New Fears Arise in Michigan

OF course we are in trouble. For the past decade, and really before that, we have supplemented our incomes by borrowing. We spent more than we made every year, which generated more jobs, which put money in people’s pockets, which allowed them to spend money, which contributed to the good economic times.

Each year we got further “ahead” in our spending. I don’t know what the number actually is, but it’s like we already spent our income out to 2010, and it’s only the middle of 2008.

At some point, we were going to reach the limit. It appears we hit it.

But that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. It would be easy if you could know that things were over, but if you had looked 5 years ago we were just as bad in terms of spending money. We were borrowing the “increase” in the value of our homes, and spending it.

House values doubled, but the “asset rate” of the average american didn’t change, even though over half of us owned homes. Surely that was a sign of disaster.

And yet, if you had panicked in 2003, you would have missed 5 good years of economic growth.

Anyway, I lived through the 80s. I got my first real job in 1981 — we were told things were bad, but I was able to find three companies willing to hire me for a good wage.

My college roommate even got a raise BEFORE he started work.

Sure, it could get so bad that nobody can hold a job. But assuming the world doesn’t end, people will still need other people to do things. The key is to have the skill to do what people need, and to do it for a fair price they can afford, and to get government out of the way.

You can’t write off states. But if a state has a million more workers than it has jobs, you can have a million people migrate to where the jobs are, or you can work to bring a million new jobs into the state.

Actually, the 2nd is much more efficient. And government can do a lot to bring business into a state, mostly by getting out of the way.

If there is 10% unemployment in Michigan, and the people there are highly skilled and productive workers, why wouldn’t Toyota or Honda build a new factory there and hire them, rather than training new people somewhere else?

My guess is it’s first because those workers are union and wouldn’t go to work for a non-union plant. Second that the state has regulations which make it hard for businesses to move in and start up. Third that other states are offering more to attact the businesses.

Our county, when things were good, spent our money building up infrastructure and doing other things to make our county a good place for business. Now, we are adding workers even in the downturn, because we are attractive. We are bringing high-tech jobs, good-paying jobs, local jobs.

I can’t imagine myself being unemployed. maybe it’s arrogance, but I can’t imagine that I wouldn’t be able to take any job the economy has to offer, and do it better than the person doing it now.

If I lose my job, it will mean the economy has collapsed. We’ll all be back trying to grow our own food. I don’t expect that to happen.

But it could — there is nothing magic about the economy.

Everyone thinks they are immune from job loss at first, but in this economy,no one is safe. As for borrowing. I don’t have credit card debt. I have one car almost paid off and my mortgage. That’s it. My mortgage met all normal standards-no craziness. I can well afford it unless I’m laid off. I had a pretty decent savings in my 401K, but we all know about that. I did the right things and still am in huge trouble. Some times one can not control the situation. We are looking at a really bad recession or a depression. As for ‘we blew it’-no. The Wall Street ‘criminal bankers blew it’. Don’t allow them to blame everyday Americans-total bs. They took on to much risk and leverage too much money end of story. Some of them need to do the perp walk.

Hey, jerk--you want to point out where a single MI freeper asked for a handout?

Yeah, walk away from a house. Easy for you to say, since by your own admission you don't have one. Since we bought our house in '93, we have invested over $60K into it.

If you're the kind of person who would walk away from that kind of an investment, you are too stupid for this discussion.

It's just stuff. If it's stuff that you can't get rid of then you don't own it. It owns you.

Get over yourself. Fight Club is one of my favorite movies, pal, but here's a big surprise for you: It's not real life, and you are not Tyler Durden.

FCOL

Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm of Michigan, a Democrat, says that her administration has made efforts to remake basic elements of state policy — tax structure, statewide school requirements, the economy itself — anything to turn things around. But she acknowledges the progress has been slow.

Only a liberal would refer to this as 'progress'.