Brain Drain

Of all the stories I've seen about how bad things are in Michigan, I think this one on how 49% of Michigan college graduates are leaving the state is the most striking. Why? Because it matches up exactly with my experience in the Quad Cities. My neighbors are from Michigan. I worked with a guy who went to Western Michigan who was from the Grand Rapids area. Someone stopped and talked to me in the Wal-mart parking lot because I had an MSU sticker on my pickup. The poll with the story speak volumes as well. Only a little over 13% the respondents even want to stay in Michigan. Yikes. Will the last one out please turn off the lights?

Who's Money?

That money you worked so hard to earn? Well, according to the governor of Michigan, it's not really yours:

"It's not just about me, me, me. It's about investing in Michigan. Where's the notion of the common good? It's been lost over decades because there's been ... this idea that it's your money, it's your money. What happened to, 'It's your schools, and it's your roads and it's your parks, your libraries?'"

So you see, that's the real problem with the state; everyone's too greedy, except, presumably, the governor herself. If only you fall in line, Michigan would be a great place to live, work, etc. I guess the tax increase makes more sense this way. After all, it's not your money anyway...

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

With the new deal between the UAW and GM the automaker has apparently staved off what some analysts were calling "Armageddon." Can the state do the same thing? The deadline for a new budget is looming and the governor still insists that has had a 12% drop in median income since 2000 needs higher income taxes. A government shutdown could finish off what's left of the state's reputation economically. Is there any way out?