Platform published 2026-10-31
Benson's "Affordable Michigan" agenda centers on costs hitting families hardest. On housing, which she calls the top issue she hears about, she would streamline regulations that slow construction, incentivize starter homes and affordable units, crack down on corporate investors and out-of-state speculators who buy homes and drive up rents, and speed housing processes as she says she did at the Secretary of State's office. On health care, which she calls a right, she criticizes federal Medicaid cuts and says the state health department needs repair; she would expand low- or no-cost preventive care, create an independent Prescription Drug Affordability Board with authority to review and approve price increases, pass cost transparency legislation to end surprise billing, expand medical debt relief, and pass a $5,000 caregiver tax credit. On child care, she cites waiting lists, high costs, and low worker pay, and proposes bringing Rx Kids statewide and removing barriers for qualified providers, with a goal of affordable early learning for every family. On energy, she says utilities seek rate increases without delivering reliability and calls for reforming a system she says leaves politicians beholden to corporate donors. On education, she describes a data-driven, results-focused plan to build a world-class public school system, drawing on her background as the daughter of special education teachers and a former educator. She would impose a moratorium on data centers until enforceable rules are in place, including public hearings, disclosure requirements, a ban on tax breaks, proof that projects will not abuse water and land, making data centers rather than consumers bear added energy costs, and union contracts for well-paying jobs. On the environment, she says protecting the Great Lakes and fresh water, public health, good jobs, and lower costs are the same fight, and she champions clean, renewable energy.
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