The Slow Death of a Once Great State

If you know me personally, you know that I've struggled to get by here in Bay City. Sadly, it is a sign of the times here in Michigan. There are so many people like myself who grew up in this beautiful state, who went to school here, but are then forced to seek employment elsewhere.

Well, Brian and I made the controversial decision to come back to Bay City back in 2005, and we are still trying to get on our feet. However, that doesn't mean that we've given up. There are countless others - many recent college grads - who are in the same position. They want to seek gainful employment here, get married, and raise families. However, thanks to a perfect economic storm facing Michigan, people feel as though they have to go elsewhere.

Thanks to a useless state government, which includes an even less useful governor, Michigan's economic plight is only getting worse by the day. What really ticks me off is that no one seems to want to do anything about it. College grads are expected to go out of state to seek the best opportunities, while Michigan's government is on the verge of shutting down due to all of the tax revenue leaving the state. Again, no one seems to realize that people can't pay taxes (and pay astronomical gas prices) unless they are employed.

My entire life I've heard that Michigan's economy is too wrapped up in the auto industry, but once again, no one wants to really tackle the difficult tasks of diversifying the economy and creating incentives to keep the products of the Michigan educational system (arguably one of the best in the country) here in Michigan as productive citizens.

Two-Penny Jenny (our lovely Canadian governor) and others state that the educational system in Michigan is broke. That isn't the case. We've been educating the workforce of Texas, Arizona, California, and many other states for years. It is the economic system in Michigan that is broke. We can no longer afford to export our educated population. If there were decent economic opportunities here, money would flow into the educational system.

Michigan, one of the most beautiful states in the union, is on the verge of collapse, and no one cares. There is such a complete lack of leadership here, it is almost beyond comprehension.

Things have to get better, right? I've been telling myself that for two long years now. However, it is also the first thing that you learn in business school - economic activity is cyclical.

Lindsey