March 29, 2024

Is Michigan the new Arkansas

April 5, 2006
Have you heard this one yet?  The notion that Michigan is on such a slide that we’re on par with Arkansas, a place generally thought of as the pits.
I’ve always taken great pride in our state, assuming that Michigan was in America’s “Top 10.” Part of this sprang from the fact that my father was a state highway inspector who helped build Michigan’s freeway system in the ‘50s and ‘60s.  It always struck me that our roads were so much better than the disastrous turnpikes of Ohio or Pennsylvania.  Our freeways were concrete proof that our state was better than most.
Then there is our beautiful scenery in the north and along the coasts.  And our huge universities in Ann Arbor and Lansing.  I always assumed that Michigan was ahead of the curve.
But on a trip to Detroit last week, it was a bit of a wake-up call to see how much those sleek freeways have deteriorated.  Potholes, spreading seams, cracks turning into canyons... our freeways are ready for a makeover at a time when Michigan is going broke.
Our roads are by no means a disaster:  Michigan‘s Department of Transportation currently has 18 major road repair projects underway in the Detroit area alone, with a goal of having 95% of the state‘s freeway system and 85% of our remaining roads in “good“ condition by 2007.  Still, it  doesn‘t seem like our roads are as first class as they used to be.
And I was shocked to read last year that Michigan is near the bottom of U.S. states in terms of the percentage of residents who have attended college.  I had always assumed that we were among the best educated and brightest folks in the nation.  Surely, we are among the best looking, at least.
Yet, according to the last U.S. Census, nearly 16% of Americans had achieved a bachelor’s degree in 2000, compared to 13.7% of Michiganians.  Apparently, many of us opted out of higher education in favor of those good-paying factory jobs which recently disappeared south of the border.
Speaking of which, we‘re insulated here in Northern Michigan, but if you‘ve read the Detroit newspapers over the past few months, you may have noticed the frequent screaming headlines in type four-inches tall, blaring the latest upheavals in the auto industry.
Detroit, as you may have heard, is on the brink of receivership. The city is so strapped for cash that it recently opted out of its ownership of the Detroit Zoo, handing off its survival to the local zoological society.
Then there’s Delphi, the auto parts manufacturer which plans to cut wages to its 34,000 workers by up to 40% over the next 18 months, passing out lump sums of $50,000 or so to thousands of aging employees as an incentive to retire.  And the news that General Motors -- which was considered as solid as the Rock of Gibralter in the ‘50s and ‘60s -- is in danger of extinction.

Here‘s a slice of life from suburban Detroit: At a little tourist trap in Orion Township called Canterbury Village, a shopowner noted that many of the small businesses there are closing their doors due to the tightening belts of metro Detroiters.  “We used to have $1,000 days here,” she said, referring to sales at her shop.  “But this Christmas we were lucky to do $300 or $400 in a day.”  If you want to buy some of her knick-knacks, you can get them for 10 cents on the dollar before she closes her doors for good.
So perhaps there is something to the idea that Michigan is turning into the next Arkansas -- a place where the Third World seems uncomfortably familiar, with fewer police and fire services, declining schools and dwindling jobs.
But that’s the road we set ourselves on, isn’t it?  It makes you wonder why we have such misplaced national priorities.
For instance, instead of spending our federal tax dollars on new roads or schools or national health care, we have chosen the monstrous expense of stationing U.S. troops in 135 countries, according to Laurence Vance, author of “The U.S. Global Empire.”
Who are we protecting the Swiss from? Why do we have troops in Iceland or Norway? Why do we have 74,796 servicemen in Germany when there aren’t enough cops to patrol the small towns of Northern Michigan, much less the streets of Detroit?
Why have we spent more than $251 billion on the war in Iraq when Michigan, the arsenal of democracy which defeated the Nazi war machine in World War II, is fighting for its life?
Imagine if a small fraction of that money had been spent to revitalize Michigan.
Could our problems have anything to do with the people in power?  Could it have anything to do with electing oil executives and war profiteers to the White House?  The military-industrial complex personified by Halliburton has done just fine under their leadership; can we say the same of education and health care? 
So much to think about going down those bumpy Michigan roads.
There’s a bright side to all of this in the fact that our state has had a painful awakening.  Although it’s a disaster for thousands of employees at GM, Ford, Delphi, Northwest Airlines and other companies, one gets the impression that Michigan isn’t so much falling apart as it is reinventing itself.  Hopeful signs include the reform of the Single Business Tax and the creation of new energy-efficient products by companies such as Ford.  
Leaner companies creating better products and more jobs.  Sounds like a plan.  The down side will be trying to make a living on $8-$12 an hour with no benefits.  But if enough Americans get in that jam, we’ll change our nation’s priorities, starting with the removal of the political parties that got us into this mess to begin with. 

Trending

Mysterious Michigan Reads

We can’t think of a better way to spend spring break than with a great book. Northern Express asked local bookseller... Read More >>

Heirloom Recipes With Heritage, History, and Nostalgia

Before we begin to stash our coats and put winter behind us, let us remember what years past have taught us…fake sp... Read More >>

A Floral Family Affair

In the quaint downtown of Elk Rapids sits Golden Hill Farms, a shop where the artistry of floristry meets the rustic charm... Read More >>

A Look at Originalism

O Tempora O Mores! Oh the times, oh the culture. This Latin phrase relates to both the 18th century and our current times.... Read More >>