Granholm's truth team catches yet another DeVos lie ad

You gotta love the Granholm truth team every Dick DeVos ad has been soundly smackdown by the truth squad and here's another example Granholm For Governor: The Truth Squad Amway guy ad: Jim Zawacki: "The business started in 1960. I bought it in 1985. We've tried to grow here, but there's too many things working against us." The Truth:· The company owned by Jim Zawacki, GR Spring and Stamping, actually is growing in Michigan. On July 24, 2006, the Grand Rapids Business Journal interviewed Zawacki. He said his company recently invested $1.2 million right here in Michigan. · "Grand Rapids Spring and Stamping recently spent $1.2 million to buy a new press, and city commissioners granted the company an industrial tax abatement for its investment. But the city's most noted maker of spring and wire forms and stampings isn't the only manufacturer investing. Four others either have or plan to spend $3.1 million on equipment and plant renovations, and they, too, have either received a city-approved abatement or are in the process of getting one. In roughly a month's time, these five manufacturers have told the city they intend to invest a total of $4.3 million in their businesses. And for GR Spring and Stamping, its investment resulted in the purchase of a 1,000-ton Verson press - the largest the company has ever owned. "Our largest press used to be 600 tons, so this gives us more tonnage and a bigger bed press so we can do bigger things," said Jim Zawacki, president of GR Spring and Stamping. (Grand Rapids Business Journal, July 24, 2006) Amway guy ad:Jim Zawacki: "The state bureaucracy just strangles you." The truth:· The City of Grand Rapids awarded GR Spring and Stamping thousands of dollars in grant money, helping the company bring jobs to Michigan. · "First Ward Commissioner Roy Schmidt described GR Spring and Stamping as a "good employer" and noted that the company will add up to 10 new jobs due to its purchase of the press. The abatement will save the firm $55,000 over 12 years on its estimated tax bill of $138,000." (Grand Rapids Business Journal, July 24, 2006) Amway guy ad:Jim Zawacki: "No other state has a single business tax." The Truth:· Governor Jennifer Granholm called for the elimination of the Single Business Tax but refused to allow the $1.9 billion hole to be filled with increased taxes on working families. · Dick DeVos supported the elimination of the Single Business Tax, but refuses to tell people what he'll cut police and fire, health care, or education. · "DeVos also said he might not come up with specific proposals before the November election for replacing revenue that would be lost from repealing the tax, which generates nearly $2 billion a year." (Associated Press, April 12, 2006) Amway guy ad:Jim Zawacki: "The governor has had more than enough time to make things happen." The truth:· In a recent interview, Jim Zawacki communicated what Governor Jennifer Granholm has been saying all along, unfair foreign trade policies are hurting Michigan -- the same policies lobbied for by Dick DeVos: "Mr. JIM ZAWACKI (Tooling manager, GR Spring & Stamping): There's absolutely no doubt about it. I would've been twice the size I am today. DAVIDSON: He's not talking about his weight. Zawacki owns GR Spring & Stamp-ing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the kind of old economy business that people worry will disappear from the U.S. He makes metal auto parts, like car bumper holders, or the springs inside seatbelt latches. Mr. ZAWACKI: Springs are made on special machines. It's probably the most fascinating, because most people have never seen a spring machine before. DAVIDSON: Zawacki says Chinese companies are taking his business. And, he says, they don't play by the rules. Chinese firms steal U.S. copyrights, he says. They get government subsidies. But worst of all for Zawacki, China's Cen-tral Bank manipulates its currency to keep it cheap, and that cheaper currency keeps his company stuck at around 400 employees. Mr. ZAWACKI: I'm not smoking pot, nor have I ever, but the point is that we would easily be over 800 people. DAVIDSON: He wants President Bush to force China to play fair. He says his parts only cost 20 percent more than the stuff coming from China, so if Presi-dent Bush gets China to revalue its currency by 20 percent, Zawacki believes his company will get a lot more business." (All Things Considered, April 18, 2006) · In May of 2005, Zawacki said he lost money because of unfair trade with "Korea and China." Dick DeVos chose China over Michigan, investing more than $200 million in the China market. · "Zawacki said his company did $5 million worth of business with a local firm each year as recently as six years ago. But today that firm isn't one of his customers. "Their products are now made in Korea and China. And that is just one (company) of many," he said. "We just want a level playing field as a manufacturer. There are so many unfair things that are going on related to trade, and our government is in a bind." (Grand Rapids Business Jouranl, May 16, 2005) · In September of 2004, Zawacki urged the Bush administration to play fair and also spoke highly of Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards: "In fact, Zawacki is one of a growing chorus of supplier industry representa-tives urging the Bush administration to force the steel industry to come down on prices to avoid a situation where manufacturers will look overseas for cheaper options." (Reed Business Information, September 2, 2004) "'Personally, I like John Edwards,' said James J. Zawacki, chief executive of G.R. Spring & Stamping Inc., in Grand Rapids, Mich., and a self-described po-litical conservative. 'He's been saying the right thing about manufacturing. He has real appeal to people. I don't like trial lawyers, I've got to say that. But I go with what he was saying about manufacturing.'" (The Washington Post, July 7, 2004) Amway guy ad:Jim Zawacki: "She does not know how to create jobs. If Michigan is going to survive, it's going to need a change in the governor's office. I'm Jim Zawacki, a small businessman, and I'm voting for change." The Truth:· Jim Zawacki's company added 100 new jobs just last year. Zawacki himself lamented that, "All you hear is the negatives," when commenting about his company's success. · "No sector of West Michigan's economy carries a worse stigma than tool and die. Globalization and excess capacity have laid waste to the craft. By all regards, it is now perceived as a dying industry with little opportunity for job growth, startups or profit. The truth, however, is nothing of the sort. 'You don't hear about the companies that are either steady or not moving backwards,' said Jim Zawacki, president of GR Spring & Stamping. 'All you hear is the negatives.' Capitalizing on opportunities with "new domestic" automakers like Nissan, Honda and Toyota, Zawacki's firm has grown by 100 people in the past year alone." (Grand Rapids Business Journal, August 8, 2005 Man DeVos has to pull things out his butt to make a case against Granholm, can't wait to see Granholm start cracking him on Amway.