A half-dozen public and private sector union heads lined up on Feb. 9 to praise the announcement of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed $74 billion state budget. The last state budget before Whitmer, a Democrat, took office was in fiscal year 2018. It contained $57 billion in spending. Republican strategist Jamie Roe told The Epoch Times that Whitmer’s massive spending spree looks similar to socialism. “Whitmer is a career politician using our money to buy her reelection and to pay off her political supporters,” Roe said. Michigan American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) President Ron Bieber disagrees. “With $3 billion allocated for direct pay to workers in the form of bonuses, wage increases, and raises for so many that risked their own safety through the pandemic, the Michigan AFL-CIO is committed to stand shoulder with Governor Whitmer in advocating for Hero Pay,” Bieber said. “Hero Pay” …