West Central Michigan News

After the governor's State of the State address, state Representative Joseph Fox expressed skepticism about the governor's commitment to bipartisanship. According to Fox, "To Gov. Whitmer, bipartisanship is a 'half-truth' meant to score political points." He argued that if genuine bipartisan efforts were a priority, power would be shared with Republicans in the evenly split House of Representatives.

The Michigan House of Representatives currently has an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, with 54 members from each party. Fox criticized legislation passed by Democrats in 2023, describing it as partisan. "Reflecting on the legislation that passed the House last year, which was overwhelmingly supported only by Democrats, it is plain that Gov. Whitmer is making phony claims to bipartisanship," he stated.

Fox also addressed his concerns regarding the $82 billion budget approved by Democrats last year. He described it as excessive and problematic for middle-class families due to high taxes. "Michigan cannot prosper while the government throws money at Democrat pork projects and burdens middle-class families with high taxes," said Fox.

He further commented on how resources were allocated within this budget: "Worse, most of the $82 billion went to big cities; rural and northern Michigan residents had to fight for the scraps." Fox concluded by stating his belief that large budgets have become fashionable in Governor Whitmer’s administration but come at a cost to taxpayers.