Latest news with #autoworkers
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lansing City Council At-Large Candidate: Nick Pigeon
Here are the responses from Lansing At-Large Candidate 2025 Nick Pigeon to the 6 News Pre-Primary Candidate Questionnaire. Mr. Pigeon did not provide any social media links or a website, as the questionnaire requested. I am a lifelong Michigander living on Lansing's Eastside. As the son of a separated autoworker and teacher, my family faced housing and food insecurity during the 2008 financial crisis. That experience led me to get involved in my community, volunteering and organizing campaigns to make government more responsive to working families. Organizing and working for change early in life inspired me to return to Michigan State University to study Public Policy so I could make a bigger difference. Time and time again, I saw the political leaders I worked for leaving people like me behind. That realization drove me to become the Executive Director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network (MCFN), a 28-year-old nonprofit dedicated to educating the public about the influence of money in politics. During my time at MCFN, I served as a watchdog over Michigan's elected officials, testified before the Michigan Legislature in support of stronger ethics and transparency, and routinely collaborated with Michigan's top journalists to help them craft stories about campaign finance. I worked diligently to shine a light on the corruption created by weak campaign finance laws and the lack of accountability among state elected officials in Lansing. When my partner and I decided to buy our first home, we chose Lansing because of the tight-nit community and niche groups we became a part of. We believe Lansing is in the perfect position to be a city where someone can grow a family and/or themselves and flourish. From local arts, businesses, to sports and outdoor recreation, Lansing is a medium sized city with a lot to offer. But we began asking ourselves a question I have heard echoed from many others since I have been knocking door-to-door since January: with the amount of taxes/rent we pay without many of the same services cities around us receive, will we want to stay in the city or be forced to move somewhere else when we grow our family and ourselves? Not being able to answer that question without an unequivocal 'yes' made me want to act. I want Lansing to be a place people move to and stay. That starts with making it easier for citizens to interact with city departments, delivery of city services, and giving back to the neighborhoods. A bustling downtown is an important part of the future of the city, but many who live here value their local neighborhood and feel they haven't seen a return on their investment in a long time. I believe I can be a member of the city council with a different perspective and offer leadership that can't be bought. Unfortunately, the City Council's ability to govern the day-to-day operations of the city is much weaker than I would like it to be. When I, like many others, voted for a City Charter review, we were hoping that there would be a major power shift away from the mayor to council. Even if we didn't move from a strong mayor system to a city manager, I would have hoped for moving some operational roles under the purview of council. That being said, City Council governance starts with amending and passing the mayor's proposed budget. We set the direction of the city and its priorities for the coming year in the budget. It is up to Council to be as restrictive and conditional as it can within the budget, so the mayor keeps in line with its priorities as they execute the city's operations. The City Council then can vote on ordinances that impact many things in the city, including zoning and regulations. Above all, each City Council member must be an advocate for the constituents that they represent. As an At-Large Council member, I will ensure the budget is aligned with what the community needs and not what is politically convenient. I'll advocate for transparency in our decision-making process and be a voice for our underserved communities. City Council has recently expanded what is allowable to be zoned as housing as recent as this month. From co-ops to boarding houses, we are joining other cities who are facing the same shortages in allowing for new and novel ways for people to live in the city. This is a crucial first step, and we need to educate and help residents adopt these new dwellings to help quickly expand the housing stock. I have spoken to many people who would like to build equity in Lansing, especially younger people, but a single-family home is out the question for now. We also must act much quicker to bring our red-tagged properties up to code so that they can become a part of our housing stock. That includes putting pressure on corporations and landlords to keep their properties up to code and face penalties when they remain red-tagged and they do not make tenants aware. Landlords must bear the burden for when a property becomes unsuitable for a tenant living there. In speaking to people across the community, I have heard much better rental stories from small landlords who own a few properties in the city, usually right on their own street. We need to incentivize residents with a dwelling in Lansing to buy property before large corporations and landlords buy them all up. That's just it—communicate your perspective to the public. We haven't seen some members At-Large be very communicative to the public, either through constituent relations or through the media. It is healthy to have public discourse in local government, so people understand the different perspectives in an issue. Many issues that City Council faces are not black and white, they are nuanced and hard to understand. When we allow citizens to understand the negotiation before the vote takes place, it gives them a better understanding. It is also important to allow for disagreements to be made without criticizing colleagues' character or then opposing them on other unrelated issues. Much of Lansing's City Council is controlled by a strong power center of campaign donors and power players. We should allow other perspectives to be represented on the council, too, and I will be the transparent advocate for the people of Lansing, not the special interests and politically connected. I have worked to make our state legislature more transparent and helped explain complicated issues to the public during my former role, and I will continue to do that work for the people of Lansing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
19 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fox News
Trump wins over lifelong Democrat autoworker with 'big, beautiful bill' vehicle loan tax benefit
President Donald Trump recognized a third-generation autoworker from Michigan Thursday while speaking at the "big, beautiful event," noting he was a lifelong Democrat who now supports the president because of vehicle loan interest tax benefits. The president spoke about the "big, beautiful bill" from the East Room of the White House with a group of people standing behind him who represented various trades, including food delivery, farmers and automotive workers. One of the workers standing behind Trump was James Benson, a third-generation autoworker from Belleville, Michigan, who has been with Ford Motor Company for 26 years. Trump introduced Benson, noting that Ford has "a lot of plants" in the U.S. "If you have plants in this country, you're going to make a lot of money," the president said, adding that he loves autoworkers. Trump also said Benson was a lifelong Democrat until 2017, when he saw the benefits of the tax laws. Trump then spoke about his latest plan to benefit car owners by making interest on car payments fully tax-deductible. But the deduction would only be for cars made in the U.S., Trump said, adding if it was made someplace else, "we don't care." Trump's "big, beautiful bill" would create a new deduction of up to $10,000 for qualified passenger vehicle loan interest in a given taxable year. The deduction would phase out when a taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000. Applicable passenger vehicles include cars, trucks, vans, SUVs and motorcycles that have been manufactured for use on public streets, roads and freeways and for which the final assembly occurs in the U.S. The bill defines the final assembly as the process by which the manufacturer produces a vehicle and delivers it to a dealer with all the parts necessary for operation. As is the case with the overtime and tips deductions, the auto loan provision would be in effect for tax years 2025 through 2028. Trump reiterated to those in attendance that the tax benefit is only for vehicles made in the U.S. "Remember that, James. We're going to keep those Michigan auto factories roaring," the president said.
CBC
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Carney's cabinet meets for the first time as it stares down a pile of problems
Prime Minister Mark Carney's newly constituted cabinet met for the first time Wednesday on Parliament Hill as the government grapples with a whole host of challenges it will be charged with fixing. The last Liberal government's much-touted electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing strategy is on shaky ground after Honda announced it will halt its multi-billion-dollar investments in this country — joining a growing list of indefinitely delayed, stalled or potentially failed Canadian EV projects amid tepid consumer demand for these vehicles and U.S. President Donald Trump's punishing tariffs on foreign-made autos. Mélanie Joly, who moved from foreign affairs to industry in Tuesday's shuffle, said she will be fighting for autoworkers when she speaks to the head of Honda later today. "We'll make sure we're in solution mode," she said. Carney also faces Western discontent with Alberta's premier Danielle Smith saying there needs to be a "reset" with how Ottawa treats provinces like hers after the perceived hostility of the last government. In the days since the federal election, Smith has said she will lower the threshold for referendums, potentially including one on Alberta sovereignty. Smith's chief of staff is also raising red flags about Carney's new Toronto-area environment minister Julie Dabrusin, who says on her MP website she has "taken a strong stance against oil sands expansion," something she framed as a virtue. Guilbeault questions pipeline expansion One of former prime minister Justin Trudeau's former environment ministers, Steven Guilbeault, also seemed to pour cold water on expanding pipeline capacity Wednesday — although that's not really a decision for him to make now that he's in charge of Canadian culture and identity under Carney. The prime minister himself has said he's open to approving major infrastructure projects, including conventional energy projects such as pipelines. "There are no investors, no companies that are saying they want to build an east-west pipeline right now," Guilbeault told reporters ahead of the cabinet meeting, noting it will be industry that builds one, not the government. "We bought a pipeline and that's only used right now at about 40 per cent capacity. Maybe we should maximize the use of existing infrastructure," the former environmental activist turned politician said. It's not clear where Guilbeault got that 40 per cent usage figure. As of late last year, the company itself was reporting approximately 692,000 barrels of oil per day moving through its pipeline system — about 77 per cent of its maximum capacity. The company's CEO also reported that the pipeline moved 790,000 barrels of oil per day in March, which is an even higher percentage. Smith, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and other oil patch boosters have long advocated for a new pipeline through central and eastern Canada to open up new markets for Alberta oil and end the country's reliance on foreign imports. Importers hauled in about 500,000 barrels of oil a day from the U.S., Nigeria and Saudi Arabia in 2023. Poilievre said Tuesday the reappointment to cabinet of Guilbeault, whom he accused of furthering "a radical green agenda," is concerning. Natural resources minister to head West 'very soon' Meanwhile, Carney's new natural resources minister Tim Hodgson, a past board member of MEG Energy, a Calgary-based oil sands producer, said he's headed out West "very soon" and is looking to work with industry to "build a more prosperous, secure and safe Canada." Secretary of State Buckley Belanger of Saskatchewan said Carney is "quite serious about bringing this country together," and there will be Western voices around the cabinet table when the discussion turns to energy, pipelines and the like. "We're going to keep explaining some of the issues as best we can — what plagues the province," Belanger said. As for Trump, Carney has identified dealing with the American trade problem as among the most pressing issues for his cabinet. The Prime Minister's Office released a list of those who will sit on the cabinet's new "secure and sovereign Canada" committee, which will be charged with managing Canada-U.S. relations — a file that Carney has said he will personally take the lead on. That committee will be chaired by Defence Minister David McGuinty, who accompanied Carney to the White House last week. One person who is not on that 10-member committee is Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, whom Trump called "a terrible person" last week, although not by name. Freeland said ahead of today's cabinet meeting that she's laser-focused on knocking down domestic trade barriers by Canada Day, one of Carney's major campaign commitments. She said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) posits Canada could boost GDP by some four per cent if it does away with these internal roadblocks. "That is a lot. We need it right now," she said. "I really believe at this moment we can get it done. Internal trade has begun to be sexy — it's funny, but it's true." Carney has appointed three different ministers who all share some responsibility for the trade file, at a time when government data suggests there has already been a sizable decline in exports to the U.S. amid the tariff standoff. The latest Statistics Canada figures peg the drop at about seven per cent. International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told reporters Canada is "over-leveraged with the U.S. and we need to diversify trade." He said one of his priorities will be opening up "new markets," but he didn't specify which ones.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Michigan Rep. Huizenga proposes auto loan tax deduction for US-made cars to offset tariffs
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga has introduced legislation that would allow car- and truck-buyers to deduct interest paid on their vehicle loans from their income taxes, a proposal President Donald Trump made on the campaign trail during a speech in Detroit last year. Huizenga, R-Holland Township, proposed the so-called Made in America Motors Act on May 7, saying it would allow consumers to deduct up to $2,500 in interest paid on a motor vehicle loan in a given year as long as the vehicle was assembled in the U.S. No deduction would be allowed for any vehicle loan which is already granted a deduction, but the new deduction would be available to taxpayers whether or not they itemize on their annual tax forms. If approved as proposed, the deduction — which could potentially help spur auto sales of U.S.-assembled vehicles — would be allowed for vehicles purchased in calendar year 2025 or later. The tax deduction would only be available for vehicles weighing less than 14,000 pounds, meaning those for personal or light commercial use. 'The Made in America Motors Act is a win for American taxpayers, autoworkers and Michigan,' said Huizenga, who has represented west Michigan in the U.S. House since 2011 and is considering a run for U.S. Senate next year. 'Making interest on car loans tax deductible was a key campaign promise made by President Trump. The Made in America Motors Act delivers on this promise by giving individuals and families a financial incentive to buy American, which in turn supports good-paying automotive jobs in Michigan and across the nation.' Ford Motor Co. also put out a statement in support of the proposal, saying it "will help Americans purchase a car and gain the freedom to move, while supporting American auto workers." Trump — who has worried automakers with a broad set of tariffs on imported autos and auto parts that, even with some exemptions put in place are expected to significantly raise costs on auto companies and, in turn, buyers — has repeatedly called for tax deductions on Social Security payments, overtime pay and auto loans. But there remain questions about how much revenue those cuts will take out of federal accounts each year and potentially exacerbate the national deficit at a time when Trump and Republicans also plan to extend other tax cuts put in place in 2017. At least one estimate suggested the auto loan deduction could result in a $10 billion reduction to federal revenues, though that was not calculated with the specifics included in Huizenga's bill. Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@ Follow him on X @tsspangler. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Congressman proposes auto loan tax deduction to offset tariffs Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBC
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant to get less work for the next 12 weeks
Autoworkers at the Stellantis Windsor Assembly plant can expect to work fewer hours for the next 12 weeks as the plant switches between full-production, reduced shifts and full shut-downs. The change comes as auto makers continue to navigate U.S. tariffs on the Canadian auto sector. The CBC's Katerina Georgieva breaks it down.
