At Rally With Obama, Peters Calls for Investment in Michigan's Economy
Press Release
At Rally With Obama, Peters Calls for Investment in Michigan's Economy
Speaking to an audience of thousands at the Detroit Labor Day rally shortly before Barack Obama took the stage, Congressional candidate Gary Peters today called for action to invest in Michigan's economy to create new jobs and cut taxes for the middle class.
"We need to reform our trade policies so that we don't continue to ship hundreds of thousands of Michigan jobs overseas. We need fair trade policies," said Peters, a fifth-generation Oakland County native. "Michigan has the best workers, engineers, universities, and manufacturing facilities in the world, and we can compete with anybody. We also need tax policies that are fair and that give tax cuts to the middle class."
This is the second time that Gary Peters, whose race in the 9th District is one of the most competitive in the entire country, has spoken at an event with Barack Obama in Southeast Michigan. On June 2nd, Peters introduced Obama at a town hall meeting in Troy. Today, Peters joined Sen. Carl Levin and national Labor leaders onstage in Detroit's Hart Plaza to welcome the Democratic Presidential Nominee back to Michigan.
For the past eight years, the Bush Administration, working with supporters like Congressman Knollenberg, has stifled an economic recovery in Michigan by embracing trade policies that ship jobs overseas, protecting billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies for the oil industry, and rejecting critical tax incentives to help new alterative energy companies.
Peters strongly supports increasing funding for research to help develop new technologies that will create jobs here in Michigan. In a telephone forum last month with Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) and world-renowned energy scientist Stan Ovshinsky, Peters pledged to take action to expand economic and research investment.
Conversely, Peters' opponent, incumbent Republican Congressman Joe Knollenberg, has blocked investment in alternative energy technologies in favor of protecting tax subsides for the oil industry. On May 21st, Congressman Knollenberg voted against extending tax credits for wind and solar energy production. According to the Associated Press, this will place the "future of renewable energy companies in jeopardy," leading to layoffs and cutbacks. [Jim Abrams, AP, Wind, solar energy built on temporary tax breaks, 8/31/08]
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