LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Thomas Albert, R-Lowell, issued the following statement after Ford Motor Co. announced it will proceed with an electric vehicle battery facility in Marshall on a significantly smaller scale than previously planned:
“The Whitmer administration has failed miserably with its massive ‘corporate welfare’ approach to economic development. This result is an embarrassment for the state and an insult to taxpayers.
“I have opposed this project from the start because it is ill-conceived. Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are already out the door. It is negligent to disrupt the lives of so many in the Marshall community without assurances that the project partner would follow through with their commitments. That is a shocking display of poor planning and lack of due diligence from the state. This was a project that had virtually no chance at an adequate return on investment for taxpayers from the beginning, and prospects are even worse now, although the state’s incentive package obviously should be revisited.
“Our state’s system of economic development is fundamentally broken, and we must make sure taxpayers aren’t paying for the state’s mistakes. We should restore accountability to the process, abandon corporate welfare, and make Michigan a better place to provide and find jobs through lower taxes and other ‘economic gardening’ policies.”
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