Last One In Michigan, Turn Out The Lights

Michigan is a dying state.

Don't get me wrong, I love Michigan.  It has some wonderful things to offer.  We have everything from the gritty industrial vibe of Detroit to the well-scrubbed fundamentalist bastion of Grand Rapids and the western part of the state (famous for cereal! and tulips! and a gay nude beach!)to the wilds of the Upper Peninsula. Hunt, fish camp, as the commercial says.  Say Yah To De U. P. eh? We have the one of the hottest NCAA football rivalries in the country going.  Family feuds occur during the week of the the U of M/Michigan State game. Actual fisticuffs occur.  We have the Red Wings!  We have the Pistons!  We have Mackinac Island and a town called Hell and Michigan turnarounds and hey, Bob Segar is from here.  On the downside, so are Gerald Ford and Eminem and Kid Rock.  So are the Lions and the Tigers.  We make some really kick ass chemicals in Midland and only a few people working there had kids with birth defects.

People in Michigan tend to be fun, except in the Grand Rapids and Holland area, where it is damn hard to tear them away from their Bibles and the stupid tulips.

Michigan is slowly dying again.  I remember the recession in the mid-70s.  Although my dad was management at a GM plant, he was laid off.  I remember them stressing about making their house payment.  (It was $142 a month,  isn't that crazy?  I spend more on groceries every week.)  I remember the even/odd gas shortage days. 

Anyway.  Got lost in nostalgia there, didn't I?

Times were bad in Michigan then.

Times are bad in Michigan now.

The Big Three are closing many of the remaining plants, which has a huge domino effect on so much of our economy.  Jenny From The Block, our governor who is actually Canadian with a crooked husband, has had very little luck luring other businesses to the state.

I know so many people who are underemployed, unemployed or on the verge of losing their job.

I work in the new housing sector.  Livingston County is allegedly the fastest growing county in Michigan.  New home starts (the number of permits pulled for a new build) are down 70% from two years ago. 

Many people are considering a move to another state or country.  Don't think, dear and gentle readers, that this has not been a topic of discussion in our household.  The choices?  Australia or Mexico, countries that are hurting for professionals and office type people, and well, anywhere else a British passport can take you.  Reminds me of everyone who bolted for Texas back in the day.

I love Michigan but the state of my state scares me.

So, if the last family standing in Michigan doesn't mind, would you please turn out the lights when you bail?

Comments

[Stevie]

We lived in Buffalo in the with all the hard times you mentioned...Buffalo was a steel city and a car city. The steel plants closed and so did the auto plants, most of them. So many people lost their jobs. Things never got better, Buffalo is a dying city and even though we were both natives, we got the hell outa there and came to Arizona, a growing state where the subject at the dinner table is not who is in danger of losing their jobs. It was the best thing we ever did, while not easy, the best thing. Good luck in making your decision.

[nicole]

My best friend had a Chevy Chevette! Her brakes gave out once when the car finally died it's horrible death, and we had to pull the e-brake and scream for our lives, hoping we did not careen into traffic!

Hope all gets better for you all there. I wish i could say come to CA, but it is so fucking expensive here!

[Beth Miller]

MICHIGAN is so dying and I blame most of it on Jenny Granholm, the woman who doesn't even know what state she is governor of. And why is a Canadian, even though she is now a citizen, a governor--couldn't accept that fact in California either.

There is nothing that anyone can do to save this state and as far as I am concerned----I will be heading south this summer and NOT LOOKING BACK. I have been in Michigan long enough.

[Shannon]

I was beginning to rethink my life here as well, but last year we moved up north and bought a new house. Our first year here has been a hard one, I won't deny that, but Michigan is in my blood and I can't imagine life anywhere else. So the news in the included article was very welcoming news for me to read...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060425/ts_usatoday/michiganpullingitselfoutofslump