bills.

I am unimpressed with what the Governor views as progress. Our government is one that must operate by the people and for the people, not for out of state interest groups looking to make a buck on taxpayer subsidies.