the hits just keep coming

my poor homeland has topped yet another list that no one wants to be on. that would be the list that ranks which big city is poorest. of US cities with at least 250,000 residents, Detroit is number one. not to be completely outdone by its flagship city, the state of Michigan's median income dropped while the rest of the nation's rose.

who to blame? ineffectual leadership? a struggling industrial economy? bad weather? proximity to Canada? so many options in the blame game. in my opinion there are 3 big reasons as to why Michigan is struggling. (but the reality is so nuanced that even fixing these things would leave quite a few holes. but we all love talking points, right?)

first is the decline in domestic manufacturing, especially our Big 3 cars and trucks. theyve been losing their market to the Asians and Europeans for decades and the 90's were dismal in that respect. the one market they had always lead in, trucks and SUV's, is rapidly eroding under the gas prices. as a result the new union deal cuts wages for incoming employees while others took cuts to keep their jobs. that alone can probably account for the drop in the mitten's median income.

that leads me to the second point: leadership. there is none to speak of. it seems like all the leaders in the state are just filling in. its like they arent there to make a difference, but to make sure that the wheels dont fall off until the boss is back. but there is no boss coming back to save the place and the wheels are falling off. they have been for a while. and as they do more people fall into poverty for lack of well paying jobs. folks who can afford college are having trouble getting jobs, because more and more well paying jobs require that silly piece of paper. and the jobs that are open to the uneducated and lesser educated are becoming fewer and lower paying leading to more poverty, which happens to be my next point.

the apple doesnt fall far from the tree. poverty breeds poverty. a poor uneducated mother will have poor uneducated children for the most part. she cant afford to live in a nice area with good public schools and she cant afford to send them to private school. and as soon as they are 18 the handouts to mom for uncle sam quit and the kid needs to make money to support himself, his mom, and his siblings, and possibly his kids. and as the economy erodes in the area more parents fall into this marginal poverty area, and their kids are jeopardized. the kids need a chance. wont someone think of the children!? i perscribe better education and support for poor kids.

i dont know how to solve all of the states problems, but leadership is where to begin. we need leaders who can bring new industry, besides a few films, to the state. permanent jobs are needed. whatever public money out there we have needs to be spent on kids and education. the best way to give a kid a chance is to give a kid an education and some ambition. if i kid sees that he can better his lot and his family's if he just completes a college education, and he has that chance, a lot of them will take it. success breeds success. the cycle of poverty needs to be broken and a cycle of success established. and always look out for the cycle of knives. that shit is scary.

Detroit and Michigan need a regime change. they need leaders who can bring jobs and investment and prosperity to an area that was once the arsenal of democracy, the envy of the world for its industry and prosperity. and that was within my father's life time. i hope to see it in my life time. a place that is famous for its prosperity, not its corruption, crime and poverty.