October 30, 2008 (LPAC)--On the evening of Oct. 18, the Common Council of Muskegon, Michigan passed a resolution calling on Congress to enact the LaRouche-initiated Homeowners and Bank Protection Act. The vote was 4-3.

This vote makes Muskegon the seventh city in Michigan to pass the HBPA.

The vote followed a months-long organizing and educational process begun in the spring. The sponsor was the vice mayor of the city. He, and other councilmen, were opposed to the bail-out, are very upset about the entire federal package coming from Treasury Secretary Paulson, and see this action as the first step to reviving the nation in a FDR direction.

The vice mayor argued that some people see Muskegon as an emerging tourist capital, for western Michigan, but his view is that western Michigan is the foundry and machine tool center of Michigan and the Midwest, and should be revived as such. Muskegon continues to have a very advanced education program at the community college in foundry and tool and die production, and the M-60 tanks were produced in Muskegon, as was the Sherman tank previously. The plants that were used to do this could be easily revived and retooled, and western Michigan could be a leader in a revived machine tool and rail/power transportation center for the nation.

The city currently has 40,000 residents.