September 17, 2021
Whitmer Falsely Claims Her Lockdowns Saved Michigan’s Economy
Lansing, Mich., September 17, 2021 – In a tone-deaf statement of epic proportions, Governor Gretchen Whitmer claimed that her lockdowns have put Michigan ahead of the curve in economic recovery. Based on publicly available data, that claim is objectively false as Michigan’s job recovery numbers from pre-pandemic totals are lagging behind most states. New Bureau of Labor Statistics show Michigan is 36th worst in economic recovery, and employment totals are still down 5.1 percent from pre-pandemic totals.
Whitmer’s policies of economic suppression have effectively been a death sentence for countless Michigan businesses. As job creators across the state feel the negative impact of losing longtime economic fixtures in their communities, Governor Whitmer appears to be oblivious to the havoc her policies have wreaked on Michigan’s economy. Click the video below to watch Whitmer’s tone deaf take on the economy during a speech earlier this week:
Governor Whitmer and her team are cherry-picking data which support the false narrative that Michigan’s economy is on its way to recovery, but those numbers only support that narrative because of how many jobs her policies eliminated last year. MLive reports:
“Michigan ranks high on the list because of how far it fell last spring – but that doesn’t mean Michigan is among the closest to being fully recovered.”
The Governor’s speech Wednesday was especially difficult for small businesses to hear. According to a Crain’s Detroit Business survey from earlier this year, a quarter of Michigan small businesses permanently shuttered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. Whitmer conveniently left that statistic out of her speech as she defended the merit of her and California Governor Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 policies.
“Governor Whitmer’s assertion that her COVID-19 policies somehow saved Michigan’s economy is a disgraceful lie,” said Eric Ventimiglia, Executive Director for Michigan Rising Action. Ventimiglia continued, “The reality is that she failed Michigan families and businesses last year with her devastating policies, and boundless hypocrisy. Her claims that Michigan is leading the way in recovery are not supported by the data and serves as her latest attempt to rewrite history.”