It was rainy and foggy as the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce Mackinac Island Policy Conference started here on Wednesday. And the attendance – down some 300 people from last year – and the mood were equally gloomy.
The bars and goodies tables in the lobby weren’t quite so lavishly stocked as in years past. People were talking about Chrysler’s descent into bankruptcy and looking forward – if that’s the right word – to GM’s. And nobody had any real idea what would happen to this battered state when two of the three domestic car manufacturers wind up bust. The only bright spot was the cheers that erupted late in the evening when the Red Wings won in overtime against the Black Hawks.
Worse, nobody seemed to have much of an idea about what needed to be done to pull Michigan out of the morass it finds itself in. Various candidates for governor – including Republicans Terry Lynn Land and Mike Cox and Democratic Lt. Gov. John Cherry were working the crowd with an odd mixture of the energetic and the anxious. But none of the so far announced candidates seems to have generated much excitement. Rumors are flying about others entering the fray, including Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard and Domino’s Pizza CEO Dave Brandon.
The upshot is a widespread strong sense of frustration.
In the opening session, even usually upbeat Governor Jennifer Granholm seemed a little worn, especially next to keynote speaker T. Boone Pickens, the 81-year oil man and chief advocate for a national policy favoring alternative energy over constant imported oil. Pickens has the slightly rumpled look and easy chuckle that reminded me of Ronald Reagan at his best. And when Granholm tried to cut an economic development deal with him right on the stage, her eager invitation fell to the ground like an expired balloon.
Which was too bad. Because her argument that Michigan’s economy was on the verge of a new day of prosperity based on alternative energy actually made some sense.
Citing our abilities in manufacturing, engineering and innovation, Granholm argued that “the best reason for companies to come to Michigan is what’s here already.”
She cited three sectors of particular interest.
Start with batteries, most of which are manufactured in Asia, but which will be essential for a new generation of automobiles and all kinds of other applications. The state has put up $700 million in public funds to support battery companies in Michigan. Together with a shot at $2 billion in federal stimulus money, that has led to at least five new companies working on batteries in Michigan, with the promise of more to come.
As to wind – “it blows all the time, especially here.” as one conference attendee put it – the idea is that our experience in manufacturing puts us at competitive advantage for building the enormous turbines that generate electricity from the wind. Granholm boasted that the federal government ranks Michigan number two in the nation for wind machine manufacturing.
The play in solar energy appears to be limited to making polycrystalline silicon, the necessary feedstock for solar panels. Hemlock Semiconductor and Dow Corning are now into spending billions in expansion. Companies that make solar panels, such as United Solar Ovionics, are also growing.
All of this reminded me of past Michigan history. A quarter century after the great white pine forests were clear cut in the last half of the 19th century and our economy looked flat on its back, an explosion of innovation sowed the seeds of Michigan’s greatness. A 20-year period saw the start of Dow Chemical, Upjohn, Kellogg and the Ford Motor Company – companies that still have an enormous footprint here.
The idea is that history might repeat itself, with triumph following crisis.
But as Pickens put it in the opening session, “There is no substitute for leadership. Either you’ve got it and you’ll be successful, or you don’t and you’ll fail.”
For most of the people perambulating inside the Grand Hotel – the weather outside was too cool and too wet for much perambulating – where that leadership was going to come from was at the very best an open question.
4 Comments
Mr. Power, your comments are interesting and insightful, as always. Fresh leadership is needed in Michigan, along with a fresh attitude among Michigan’s citizens. I recommend changing the topic of conversation from “Rust Belt” to “Innovation Belt.” The mission to Transform Michigan will require shared sacrifice and investment to ensure a prosperous future. The transformation is a challenge but need not become a food fight.
Mackinac Island, where guests & legislators & lobbyists gather & sadly, to ignore the news just behind the headlines.
Is this another example of: Just Let Them Eat Cake?
You see, most of the “little people” who did the necessary, unseen labor as well as the service for Mackinac Island tourists are not Michigan nor even US workers.
While Mackinac County–wherein Mackinac Island is located–endures the highest unemployment rate (28%) in the state with the highest unemployment rate in the nation, the Governor & would-be Governors relax while served by cheaper, foreign labor.
Two days before G W Bush left office in January, he relieved employers of foreign H-2(b)non-skilled workers the hefty responsibility of stating that US workers were even sought for the job openings.
And, US Congressional friends of these employers who prefer cheaper foreign labor can’t stop there.
Pending US Congressional measures (SB 388 & HB 1136 & HB 1934) seek to relieve these employers—like the majority located on Mackinac Island—of the simple math counting of “returning” workers against an annual cap (66,000).
With Michigan’s Congressional delegation, we have both Republican & Democrats seeking to undermine Michigan families, even during these uncertain economic times. They are:
Senator Carl Levin
Rep Bart Stupak, Sponsor
Rep Peter Hoekstra
Rep Candice Miller
Rep John Dingell
Rep Vernon Ehlers
Rep Thaddeus McCotter
Rep Michael Rogers, et al,
When I first got involved with Michigan Defining Moments, I had no intention of being involved with politics. I have since been elected as a trustee in our township. In my short time in office I could write a short story on why goverment fails the people, and most of it is because instead of serving,it becomes self serving. Another big problem is citizens don’t feel they can make a difference, and they can’t if they don’t try. When preparing my flyer (with the help of my wife and another person), I remembered one thing I had written down. It went like this. THERE IS MUCH WE COULD DO, SHOULD DO, BUT DON’T DO, NOT BECAUSE OF LACK OF MONEY BUT AS PICKENS SAID BECAUSE OF LACK OF LEADERSHIP.
Dale Westrick
Did anyone up there in Mackinac raise the issue of a Constitutional Convention in 2010? It automatically appears on the ballot every sixteen years. Things not bad enough yet in Michigan that a little tweaking of our constitution wouldn’t help? Admittedly, a gathering of business leaders would not be inclined to contemplate a re-write of our Constitution; but its high time the Convention became a broadening discussion. I hope the Center for Michigan takes the lead.