Last week I spoke to a class former U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz teaches these days at the University of Michigan. And it was an eye-opening experience –at least if you care about the future of our state.
Schwarz, by the way, is running a class about politics in our state and nation at the U of M’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Few men know the subject better; he has been mayor of Battle Creek; served 16 years in the state senate and a term in Congress, and has been appointed to top-level commissions.
Toward the end of my class, one young woman stood up and threw me a curve ball. “I’m going to graduate next year,” she said. “And I wish you’d tell me why I shouldn”t just leave Michigan.
“I live here and love it, but there’s just nothing here for me.”
That student is far from alone. I can’t count how many people have said essentially the same thing to me over the past couple of years. And they aren’t all young, either. The demographers say they are sure Michigan is losing gobs of people right now.
We’re likely to lose even more, once they manage to get out from mortgages that keep them here.
So … what did I say to her?
“I know it’s counter-intuitive,” I began. “But I believe the best time to stay in a place — even move in –is when it is in trouble. There are at least three reasons for that:
“First, if everybody’s moving out, the competition for good jobs and a career is less. In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. You’re smart, and you’ll stand out when you apply for a job.
“Second, in a state that’s in trouble, the competition for good jobs and a career is less. What the economists call ‘barriers to entry’ — the things that make it hard to get started, whether in a business or a career, are lower here than elsewhere. You have a disproportionate chance to make it big here in Michigan, if only because there is so much room to manuever.
“Third, it seems to me there are two kinds of people. The first — the majority by far, I fear — are risk-averse, willing to follow the crowd and prepare for an ordinary, humdrum life. The second are the risk-takers, the would-be entrepreneurs. If you are young and ambitious, there’s no better place to make a mark than a state in crisis.”
I don’t know whether I persuaded her, though I sure hope I did. Then I read a piece called “It Takes a Village to Open a Bistro,” by Toby Barlow in the New York Times. It’s about a guy named Charlie Sorel who opened a creperie called La Petit Zinc in Detroit, not far from the old Tiger Stadium. Sorel told the writer, “I can’t imagine opening a business anywhere but Detroit.”
When he was struggling to open, neighboring restaurants went out of the way to help. The owner of Slow’s, a popular rib joint, helped Charlie get the needed permits. The owner of the nearby Café con Leche coffee shop hooked him up with his coffee supplier.
“They want their neighbor to make it. It’s different from anywhere I’ve been,” Charlie marveled. “Here, your success is their success.” The NY Times writer concludes, “Maybe it’s the adage that nothing brings a community closer than having a common enemy. For the restaurateurs, the residents, the urban farmers and the community activist now working to reshape the city, the enemy is Detroit’s own reputation. They know they will succeed only if they are a part of a larger, collective success.”
That made me feel pretty good….
Until I opened an e-mail from a guy with three graduate degrees a certificate in computer systems technology. He has a quarter of a century’s experience in developing and discovering pharmaceuticals … and feels he has to leave the state.
“So here we are in 2009.” he wrote. “Unable to find a decent paying job, with a mortgage and a 21-year-old child who cannot find a job anywhere in Michigan.”
But the real reason he feels he has to leave: Lansing.
“The state of the state is the equivalent of a train wreck. Never have I seen more incompetence and lack of cooperation at all levels of government. Never have I seen so many Band-aids applied to problems where major surgery is required. In addition, special interests, many controlled by trade unions, are destroying this state. We plan to go where intelligence, education and experience are valued, the government is not being strangled by special interests, and at least some employment opportunities exist. Good luck resurrecting a dead horse.”
So much depends on where you stand. The guy trying to scrape by, with a mortgage and no job, does not have the time to wait for things to get better. The young woman in Joe Schwarz’s class can wait a bit to make up her mind and see if reforms catch hold.
Both are desperate for just a bit of informed hope that things can and will get better, and hope that when they do, a rising tide will lift everyone’s boats.
So are you listening, Lansing?
***
Editor’s Note: Former newspaper publisher and University of Michigan Regent Phil Power is a longtime observer of Michigan politics and economics and a former chairman of the Michigan chapter of the Nature Conservancy. He is also the founder and president of The Center for Michigan, a bipartisan centrist think-and-do tank which is sponsoring Michigan’s Defining Moment, a public engagement outreach campaign for citizens. The opinions expressed here are Power’s own and do not represent the official views of The Center. He welcomes your comments at ppower@thecenterformichigan.net.
7 Comments
Phil-This article makes a very fair argument for staying in Michigan. The article is fair minded, balanced and states it like it is. We can’t fix everything overnight but the new “state pioneers,” those willing to stay, take risks and make a living here will ultimately prevail and succeed while transforming our economy and culture along the way.
Thanks Phil for a very good article. I really don’t know what it will take to get Lansing to see the light. Will we need to go to Lansing like the ones did in Washington yesterday. If enough people will ban together Lansing will change. It is time the politicans put the people first instead of their own personal and special interest groups. No special interest group should have control of our state.
“I really don’t know what it will take to get Lansing to see the light.” The root of the problem is believing that you *have* seen the light, and nobody else has. It leads to an unwillingness to compromise, cooperate, or find common ground with those who hold different opinions. Unfortunately, all “special interests” back their representatives and/or senators and tell them what a great job they’re doing, encouraging them not to listen to anyone with a divergent opinion or interest. What will it take to change this? I’m afraid the state will have to get much worse before people realize they have to work together and become a true community.
I lived in Michigan from 1960 to 1981. I started 2 businesses in Michigan, one was successful. I started another in California which was very successful.
The two main problems in Michigan were and continue to be Liberal politicians and Unions. Any company that decides to move too, a state is not going to move to a state where the politicians and Unions take command of his business.
Capital will flow to where it gets the best return and not to where it gets hijacked.It is not only a national market , it is a global market.
To see the light common sense might be required, Gov. Jenny and the boys in Lansing seem to be lacking this. More tax and waste will not repair overspending by and out of control Gov. Let the budget cutting begin, start with school teachers and adman. staff ,15% pay & 30% benefits would be a nice start this should get the ball rolling
I am a union member and slightly disagree with the quoted gentleman’s remark’s concernig Lansing’s problem’s. there are some bad apples amongst union people like everyone else, but the one’s I see rise to the top are generally very outstanding men and women who care not only about the current but also the future situation’s. I think people find that it’s very easy to cast blame than to just stand up and try to fix the problem’s at hand.
I enjoyed participating in one of the “Michigan Defining Moment” sessions and will look forward to seeing the proposed agenda for our state’s future. We are scheduling several more meetings in the Milford, Highland, Commerce and Farmington communities. Thanks for all you do to help our state!