187 years ago today, Michigan officially became a state and joined the union.
Michigan is the place that made me who I am and is the touchstone for everything that I do. So in honor of our great state, here are some other things that were invented in Michigan: Gerber baby food, breakfast cereal, Vernors – the first ginger ale and, as we all know, the cure for stomach aches – and of course, the middle class.
In 1913, Ford implemented the very first assembly line in Detroit, reducing the time it took to build an automobile from 12 hours to around 90 minutes. About 3 months later, they announced that every worker would make at least $5 per day, doubling daily wages.
This announcement set off a revolution. All of a sudden, there was a class of workers who could afford to buy a home, buy one of the cars they were making, and put away a bit of savings each month. Hundreds of thousands moved to Michigan for the jobs, particularly immigrants and African Americans fleeing the segregated South. The middle class became one of the pillars of American society, and the anchor in a multi-racial, multi-ethnic experiment in democracy.
More than 100 years later, the middle class is under threat. For too many Michiganders, money is tight and home ownership is out of reach. One of the big reasons I’m in this fight is to help more Michiganders get and stay into the middle class: that means lowering costs, raising wages, strengthening our unions, and making more things in America.
We need that anchor – that very American anchor – of the middle class.
Given that, I spend a lot of time on the kitchen table issues that make the middle class work. How do we create more and more jobs? And how can we ensure those jobs pay a living wage and have good benefits? How can we support our small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to contribute something new, and break down barriers and red tape that keep people from starting something new? And how do we go after the exorbitant costs of health care, prescription drugs, childcare, housing, and postsecondary education?
Because in order for the middle class to work, the math has to work for daily life. When people live a stable, middle class life and can provide to their kids more than they had, they are more generous with people around them.
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Happy birthday, Michigan!
Elissa
PAID FOR BY ELISSA SLOTKIN FOR MICHIGAN
P.O. Box 4145
East Lansing, MI 48826
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Elissa Slotkin served in the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense. Use of her job titles and photographs during service do not imply endorsement by the Central Intelligence Agency OR the Department of Defense.
