10 Things

I’ve been talking to a lot of out of state investors lately, and the subject of weaknesses and opportunities for this region comes up every time. While I know that any discussion of substance on this would take a while, I though that I would put together a couple of lists off the top of my head.

If you think there’s something missing off of either of the lists send me an email at list@MichProps.com. If I get enough of them I’ll publish them.

Let’s start with the bad news because it’s like shooting fish in a barrel.

10 things WRONG with the Detroit Area and the State of Michigan

1. A governor who never had a real job and lacks even a kindergarten-level understanding of economics.
2. A state legislature that is incapable of making a single difficult decision.
3. A CEO at Ford that has, as inconceivable as it may seem, less of a clue as to how to run a car company than Bill Ford Jr.
4. UAW membership that struck GM and Chrysler and nearly rejected the Chrysler contract – what part of R–E–C–E–S–S–I–O-N don’t they understand?
5. Comerica, Audi, and Pfizer leaving the state.
6. A nation-leading number of homes in foreclosure.
7. No adult supervision in Detroit City Government.
8. No adult supervision in the Detroit Public School System.
9. A massive state-wide inferiority complex that caused our state legislators to consider as a priority moving up our state presidential primaries. All it did was showcase Michigan’s complete and total irrelevance in the national presidential race. With all the other problems that we have, this was their top priority?
10. In response to the US Postal Service’s plan to open a new sorting facility in Pontiac that would consolidate functions and save $4.3 million TAXPAYER dollars per year, Dwight Boudreaux Sr., president of the Detroit district local of the American Postal Workers’ Union thinks that it’s a bad idea because the city won’t have a postmark any more. I’m not making this up. He actually said “it carries a sense of the city’s identity”. “We had a Super Bowl, General Motors is here, Quicken Loans is considering moving here, but we won’t have a postmark.” And this clown is the president of the union. Yikes.

And now the good stuff.

10 things RIGHT with the Detroit Area and the State of Michigan

1. General Motors UAW contract. With it they close 2/3 of the cost gap per vehicle between them and Toyota.
2. General Motors continued success in consumer-driven design, marketing, and advertising. Have you seen that new Cadillac commercial?
3. Chrysler, LLC. Doesn’t that have a great ring to it? Finally an auto company run by people with profit and cash flow as their first priorities. And they won a stunning victory in their contract negotiations with the UAW. (Ford, were you paying attention?)
4. Google opening an office in Ann Arbor.
5. Compuware’s upcoming $1 billion Covisant IPO. Nicely done.
6. Finally the beginning of a critical mass for a Downtown Detroit resurgence, despite #7 & #8 on the other list.
7. Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist for LaSalle Bank, adds two to the list: the area’s highly-educated workforce, public university system, high household income and history of business leadership as positive attributes for the region.
   
8. Tannenbaum also said that long-term, Michigan will be a hub because 20 percent of the fresh water supply in the world is nearby. “That’s an amazing natural resource we need to harness and promote,” he said. “People no longer will be chasing the sun. They’ll be desperate to seek water.”
9. Dirt cheap housing, land, and buildings.
10. A blistering hot rental market that is begging to be addressed.
11. Term limits. (couldn’t resist this one)

Your thoughts?