How? Make all of Michigan an Aerotropolis zone. Stop picking winners and losers. Make everyone a winner. Make every business a winner. Let the remaining state tax revenues grow to balance the budget.

While I applaud the progress made toward the Aerotropolis, I am mortified by the “jobs first-profits-second” rhetoric surrounding it. I am sympatheric to the hunger of our elected officials so show progress in helping truly needy Michigan citizens. But JOBS-JOBS-JOBS headlines represent a kind of cart-before-the-horse mentality that reveals that Michigan still has not shaken the entitlement mentality that has so damaged our reputation in the world.

May I pause a moment to tell you how bad it is? This from “THE ECONOMIST”…It was written by John Kao, a business consultant who published a book entitled, “INNOVATION NATION”, which was reviewed in the Book Review section of THE ECONOMIST.

RE: The US becoming the fat, complacent “Detroit of Nations”

“I see a crisis brewing, and it makes me angry. We should be doing better than we are. We have the talent, money, track record and infrastructure necessary for continued success. But we are rapidly becoming the fat, complacent Detroit of nations. We are losing a collective sense of purpose along with our fire, ambition, and determination to achieve.”

The fact that this pull quote resonated with the world is disturbing. We must acknowledge at least an iota of truth it the author’s metaphor as we press forward on this Aerotropolis.

To conclude with helpful suggestions:

1. Call it Great Lakes International Aerotropolis, or something like this. We may only have a short window of time to make this Aerotropolis thing work. In my opinion, as someone who grew up in Detroit and who travels internationally, we must break free from anything that sounds “Detroit-Like”

2. Get someone from Canada on that Board. I found nothing on the Aerotropolis web site that even aknowledges the proximity of Canada. How well do you think that goes over with the internationalists at the universities along I-94?

3. Focus on safety and logistics rather than the health care industry (health care is going to be nationalized anyway and, in the long run, the profit motive will be removed). The Netherlands, a small country with a 700-year old middle class, is an example of how to prosper with trade as its main source of income. We can be that way, too. But we’re going to have to sharpen our pencils logistics-wise. Someone ought to be studying the success of hubs like Memphis to see how our Aerotropolis could improve upon them.

4. Develop the real estate along I-94 between Ann Arbor and DTE/GLI. Mimic the dramatic, deep thinking 50 years ago that resulted in the City of Troy today.

Hope this helps.