Governor Whitmer and GOP House Speaker work on new strategy to bring jobs to Michigan

Governor Whitmer and House speaker working to bring more jobs to the state

Governor John Engler invented the MEGA job creation program. Under Governor Whitmer, she and the legislature developed the SOAR program. House GOP Speaker Hall is working with the governor to eliminate both and create a new economic development strategy.

LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - Governor Whitmer and GOP House Speaker Matt Hall are working on a new strategy to attract more jobs to Michigan, but if the House GOP floor leader has his way, they won't need a new program.

Big picture view:

Back in the day, Governor John Engler invented the MEGA job creation program. Under Governor Whitmer, she and the legislature developed the SOAR program.

House GOP Speaker Hall is working with the governor to eliminate both and create a new economic development strategy.

"Governor Whitmer has some ideas, and I'm committed to working with her on those ideas to see if we can eliminate SOAR and MEGA and what we could do moving forward," said Hall.

What they're saying:

The House GOP floor leader is working on two ways to bring and keep more jobs in the state. One idea is to give companies money after they actually create jobs.

His other, more radical idea is to ask Midwest states or every state to sign an agreement that officials would stop trying to steal jobs from each other.

"Ultimately, what I'd like to see is a universal ceasefire across the country, like an interstate agreement," said State Rep. Bryan Posthumus. "Maybe it's pie in the sky, but that's what I'd like to see. Corporate welfare is not the way our state or our country should be going."

Dig deeper:

In the budget the governor signed last week, there was specific language pledging to do a better job of creating more jobs, but no nationwide or Midwest job-stealing ceasefire.