I've seen where right-wing folks have been opining and conjecturing and outright accusing Governor Whitmer of corruption. That she's on the take from big tech and their billionaires to build their data centers. There doesn't seem to be actual evidence of that. It's projection. The Trump administration is absolutely grifting at every turn, and — right from the demagogue playbook — they accuse anybody not 100% with them of doing the very thing that they are actively doing.
But what I believe to be the cause of Whitmer's increasingly blind passion for pushing data centers in Michigan is her politician instincts to land the big fish. Nothing better than a contract signing or ribbon cutting ceremony for a big facility. Jobs! Prosperity! And all because of me!
The truth is, those big fish often end up to be a big regret. Remember a few years ago and the Foxconn project that Wisconsin reeled in (or thought that they reeled in)? It started as a $10 billion plan for a massive display-panel factory promising 13,000 jobs, and then failed to materialize, leaving taxpayers on the hook. Michigan should be more focused on growing the smaller fish that we have.
Editor's note: John Auchter is a freelance political cartoonist. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Public, its management, or its license holder, the University of Michigan.
