LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – What has Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration given Michiganders over the last eight years? Nothing that encourages Michiganders to put down roots or start a business, according to Tim Golding with Americans for Prosperity Michigan.

Golding appeared on The Steve Gruber Show recently and said Michigan does not produce a “good climate” to start a business. He referenced Ford building a plant in Tennessee and John Deere expanding in North Carolina instead of in Michigan.

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“Those businesses should have been built in Michigan,” Golding pointed out. “They weren’t because the climate for businesses to start and grow and prosper here is not conducive to that.”

“Grift by the government.”

Golding, who owned a construction company before working with Americans for Prosperity, said he knows first-hand about zoning laws, along with “permission slips, fees, fines” and licenses that make running a business in Michigan more difficult. “It’s a grift by the government to take more money,” Golding said, referring to the amount of licenses need in Michigan for people in a variety of professions to work.

Looking ahead to the 2026 election, Golding said lawmakers should “loosen restrictions” when it comes to zoning. “There are so many different ways that we can make Michigan a better place where it can thrive again and dominate and innovate,” Golding said.

Housing crisis or bureaucratic red tape?

In addition, Golding pointed out a popular Democratic talking point: the so-called housing crisis. Golding said Michigan is 125,000 units short, but bigger government isn’t the solution. “Change the zoning and how housing is built in Michigan,” he said, saying that people can’t afford to live here. “First time home buyers’ average age in Michigan is 39 years old.” He also pointed out the average price for a first-time home is $225,000.

When Whitmer took office in 2019, she signed a $59.9 billion budget; for the 2027 Fiscal Year, Whitmer proposed an $88 billion state budget.

Golding appealed to Michiganders to vote for better leadership this November. “My life is not 45% better than it was back then,” Golding said referring to the increase in government spending. “I don’t have that much more money in my pocket.”