Governor Granholm says taxpayer support is now a permanent part of manufacturing in the United States and Michigan, calling it a new reality of global competition.
Granholm says the federal automotive bailout is starting to pay off, and proof of that is General Motors' plans to go head to head against Mercedes and BMW with a new Lansing-built luxury compact car.
"It's not that you want go in bailing out everybody," she says bailouts like the ones that rescued General Motors and Chrysler should remain rare.
But she says tax incentives, help securing loans, and research grants will continue to be necessary if the U.S. is going to compete with other manufacturing nations.
"If Korea has announced they're going to invest $12 billion dollars in their battery infrastructure, we've got to realize that that is their commitment to making their companies competitive. They want to have that market. We need to make, (be) making those same investments in research and development," Granholm says. "That's just part of the deal."
The governor says state and local governments, but especially Washington, must continue to offer help such as tax breaks and research grants.
"The United States has to make a commitment to the advanced technologies that will keep these companies successful in a global economy," she says
The governor says political candidates who don't support that would be responsible for shipping U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas. She made her remarks at a GM plant in Lansing that will be building the new compact luxury vehicle, as part of the company's Cadillac line.
The announcement ceremony for the new vehicle turned, in moments, into a campaign rally for Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, the Democratic candidate for governor.
Democratic politicians and union leaders took their turns at the microphone to praise the Lansing mayor and predict success for him in Tuesday's election, despite every indication that he still trails his Republican opponent, Rick Snyder.
Bernero took the stage to the cheers of United Auto Workers who were on hand and said he was proud of his efforts to defend manufacturing and to bring the Cadillac project and new jobs to his city.
"Officially, we're going to turn the page from the 'angriest mayor' to the proudest mayor in America," he said to applause.
"We will continue to make the things that make America great. There used to be an old saying that what's good for General Motors is good for America, and it's still true today that GM is good for America, for Michigan, and for Lansing," he says.
Bernero says his Republican opponent, Rick Snyder, opposes the tax breaks and other incentives that helped Lansing win the project.
Snyder does not oppose all incentives directed to specific companies or industries, but says he prefers across-the-board tax cuts.
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