BY RICK PLUTA
Capital Bureau Chief, Michigan Public Radio Network
Governor Jennifer Granholm said President Obama struck a good deal with Republicans to link an extension of jobless benefits to continued tax breaks for the nation's wealthiest taxpayers - and she hopes congressional Democrats will agree.
Granholm said without the deal, thousands of Michigan families would lose their unemployment benefits before the winter holidays.
Many Democrats said the president gave in too soon.
But Granholm said the president made an effort to save emergency jobless benefits without extended tax breaks for the wealthy.
"He didn't have the votes for it. He did also want to get an extension of unemployment, which in Michigan is incredibly important. So he got what he sought. The Republicans got what they sought, so it was a win-win," Granholm said.
She said it would take too long to wait for next year and the new Congress to address continuing emergency benefits for people who go more than six months without finding new jobs.
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