Things aren’t going very well in Michigan right now. We and the big three led the charge into the economic downturn. Unemployment is the highest in the country at 7.1% while foreclosure rates are in the stratosphere. The mayor of Detroit is a certified jackass. The Democratic National Committee hates us. Of the four people that have most recently left my small engineering company three have been forced to leave the state for work. I think it’s safe to say that we’re facing some hard times.
But we’re still truckin, and we’re still trying to figure out how to get our economy out of the dumps. You may have seen Jeff Daniels on the telly at night encouraging you to move your high tech or manufacturing company into our beloved state. Thanks Jeff. We appreciate your help.
We’re also trying to woo the tourist dollar, for while Detroit is pretty far from a hot vacation spot, there are a ton of quaint towns and beaches in the state. Last week, Michigan.org launched its redesigned website in a new attempt to reinforce this, complete with surprisingly thorough city guides and uber-slow flash java navigation.
From a person who has lived in the Wolverine State for the last twenty six years, it’s really not that bad of a place. It gets wicked, wicked cold here during the winter and the mountains and ocean are far away, but you can’t beat the huge sandy beaches of the Great Lakes, beautiful nature in the Upper Peninsula and amazing colors in the autumn.
When this recession of sorts is over and we start to pick up the pieces, I hope things come back together ok.