Is a state bail-out feasible?
I would like to pose this question/statement to those more educated than I am in “how the government works”:
My state (Michigan), as you may already know, is in a huge crisis. The Big 3 automakers are now the Imploding 3. We’ve lost countless jobs and underemployment is rampant. Top that with a state government in the red, along with its largest city (Detroit) in the red and bleeding. Foreclosures so common it’s downright scary. And our governor, Jennifer Granholm, begging any company to come to Michigan. Redstate has a great write-up about Michigan’s unique problems, with a healthy dose of “Blue state slapping” (the blog isn’t called Redstate for nothing). With this being said, is it feasible, possible, or even in the best interests of our nation for the Federal government to bail-out Michigan? A $1 billion dollar grant for example? I ask this because when I see $100+ billion needed for the continuing Iraq situation, I just wonder could a state get attention like that.
This isn’t a snarky question. I’m very curious to see your thoughts.
11 Responses to “Is a state bail-out feasible?”
There are really two questions here:
1. Is a bail-out possible?
2. Is it possible politically?
It’s hard to see anything much being possible politically these days, because instead of talking about how to fix problems, we argue about the ideological purity of this or that proposal.
Strictly as a personal feeling, not as political judgment, I don;t see why an area shouldn’t be declared an economic disaster area just like we have flood disaster areas and storm disaster areas.
If ‘disaster’ is overdoing it, it could be called an economic rejuvenation project.
Michigan is not the only place to face a troubling future. I think it is way past time to start thinking about how to get through this period of changes in how the global economy affects the economy in different areas and classes of the US.
It amazes me how we talk about the economy as if it existed out in the stratosphere someplace, and making money was a paper shuffling game, when it facti the economy exists in every individual’s life.It also strikes me as ironic that investing in abstract money is a virtue, but investing in the furute of large chunks of our population should always be so controversial.
Free market and trade advocates complain about those moving to more nationalistic and protectionistic stances. My advice to them would be: if you don’t like the attitide, do something to affress the causex
One way to to that would be to invest in the economic rejuvenation of states like Michigan.
Politically, my opinion will never fly, though.
Soaring oil and gas revenues lead Wyoming budget officials to project a $1.8-billion surplus next year, putting the state in an enviable position, says Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers in Washington, D.C.
They should give Wyoming a hollar. I bet they would lend them the money.
I just moved from Albion, Michigan. The sense of decline across Michigan is palpable, and it’s really quite sad. Albion, once known as a “little Detroit” because of its iron foundries that served the Big 3 and helped sustain a population of over 12,000 now has 7,000 people and dropping.
The problems in Michigan run very deep and affect both political parties. The Democrats in Michigan delude themselves into thinking that a few better trade deals or union protections will staunch the flow of good-paying jobs. Republicans delude themselves into believing that small business tax breaks will lure manufacturing back to the state.
Governor Granholm has at least tried to move the state in a completely different direction by focusing on biofuels (ethanol, a genuine racket, but a profitable one across the Midwest), advanced manufacturing, bio-medical research (especially in university towns like Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo and East Lansing), and tourism. Old-school heavy manufacturing is just not coming back. Her message won her an overwhelming re-election against Amway heir Dick DeVos in 2006.
But is it enough? It will take many years for Michigan to transform itself.
What would a “bail out” consist entail? Should the government force employers to move jobs to Michigan? Should the goverment create more make work jobs in Michigan?
Where do all of the University of Michigan go? Do they all move out of state? Why can’t Michigan benefit from having a good flagship state university like Texas or California do?
I wonder if the huge debt run up to fight the war in Iraq has foreclosed on domestic investment options.
I doubt that it is lack of investment funds. It is the lack of anything to invest in that would give someone a chance to get a good return on the money.
There is just nothing worth investing in that would warrant going it in Michigan. Remember, more cars at manufactured in Alabama, Tennesse, and Georgia than Michigan.
Ann Arbor is doing quite well, actually. It’s the rest of the state that’s suffering. The Big 3 make crappy cars. And the powers that be in Michigan think heavy manufacturing will come back. It won’t.
“the powers that be in Michigan think heavy manufacturing will come back. It won’t”
I agree with that.
I can’t believe, though, that other means of attracting buisiness can’t be found. I think federal money should be made available. If we can invest billions to rebuild/save New Orleans (not to mention Iraq), It makes no sense to me to just give up on a whole state. We’re talking about a whole lot of people here! Not tackling the problem will have much direr consequences (and costs) than any money invested, IMO.
If Ireland could do it, and NY City could come back from bankrupcy, then there must be a way for Michingan to be rejuvenated, too.
It’s heartbreaking to see what a nation of ‘can’t do’
we’ve become. We can’t deal with poverty. We can’t deal with health care. We can’t deal with the changes in the economy. We can’t even deal with immigration. We can’t, we can’t, we can’t
There should be no federal bailout of Michigan nor any of the other states that would be led to follow Michigan promptly if Michigan were to receive a bailout. There also is no need for any new, grand redistribution scheme (“equalization payments” in Canada). The solution has already been alluded to, namely that Michigan needs to transform itself, shed the repellent Blue (Cyanide) Nation legacy that is killing it. Long-term movement of the US population is to the south and west, and Michigan with its winters faces a climatic disadvantage; it must be more friendly to business and to households — including in the tax and regulation realms — to encourage people to remain in Michigan, or (surprising as it may seem to nearly everybody in this country, and outside it) even to relocate to Michigan and subject the state to economic and population growth. The state has natural amenities that can be enjoyed year-round by residents who can tolerate winter weather, more than many other Snow and Rust Belt states; what matters is the economic and political problems and the need to correct them.
“Billions for [debatable] defense, but not one cent for a bailout [at home]!” Maybe there’s a Dem slogan in there, especially given Michigan is a mega-state.
Actually, a “snarky” answer would be, only if it’s Texas.
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