Snyder Visits U.P. State Fair
Escanaba played host to Governor Rick Snyder this afternoon as he updated area residents on a wide variety of state issues.
Thursday is Governor’s Day at the U.P. State Fair, and Snyder was there for the annual Governor’s Luncheon.
He calls his strategy to repair Michigan’s political culture ‘relentless positive action’, which he learned in the private sector.
Snyder says that he doesn’t blame anybody for problems the state is having and that he doesn’t take credit for things that go well.
He says Michigan voters essentially hired him to attack one problem after another using common sense, and he takes that mandate seriously.
Snyder says he believes that approach is working in Michigan and he hopes it catches on around the country.
The Michigan Senate passed a bill on Wednesday to reform the state public school employee retirement system.
Snyder says it’s a huge step forward in financial responsibility, not just in the short term but in the long term.
He claims the system is largely unsustainable and needed to be reformed so that teachers and other school employees can be assured that their retirements will be funded.
The bill is heading to Snyder’s desk for his signature.
It would require public school employees to pay more for their pensions.
The measure also calls for a study to be done by mid–November to examine the cost of getting rid of pensions for new hires.