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Whitmer now has to sell budget plan to GOP sceptics

LANSING, MI (MPRN)--   Governor Gretchen Whitmer laid out her plans last week on a COVID-19 economic recovery plan.

This week, she goes to work selling those ideas to skeptical Republicans who control the Legislature. The governor is expected to share more details on her plans as she bargains with legislators on their plans. Republicans have said they’re not interested in using one-time windfalls from Washington to pay for ongoing commitments.

One of the governor’s proposals is an incentive to boost employee pay to $15 an hour for six months.

Kurt Weiss is with the state budget office. He says Whitmer is trying to nudge employers to permanently increase wages.

“You’re taking some one-time money and hoping that the marketplace takes over, and if you can get some wage increases out there, I think that’s a good thing for everybody.”

That, Weiss says, could accelerate economic recovery from COVID.