Delegates challenged to act

The West Michigan Policy Conference is now history. The delegates voted to select their five top policy positions (from a list of many possible positions). A Conference report will be presented by the Chamber at an upcoming Economic Club event.

By far, the top two priorities selected by the delegates to move Michigan’s economy forward were:

1) Repeal and/or major revisions to the newly enacted Michigan Business Tax

2) Making Michigan a “Right to Work” state.

Neither was a surprise as the tone was set by opening speaker Robert Genetski, who used facts he had gleaned from hundreds of factual studies. And evidently, the delegates agreed with his assessment and call for action.

As the West Michigan Policy Conference wound down, after all the votes were tabulated, delegates were challenged by co-chair Doug DeVos to “take the process personally and act to keep the agenda alive. We will need your help.”

He added, “We will compile the scorecard, and keep you informed. This is just the beginning, but we know what your top priority is, and we will need your help to make it happen.”

The Business Journal staff did a great job of keeping readers informed on the conference progress.

We enjoyed the process and look forward to any feedback on our coverage.

Next Conference will be in September of 2010.

John Zwarensteyn, publisher