West Point taught me to lead with purpose, even in the toughest conditions. Michigan is at a crossroads—and it’s time to step up.

Our state's economy is slipping. Manufacturing jobs are vanishing. Small businesses are being squeezed. Families are being left behind. And now, Michigan has the second-highest unemployment rate in the country.

Over the last year, we have lost more than 25,000 jobs in manufacturing and business services — sectors that built the American middle class. In places like Flint, Bay City, and Saginaw, unemployment has climbed above 7 percent, even as nearby states like Indiana and Ohio are growing and attracting investment.

That is unacceptable for a state that builds nearly 20 percent of all U.S. autos and employs almost 600,000 manufacturing workers earning strong middle-class wages. That industrial strength should be an advantage, instead of a detriment, hollowed out by bad policy and punishing taxes.

With a 4.25 percent income tax, 6 percent sales and corporate taxes, and one of the highest property tax burdens in the Midwest,........

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