Last One To Leave Turn Out The Lights

Everyone knows that the economy is bad, but here in Michigan it's really bad. Every day there is another story on the news about a factory closing or laying off workers.

In a small town it's not just fifty or sixty jobs lost, it's a dozen other jobs that depend on those people to spend money in the area.

Sure part of it is the fact that a lot of those factories make things for the auto industry,but part of it is the fact that we live in a big state that's made up of two peninsulas. The simple fact is that the further north you go in the state the more it's going to cost you to ship your raw materials and finished products. Why keep making things up north if you have another plant where it's cheaper to do business? As a result we depend on the tourist trade to keep our economy alive, and if people don't have the money to spend they aren't going to travel.

True the price of gas is coming down, but if people don't have the extra cash they are going to cut back on those trips up north to ski, snowmobile, ice fish, etc... and without them the restaurants, bars, motels, and everyone else that does business with them will have to lay off people because they can't afford to pay them.

It has gotten to the point that other states are coming here to recruit workers because they know we have the work force and they are looking for jobs.

Things will get better but before they do they will undoubtedly get worse. So like I said in the title "last one to leave turn out the lights".