Appalachian State! Whoo-hoo! ;)

I'm sure they were illegally videotaping Michigan's bench though.

Michigan did learn something from that loss.
How do you think they put the beat down on ND? ;)

Michigan is one of a handful of states that has their own Department Of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Most states just defer to the EPA.


What's your point?? I live in ILL and we have state regs. Living in Chicago, in Cook County, they have regs too. The EPA didn't drive out business; unions, higher taxes, higher wages did. I have seen allot of manufacturing leave in the Chicago area. The steel mills on the south end of the city provided a steady glow at night. It's all gone as well as the factories that supported that industry. I could go list the companies that are no longer here. They provided great jobs for the middle class that allowed people like myself to go to college and have a better life than my parents did.

Lower wages, tax incentives, right to work laws, and yes to some degree the environmental regs attracted business else ware. Michigan, Ohio, Illinois lost many good paying jobs over the last 25 years. I can't comment of the peformance of your governor, but in ILL the best we can do in bringing in more Wall Mart stores, retail shopping and have rich politicians (doesn't matter which party either).

From here: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070921/UPDATE/709210414
...
This latest failure to resolve the state's $1.75 billion deficit edges the state ever closer to a partial shutdown and leaves the House with an uncertain role in the budget-balancing process. The House adjourned shortly after 8 a.m., and it was unclear what the next move would be.

The proposal that eventually attracted 52 votes, including one Republican, would have raised the state income tax from 3.9 percent to 4.6 percent to generate $1.1 billion. There are 56 votes needed for passage.

The deal also would have included $83 million for the lowest-spending school districts and $42 million for the state's fish and game fund to avert having to enact unpopular increases in hunting and fishing license fees.

The tax hike also was formally linked to several government reforms, including a 5-percent pay cut for lawmakers, an end to legislators' lifetime health benefits, a ban on personal use of state cars by state employees and money-saving changes in teacher and state employee retirement plans.
...

Sounds like the state is having trouble placing its priorities, unpopular hikes "hunting and fishing" fees... Atleast the politicians are reducing their benefits, gotta give them some credit.

I know a bunch of Firemen, Cops and other 1st responders in NY/NJ who could tell you what a premature death is like under the EPA.

What're you saying, Len? Are you telling us that plan with the iPods didn't work out for you guys? ;)

Click here.

Randy

Here's what annoys me.

All y'all keep moving South because things are so F-ed up in Michigan (or wherever). No problem with that. Except y'all keep demanding things be done "like we did it in Michigan" (or wherever).

It's like moving to a healthier climate, yet demanding to bring the plague with you....

4.9% proposed income tax. I pay 9% here in Cali!!! and 8.25% sales tax. A lot of it goes to feed, educate and house the illegals who get paid under the table.

My thoughts exactly! I also was born in the M, and only go there if I'm sent by my company.

Frankly, I think Madam Granholm needs to be tied to a tree and whipped not for her budget problems so much as for the fact that she destroyed probably 90 years of tradition by introducing a license plate that was something OTHER than a color background with white letters!

-Basically, the Michigan state government needs to seceed from the "State of Detroit". If you travel outside of De-toilet, you find a state with enormous summer tourism potential. Grand Rapids, Oscoda, Mackinac Island...all are nice places during the warm part of the year.

Michigan has always been a "boom and bust" state, and it most likely will continue to be that way. It's on a downward slide right now, but it will probably come back some time in the future.

My personal solution to the problems plagueing the state I was born in: A Florida drivers license with an address in Fort Lauderdale. I wake up in the morning in January and put on a bathing suit, and then go out and wash my car in the driveway. Try that in Port Huron~

Heard some partial words on the radio today that sounded like Detroit will be starting a new program to help non-payers of water bills: The people who do pay would cover their costs. Of course, this might require a leeetle bit higher taxes....

Water will be a big, big fight in the future.
I think the rights are currently shared by all adjacent states and Canada, but if Kansas wants a pipe for it's corn(cough...gasahol) crops, and then California is having a "temporary" dryspell due to it's burdening LA population, and then Dasani/Coke wants to set up a limited distribution center.......some brows will be downturned and pistol grips polished and the whistling will start.


Me? I don't bother coordinating with the other association members in order to schedule a meeting to facilitate the review process in the hiring proceedures of a sanitation management team.
I take a bag and spend 10 minutes picking up trash in the parking lot myself, and then it's done.

OHHH the benfits of socialism are inumerable.

I feel bad when I hear about my home state. I will be back in November to deer hunt. Dad still lives in Ann Arbor, but he is literally the only person left in Michigan, and that includes all of my aunts an uncles (8 total) that were born and raised there. None of my cousins (18 total) live there.

Michigan is a beautiful place in the summer time. World class outdoor assets. But the brutal reality is that the auto industry has been, and continues to be the core of the states economy. Hell, even as a kid in the 70's, I remember the politicians talking about diversifying the state economy. It was total BS. The auto industry is the 800 gorilla. And its not going to get better.

It really makes me sad. I grew up in South Lyon, a small town about 40 miles outside Detroit. Amazing place to grow up as a kid. Hop on your bike and ride out into the country side. Pick up your .22 and go rabbit hunting with friends. The town had 2 stop lights. There was a butcher shop, and an old school hardware store.

It all seems so far away when I visit Michigan now. The land seems hard. The people seem hard. My dad and step mom spend a lot of time in Florida now. When they come to Seattle, they comment on how nice everone is to each other, how civil people are on the street. That friendly manner seems to have slipped away as Michigan gets more desperate.

The comments about Detroit are well founded. Its a rock around the neck of the state. Its a complete and utter crap hole. I lived there for 3 years, and was astounded at the corruption and waste. Third world. At least the drugs were cheap......

I'll agree with Lend(this one time only) that the cleavers should be brought out and sharpened, but the singular best source of Mi's income would be speeding tickets, hands down.

The real problem is our government leaders have NO PLAN. They're continuing to apply bandaids to a broken leg. There is NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING on the horizon in Michigan. Granholm has had 5-6 years at the helm and she has NO PLAN. It's during dire times like this that leaders with vision and the guts to try innovative ideas are needed. Unfortunately, we don't have them on either side of the isle.

I had intended to build a new office building and warehouse this year. It has been planned for a few years. I *****canned the plan and have entered into a lease for similar space. I was advised by some that I should pick up one of the hundreds of vacant used buildings instead - they are at 'bargain' prices! My answer, 'why do I want to get stuck with somebody else's so-called bargain?' Real estate values are still headed down. Now if there were hope for a turnaround even 10 years down the road? Maybe I'd do it. But there is NO PLAN, so no logical reason to believe anything will change. I'm just 1 small businessman, there's got be thousands doing the same thing on a much larger scale.

I drove by Ford's recently vacated Wixom Assembly Plant yesterday - good god, that thing's the size of a small city. And now empty. It's sad really.

So now we at least know the political idea bank is completely bankrupt. They've got no ideas and are falling back on that old standby - let's raise taxes! Idiots at the wheel.

len...Not everything is tickety-poo in Arizona or any other state. Myopia is curable. Every state has things wrong with it.

As for moving some industries to Michigan from AZ? PLEASE!! Too much growth here, too fast and limited resources. Take some!!

At least Granholm plans to do something with all of the Canadian garbage we take in on a daily basis. We're going to use the "Swedish method" to convert trash into energy!!

http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070828/UPDATE/708280447

The House approved the Income tax increase. Unreal..........I have never been so pissed about something political in my life.

Whipped cream on horse****.

If every major trash dump were surround by a variety of processing plants (pulp, metal, glass, plastic), the concept of "trash" might be a thing of the past.
Don't have the link handy, but there's a new small portable plasma disintigrator/generator which converts just about anything into electrons and CO2.

Somewhere on the graph there is a signifigant return-on-investment with recycling/reprocessing vs new sourcing. I've seen too many '82 toyota pickups with 15 feet of stacked cardboard piled up to not believe there's money in it. I once worked part time as a recycler at a big community college which averaged 35-90 55gal. drums of just metal/glass/plastic a month. Oh yeah, lots of paper as well.
Where there's people there's money.

She has quite the PR shop running her website. What a great read this is.

http://www.michigan.gov/gov