Comments on: Michigan's great east-west divide http://www.thecenterformichigan.net/blog/michigans-great-east-west-divide/ Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:21:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Dana Baldwin http://www.thecenterformichigan.net/blog/michigans-great-east-west-divide/#comment-11829 Dana Baldwin Sat, 08 Mar 2008 03:39:32 +0000 http://69.5.25.110/blog/2006/05/18/michigans-great-east-west-divide/#comment-11829 Phil, great article. There are some ideas that the east side of the state should understand, too. From the perspective of the west side of the state, Detroit and surrounding areas have long had a significant draw on the funding of various activities and institutions as compared with the west side of the state. It has appeared to the west side that there were special rules for the Detroit area, and the rest of the state had to live with the leftovers. Example: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Institute of Arts have received funding over the years beyond what appeared to be equitable. The rationale expressed by the legislature and the Detroit area politicos was that this difference in funding was because the Detroit institutions were "regional" in their draw, as compared with the Grand Rapids Symphony and Grand Rapids Art Museum, for instance. This inequity, real or perceived, has grated on many in West Michigan. There have been some benefits, too. Because of the unequal basis for funding, the various arts organizations in West Michigan have developed private sources of funding which have sustained the arts in WM, while the state support for DIA and DSO has dropped as the financial picture of the state has waned. People on the east side of the state need to realize that we are a part of the whole picture, but the perception of the west, whether rightly or wrongly perceived, is that there is a big sucking sound in the southeast corner of Michigan which leaves the rest of the state high and dry. Another example is road funding. It has been most of a generation since US 131 was proposed for extension, both North and South. Down near the Indiana border, there is a stretch of 131 which should be expanded to four lanes down to the Indiana border/Indiana Toll Road. The financial impact of doing this has been demonstrated many times over, but road funds keep getting funneled toward the east side. Similarly, 131 north of Cadillac should have been extended north to the Mackinac Bridge 20 years ago, but is only a few miles north of Cadillac. The economic impact for the upper west half of the lower peninsula has been shown to be large, but not much has been provided. Admittedly, there are always choices to be made, and it is likely that at least some of the perceptions of west siders are as biased as those of some from the east side. It is imperative that we work together to resolve the questions, for the benefit of all. A little more balance would be appreciated and appropriate. Phil, great article. There are some ideas that the east side of the state should understand, too. From the perspective of the west side of the state, Detroit and surrounding areas have long had a significant draw on the funding of various activities and institutions as compared with the west side of the state. It has appeared to the west side that there were special rules for the Detroit area, and the rest of the state had to live with the leftovers. Example: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Institute of Arts have received funding over the years beyond what appeared to be equitable. The rationale expressed by the legislature and the Detroit area politicos was that this difference in funding was because the Detroit institutions were "regional" in their draw, as compared with the Grand Rapids Symphony and Grand Rapids Art Museum, for instance. This inequity, real or perceived, has grated on many in West Michigan. There have been some benefits, too. Because of the unequal basis for funding, the various arts organizations in West Michigan have developed private sources of funding which have sustained the arts in WM, while the state support for DIA and DSO has dropped as the financial picture of the state has waned.

People on the east side of the state need to realize that we are a part of the whole picture, but the perception of the west, whether rightly or wrongly perceived, is that there is a big sucking sound in the southeast corner of Michigan which leaves the rest of the state high and dry.

Another example is road funding. It has been most of a generation since US 131 was proposed for extension, both North and South. Down near the Indiana border, there is a stretch of 131 which should be expanded to four lanes down to the Indiana border/Indiana Toll Road. The financial impact of doing this has been demonstrated many times over, but road funds keep getting funneled toward the east side. Similarly, 131 north of Cadillac should have been extended north to the Mackinac Bridge 20 years ago, but is only a few miles north of Cadillac. The economic impact for the upper west half of the lower peninsula has been shown to be large, but not much has been provided.

Admittedly, there are always choices to be made, and it is likely that at least some of the perceptions of west siders are as biased as those of some from the east side. It is imperative that we work together to resolve the questions, for the benefit of all. A little more balance would be appreciated and appropriate.

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