Stop chipping away at Michigan's middle class incomes
State Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof & State Speaker of the House Kevin Cotter
Why do Michigan's Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof and Speaker of the House Kevin Cotter continue to push legislation that further reduces middle class incomes?
Since the beginning of 2015, the Michigan legislature under their leadership, has advanced legislation that will:
- Lower the state's minimum wage, based on an employee's age;
- Repeal the prevailing wage for workers that build our schools, libraries, roads and fire stations;
- Repeal a tax credit that helps low income families make ends meet, in order to pay for road repairs that could easily be funded by simply rolling back corporate handouts.
Click the button on "Add Your Name" to add your name to the petition demanding that Michigan's legislature stop reducing middle class wages.
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State Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof & State Speaker of the House Kevin Cotter
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[Your Name]
While corporations are reaping historically large profits, Michigan's state legislature continues to allow billions in corporate tax breaks, and yet middle class incomes continue to fall. Families are less able to make ends meet; they aren't able to save for retirement; they struggle to pay medical bills and tuition; and they have less purchasing power than ever before.
And so we ask you, as leaders within our state government, to commit to advancing legislation that will strengthen the middle class through fair wages, good benefits, and respect on the job.
Additionally, we ask that you stop advancing bills that directly reduce incomes for families already struggling to make ends meet. Specifically, we ask that you:
1. STOP discriminatory legislation which lowers the minimum wage based upon a worker's age (SB 250);
2. STOP legislation which would repeal our state's prevailing wage, allowing companies to utilize low-wage workers to build our schools, roads, fire stations and libraries. The prevailing wage is supported by a majority of Michigan residents, so it is unfair, undemocratic and dangerous to pass a repeal via a non-traditional legislative process;
3. STOP legislation that would fix our roads on the backs of the working poor and middle class through irresponsible tax breaks for corporations and regressive tax increases (gas taxes and registration fees) which put a larger burden on lower-income families.
Legislative actions like these do absolutely nothing to reverse the trend of income stagnation in Michigan. Income for workers—ANY workers—should not be reduced by our elected officials. The strength of Michigan’s economy is wholly dependent upon a strong middle class that has the freedom to save, spend and retire.