What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Thursday, April 8,
2010
Governor to Meet with
Italian, German Companies in Overseas Mission Encouraging Investment, Job
Creation in Michigan
On Friday, the governor begins her tenth overseas
investment mission, this time to Italy and Germany where she will meet with key executives
from companies looking to expand or establish a presence in Michigan.
During the April 9-15
investment mission, the governor also will speak at a business luncheon hosted
by the Italian Association of the Automotive Industry (ANFIA) in Turin, Italy, and at a reception in Stuttgart, Germany, cosponsored by the Chamber
of Industry and Commerce of the Stuttgart Region and the Byrnes
Institute.
“I am committed to going anywhere and doing anything to
bring new investment and jobs to Michigan, and
so once again, I am looking forward to making the case for Michigan,” the governor
said. “Michigan is the best place for
Italian and German companies interested in expanding in North America. Michigan has the right economic strategy, a
competitive business climate, and a highly-skilled and highly-productive
workforce that provides companies across a wide spectrum of industries an
advantage over their competitors.”
Key
messages:
- Business leaders
and decision-makers across the globe are taking notice of our aggressive
economic plan and choosing to invest and grow in Michigan. These
investment missions are an effective way to deliver our message to executives
and decision-makers and to keep winning investment and jobs from global
companies who want to be in on the ground floor of Michigan’s economic
transformation.
- This trip to
Italy and Germany will be the governor’s
tenth overseas investment mission since 2004. Her previous missions to
Austria, Belgium, Germany, Israel, Japan, Jordan, and Sweden have resulted in
47 companies announcing more than $1.6 billion in new investment in Michigan
and 12,995 (7,344 direct) jobs created and retained.
Michigan Census Participation Rate among Top in
Nation
The governor today announced that the participation rate
of Michigan
citizens in the census is among the top in the nation. Last week, the
governor placed a friendly wager with Ohio Governor Ted Strickland in an effort
to encourage 100 percent participation from Michigan citizens in the 2010 U.S.
Census.
Michigan is among
the top five states in the nation with high mail-in participation rates,
trailing only Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and
Nebraska.
Michigan is
holding a slim lead over Ohio in the percentage of state residents who
have returned their census forms. As of April 8, census forms have been
returned by 69 percent of the Michigan
households that received them, compared to 67 percent for Ohio.
Key messages:
- The census helps
determine how more than $400 billion in federal funds are allocated each year
to states and local communities for health care, schools, roads, job training
centers, water and sewer systems, and much more. For every person in
Michigan not
counted in the census, our state loses $10,000 in federal funds over the next
10 years.
- The Census Bureau
made an extensive effort to get census forms to every household.
However, mistakes can happen. Even if 99 percent of the population
receives a census form, that would leave 100,000 people without a form in a
state the size of Michigan.
- Michigan
households should have received census questionnaires by now. Anyone
without a census form should submit their responses through the “Be Counted”
program. Be Counted questionnaires are available at any of more than 1,700
sites in Michigan. These locations are listed online
at www.michigan.gov/census2010.
- Beginning April
12, people can call toll-free 866-872-6868 to have a form mailed to
them.
- Beginning April
23, people can call toll-free 866-872-6868 to provide their information to a
census-taker over the phone.
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