READ ABOUT DETROIT AND SOLUTIONS TO ITS PROBLEMS. CLICK HERE.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Now It Is President Obama Talking About Jobs

SEARCH BLOG: ECONOMY

These excerpts from Gov. Jennifer Granholm's State of the State addresses as shown in The Detroit News:

A LOOK BACK

Here’s a look at statements made and initiatives proposed in Gov. Jen­nifer Granholm’s first seven State of the State addresses.

2003

Quotes: “I submit to you that while the state of our budget is weak, the state of our Michigan spirit is strong. … How did our budget get so out of whack? Quite simply, we cut taxes but not spending, and we continue to spend more than we take in. This will stop.”

Program proposals: Technology Tri-Corridor (focus on development in life sciences, auto industry and homeland security); Project Great Start (parenting, reading to children, coordinate children’s programs); chronic truants don’t get driver’s licenses.

2004

Quotes: “The state of the state tonight is one of total determination: Michigan will attract and keep good jobs. … If you seek a leaner govern­ment, look about you.”

Program proposals: No Worker Left Behind (job training); Cool Cities (make cities attractive to young workers); increase use of Michigan Economic Growth Authority tax breaks.

2005

Quotes: “Will we let Michigan’s economy languish, or will we work together to create the good jobs our state needs? Will we stand still, or will we move forward? I am moving. Move with me.”

Program proposals: 21st Century Jobs Initiative (invest in research and innovation); increase the state minimum wage; Promise Scholar­ships ($4,000 grants to students who complete two years of college); Michigan Opportunity Partnership (rapid-response job training to fill openings in the marketplace).

2006

Quotes: “Michigan, I am here to tell you: We have a detailed and com­prehensive plan to grow this economy. … In five years, you’re going to be blown away by the strength and diversity of Michigan’s transformed economy.”

Program proposals: Focus on alternative energy jobs; Michigan First health care plan (affordable coverage for 550,000 uninsured); strength­en high school graduation requirements.

2007

Quotes: “We will increase our efforts to diversify the economy, reform government to cut costs, strengthen our schools, retrain displaced workers, expand access to health care and revitalize our cities. And we will finally put our fiscal house in order.”

Program proposals: Require students to attend school until they’re 18; ban smoking in the workplace; reform state business tax.

2008

Quotes: “Last year, people wanted decisive action on jobs, on health care, on schools. What they got was partisan rancor over a budget. … Tonight, I’m calling on you to join me in an era of unprecedented cooper­ation for historic progress.”

Program proposals: Replace large, failing high schools with smaller schools focused on discipline; add 100 troopers with recruit school; increase electricity production from renewable sources to 10 percent by 2015 and 25 percent by 2025.

2009

Quotes: “Any honest assessment of our state’s economy must recog­nize that things are likely to get worse before they get better. … The days when our government could be all things to all people are behind us.”

Program proposals: Reduce reliance on fossil fuel by 45 percent by 2020; call on auto insurance companies to freeze rates; direct Public Service Commission and Department of Environmental Quality to ex­plore alternatives before approving new coal-fired power plants.

Source: Detroit News research
Perhaps I'm missing something, but the 2009 program proposals still are a giant leap of faith or ignorance regarding anything resembling brilliant steps leading to an improved economy and more jobs. This is just a regurgitation of the national nonsense being spewed by the Obama administration. You have to love how programs leading to higher energy costs and shutting out insurance companies are going to improve the economy. How about making Michigan a "right to work" state?

Meanwhile, the State of Michigan finds itself unable to print money in the same way that the Federal government can. Consequently, we can expect more of the same... because the governor proposes more of the same.

Now it is President Obama's turn to offer... more of the same.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

..

Labels: , ,

Can"t Find It?

Use the SEARCH BLOG feature at the upper left. For example, try "Global Warming".

You can also use the "LABELS" below or at the end of each post to find related posts.

Blog Archive

Cost of Gasoline - Enter Your Zipcode or Click on Map

Detroit Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com
Click here to add this map to your website.

CO2 Cap and Trade

There is always an easy solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.
Henry Louis Mencken (1880–1956)
“The Divine Afflatus,” A Mencken Chrestomathy, chapter 25, p. 443 (1949)
... and one could add "not all human problems really are."
It was beautiful and simple, as truly great swindles are.
- O. Henry
... The Government is on course for an embarrassing showdown with the European Union, business groups and environmental charities after refusing to guarantee that billions of pounds of revenue it stands to earn from carbon-permit trading will be spent on combating climate change.
The Independent (UK)

Tracking Interest Rates

Tracking Interest Rates

FEDERAL RESERVE & HOUSING

SEARCH BLOG: FEDERAL RESERVE for full versions... or use the Blog Archive pulldown menu.

February 3, 2006 Go back to 1999-2000 and see what the Fed did. They are following the same pattern for 2005-06. If it ain't broke, the Fed will fix it... and good!
August 29, 2006 The Federal Reserve always acts on old information... and is the only cause of U.S. recessions.
December 5, 2006 Last spring I wrote about what I saw to be a sharp downturn in the economy in the "rustbelt" states, particularly Michigan.
March 28, 2007
The Federal Reserve sees no need to cut interest rates in the light of adverse recent economic data, Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.
The Fed chairman said ”to date, the incoming data have supported the view that the current stance of policy is likely to foster sustainable economic growth and a gradual ebbing in core inflation”.

July 21, 2007 My guess is that if there is an interest rate change, a cut is more likely than an increase. The key variables to be watching at this point are real estate prices and the inventory of unsold homes.
August 11, 2007 I suspect that within 6 months the Federal Reserve will be forced to lower interest rates before housing becomes a black hole.
September 11, 2007 It only means that the overall process has flaws guaranteeing it will be slow in responding to changes in the economy... and tend to over-react as a result.
September 18, 2007 I think a 4% rate is really what is needed to turn the economy back on the right course. The rate may not get there, but more cuts will be needed with employment rates down and foreclosure rates up.
October 25, 2007 How long will it be before I will be able to write: "The Federal Reserve lowered its lending rate to 4% in response to the collapse of the U.S. housing market and massive numbers of foreclosures that threaten the banking and mortgage sectors."
November 28, 2007 FED VICE CHAIRMAN DONALD KOHN
"Should the elevated turbulence persist, it would increase the possibility of further tightening in financial conditions for households and businesses," he said.

"Uncertainties about the economic outlook are unusually high right now," he said. "These uncertainties require flexible and pragmatic policymaking -- nimble is the adjective I used a few weeks ago."
http://www.reuters.com/

December 11, 2007 Somehow the Fed misses the obvious.
fed_rate_moves_425_small.gif
[Image from: CNNMoney.com]
December 13, 2007 [from The Christian Science Monitor]
"The odds of a recession are now above 50 percent," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "We are right on the edge of a recession in part because of the Fed's reluctance to reduce interest rates more aggressively." [see my comments of September 11]
January 7, 2008 The real problem now is that consumers can't rescue the economy and manufacturing, which is already weakening, will continue to weaken. We've gutted the forces that could avoid a downturn. The question is not whether there will be a recession, but can it be dampened sufficiently so that it is very short.
January 11, 2008 This is death by a thousand cuts.
January 13, 2008 [N.Y. Times]
“The question is not whether we will have a recession, but how deep and prolonged it will be,” said David Rosenberg, the chief North American economist at Merrill Lynch. “Even if the Fed’s moves are going to work, it will not show up until the later part of 2008 or 2009.”
January 17, 2008 A few days ago, Anna Schwartz, nonagenarian economist, implicated the Federal Reserve as the cause of the present lending crisis [from the Telegraph - UK]:
The high priestess of US monetarism - a revered figure at the Fed - says the central bank is itself the chief cause of the credit bubble, and now seems stunned as the consequences of its own actions engulf the financial system. "The new group at the Fed is not equal to the problem that faces it," she says, daring to utter a thought that fellow critics mostly utter sotto voce.
January 22, 2008 The cut has become infected and a limb is in danger. Ben Bernanke is panicking and the Fed has its emergency triage team cutting rates... this time by 3/4%. ...

What should the Federal Reserve do now? Step back... and don't be so anxious to raise rates at the first sign of economic improvement.
Individuals and businesses need stability in their financial cost structures so that they can plan effectively and keep their ships afloat. Wildly fluctuating rates... regardless of what the absolute levels are... create problems. Either too much spending or too much fear. It's just not that difficult to comprehend. Why has it been so difficult for the Fed?

About Me

My photo
Michigan, United States
Air Force (SAC) captain 1968-72. Retired after 35 years of business and logistical planning, including running a small business. Two sons with advanced degrees; one with a business and pre-law degree. Beautiful wife who has put up with me for 4 decades. Education: B.A. (Sociology major; minors in philosopy, English literature, and German) M.S. Operations Management (like a mixture of an MBA with logistical planning)