It's my pleasure, I appreciate you having me. This is a wonderful opportunity to talk about Michigan's future, how problems occurred in the past, and how issues can be prevented in the future.

You're a little over two months into your first term in Lansing, now.  What do you think?  What are your impressions?  Any surprises that have cropped up already?

Well I would first like to point out how impressed and honored I am to be a part of this term's freshman class. In my opinion, these individuals are difference-makers. I hope that our addition to the Michigan Legislature can have a positive impact.

As for surprises, I am awfully concerned over the lack of urgency and discussion on the critical issues that face the state of Michigan, which we can all agree is dire.  My question is this, why present bills that provide more regulation or pressure on already struggling citizens and businesses?   I favor moving toward an approach that provides government reform and alleviates burdens that are put on our citizens. Desperate times are never solved by the continual use of government mandates and requirements.

Reporter and bloggers often ask lawmakers that same old basic question; what is job one?  And the answer always seems to be the same... jobs.  So I'll skip that question and go right to the follow-up.  Obviously there are no quick fixes for the kind of mess that the Granholm-Cherry administration has made of Michigan's economy these last six-plus years but where and how do we start digging ourselves out?

Certainly our first step is repealing the MBT surcharge, which I have sponsored and introduced to the House. The horror story of businesses receiving multi-thousand percent increases from years passed will and should be a closed book. How on earth are businesses going to provide jobs, products/services, income for expansion, and tax revenue for that matter if they are forced to close their doors because of skyrocketing taxes? The governor and the Michigan Legislature need to understand that when thousands of businesses are failing, there is an obvious problem with how government regulation is conducted.

For the past six years, most of the proposals made by the Governor have focused on one-time fixes, tax increases, or gimmicks.  These include instituting the Michigan Driver's Responsibility Fees, increasing Cigarette Taxes, one-time trailer plate fees, Michigan gaming and fishing license increases, judicial fee increases, professional license fee increases, shifting the payment date of property tax payments, along with many others.  Most of her proposals do not include the essential structural reform needed to get Michigan back on track.

Quick fixes are not the answer and will only enable our endless struggle.  Long-term solutions are critical to getting Michigan on the road to recovery.

The Senate passed SB 1 well over 40 days ago now, eliminating what businesses and employers are calling the "job-killing MBT surcharge" and they did it in overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion but we still haven't seen anything in the House.  Can you encourage us?  Will your bill ever get a hearing?

It is my hope for the sake of the economy and jobs that it will. I believe the Michigan House of Representatives has an obligation to the survival of our economy to do so. I am a small businessman, a home builder, and I saw firsthand the catastrophic impact of the MBT. It is an absolute disaster, and those that speak of stimulus should first look at the repeal of this surcharge.

No one comes to Lansing because they lack drive and vision and focus.  At least no one who either of us would want to point out by name.  We can certainly argue with the specific drives and areas of focus and disagree with some folks' vision for Michigan but there's almost always something there.

What is it with you?  What specifically brought you to Lansing?  Was there a moment?  A policy?  A friend or a neighbor or an experience that convinced you to take a run at the office?

I was discouraged and shocked by what was happening here in Lansing over the years, and saw its outcome in family homes and local business throughout the state. I wanted to bring a voice for those people to Lansing because I have family, friends, and neighbors that are struggling to survive in the state I love and grew up in.

With that in mind, how would you define success for the next twenty-one months and for your time in Lansing as a whole?  How will you define it for the legislature as a whole and how will you define it personally?

If I can bring to the table long-term solutions that will provide Michigan with a positive future to live, work, and play, I will determine I have made a difference. Success is not a word that I would ever use easily to describe my actions here in Lansing, instead I would call it a responsibility and an obligation to those who have allowed me to be here.

What are you hearing from your constituents right now?

To name a few: their anger and frustration over the lack of quality jobs, unemployment issues, inflation of home foreclosures, rising property taxes, skyrocketing business taxes, the exodus of our children to other employment friendly states, shrinking school budgets, horrible road conditions, endless levy of new taxes or fees to fund an ever expanding government, growing college tuition, and an outcry for their government to act.

I have heard my constituents loud and clear, and I will demand nothing less from the Michigan Legislature and the Governor.

On a completely different topic, I saw you on Off the Record with Tim Skubick last week.  Unless I'm mistaken that was your first time on the show.  I've had the privilege and pleasure to do the show in the past myself though in an awfully different capacity and it can be quite a rush.  How was the experience?

I thought it was great experience.  They do cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. I enjoyed it very much, and was glad Tim Skubick gave me the opportunity.

Do you think Skubick and the panel are fair?

They are fair because they deal with the relevant, current issues. In other words they are doing their job. It is my job to be forthright and candid with my comments. Off the Record is a wonderful program because it provides an in-depth dialog to what is happening in Lansing.

Well put.

Representative, thanks again for the time!