Michigan Manufacturing hardest hit and hardest Spun

I was watching the evening news today, (a daily ritual) and saw a few items of interest. First thing that caught my attention was the local station had a story about a report that Michigan manufacturing losing the most jobs in the nation since 2000. Well, we may be king but our neighboring states in the Great Lakes Region aren't doing much better. This article in the Detroit News basically mirrors the report. Job study: Mich. hit hardest - 07/27/06 - The Detroit News Online The TV report had an interview with one of the local mold shops in Flint, Mi. Schmalt Tool and Die. President. Laurie Moncrief went on to make a few good points. One was that for every manufacturing job loss there were about 4 others in other industries that were lost because of this. I'm not sure if this is true or not. The Michigan Economic Development commission in this area is always pointing out that for every manufacturing job created, their are approximately 3.5 jobs created. The part I'm not sure about is if the inverse is also true. The MEDC is always stating how many jobs they have created or retained. Most of these seem to be of the Walmart variety, as I see it. I guess a point could be made that any job that is still here is "a retained job" although I don't know how you would go about quantifying that. They seem to be more interested in press conferences with large organizations rather than helping the small manufacturer create jobs. They keep reminding us that more jobs are created by small companies than large corporations, but do little to help them. Michigan has some of the highest unemployment in the country, yet they still go out tooting their own horn on job creation. Ms. Moncrief claims to be a small tool and die company. Again 30-40 employees and 4 million in sales isn't my definition of small, but that is debatable. The fact that they are looking to outsource their design work to India doesn't fair well for her either. I travel in the same circles as these people and frequently run into them at different affairs. I'm always amazed how their able to spin the truth to their advantage. Of course President Bush is quite good at this also. Here's a link to his news conference with the National Association of Manufacturers today.President Addresses the National Association of Manufacturers Of course he only emphasizes the positive. No mention of Michigan, other than the President of NAM is the former governor of Michigan, John Engler.
Being an election year for governor in Michigan, there are many out there pointing their fingers at why Michigan is in such bad shape. Governor Granholm blames Bush, of course. I remember when she was elected how she was the darling of the Democratic Party. If it wasn't for the fact she was born in Canada, she could be President of the US. Now she is barley holding on to her job, and is tied in the polls with Dick Devos. I guess we can look forward to much spin in the next few months in Michigan. The facts are still bad in Michigan no matter how you spin them. A trip down any residential area will open your eyes. The number of homes for sale has to be a record. It seems like every other home is for sale. I have a few friends in the Real Estate business, they're contantly complaining how bad the market is. Well it's not for the fact that there isn't any real estate to sell! I've been looking to purchase a home lately. I can tell you that if the prices come into realm of reality, these houses will sell. Of course a sudden boom in economic development would help also, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.