Michigan in trouble?

[Joe]

As many of you know, Michigan's economy is not the hottest right now.
What solutions or what actions would you take to improve the over-all situation?
Any Ideas? Let us hear what you have to say!

[Joe]

sorry.......try again

[diegosmom]

I have a couple but they are ones that many have heard. Bring back the SBT tax...put the legislators to a half time status and then try to get a lot more going in the state...maybe the "computer" or the "factories" aren't in our ideal range...lets branch out more..

[grasshoppa]

I think that if Granholm brought companies into Michigan it would h elp. She landed the account with Google whoopie-doo, but Google is being located in Ann Arbor. She needs to get companies more "into" Michigan, like further north, not in the southern half of the state. How is the state to develope if companies aren't in the areas that need the growth? Corn and oats aren't going to make the economy prosper a whole hell of a lot.

[Joe]

I thought SBT (single-business-tax) was cut off to stimulate and encourage business.....would bringing that back really help?

I have a drastic solution! hear me -up!

If Michigan wants to fill up the big gap (debt) all they have to do is legalize Marijuana. Naturally it has to be done in a certain way.....it would be State controlled and packaged like cigarettes. Of course they would have to limit the amount you can get. Also it would be the same as drinking, no driving and if you do it in public you could get fined. But just think how happy everyone would be. All the tie-dye shirts at work would be great.

Can everybody agree that alcohol + cigarettes can mess you up worse than pot?
People smoke it anyways..... might as well put some dealers out of business....regulate it and make a HUGE profit !
All this coming from a non toker.

[todd]

I think if we legalize marijuana then people who don't have access to it now would have more opportunity to gain access to it. I think the problem would increase.

Michigan has always had a great economy even before the auto industry moved in. We had huge copper and iron deposits and a booming lumber industry. This state has always been a large draw for immigrants looking for work. That changed sometime in the mid-seventies.

In my opinion, the problem with the current economy is caused by globalization and corporate greed. That is the same problem faced by all the manufacturing based U.S. economies

I think legalizing a new vice would exacerbate the problem rather than cure it. Imagine, Michigan would be seen as a state full of unemployed pot heads. Would that image draw new high-tech companies?

If we want to cure the state, we need to remove the auto industry and try to show Michigan as the state of tomorrow. The future of America rests in Michigan. BTW, Michigan is bordered by 95% of the country's fresh water supply.

[Joe]

I'm speechless........ Todd you have my vote!

[grasshoppa]

The thing with the bottled water tought Todd is that Japan has already tried to get michigan to sell it...michigan legislature vetoed the bill af few years back. I understand that michigan has one of the largest fresh water supplies but i think michigan needs to find some other source of economics.

[Joe]

Anybody notice the gas prices lately? I mean.... Thank God I have a company vehicle with gas card... but I saw a 17 cent hike in 1 day up to $3.37 what the heck is going on?
I wonder where the driver responsibility money is going?
I know!.....its going to MDOT for repairing those millions of pot-holes..........NOT!

[todd]

Did you see that Carl Levin is questioning where the Iraq oil money is going? Apparently at least some of the money is going to off shore bank accounts. We are getting hood-winked by Bush and his cronies. They are using billions of our tax dollars to fund the war and also to rebuild Iraq. What are they doing with the billions of dollars that come from Iraq oil? Shouldn't Iraq be paying for their own expenses? Who is getting rich from all this?