That is not a "brain drain" but rather a huge population drain--with brains and without much brains. Or maybe it is a "smart" idea to get out of Michigan before things get worse. What is worse?
According to the Detroit News Michigan has had over 465,000 people leave since 2001.
Some more facts:
- 18,000 adults with a bachelor's degree or higher left in 2007 alone.
- Of the 465,000 Michigan residents leaving Michigan, they took with them almost $1.2 billion in paychecks than the paychecks of those moving in. That is a 45% increase in lost wages in one year.
- "Those leaving Michigan had incomes 20% higher than those who moved in to Michigan".
- Michigan lost 12,000 school age children in 2007 and that cost school districts approximately $84 million in state aid.
- There are 36,000 emply houses and apartments in Michigan.
- Michigan lost over $100 million in personal income tax revenue in 2007 from those people who left Michigan that year.
- Based on these losses in population we will lose Congressional clout and federal money. We will lose one or two Congressmen after the reapportionment in 2011.
- Detroit News reports that based on analysis of US Census Bureau and IRS data Michigan get less populated, less educated and poorer because of outmigration.
So what do we do? When? How?
I think one thing Michigan could do to try to stop the mass exodus from the state would be to make it more appealing for people and businesses to move into or stay in the state, maybe by lowering corporate, personal, or small business taxes. Another thing Michigan could do would be to lower tuition costs or give incentives to out of state residents to make come to college in Michigan, thus bringing in income for the state and localities.
ReplyDeleteI think that times are difficult everywhere. I don’t know if running to another state will be any different. It might be the right thing for a person to do if they have a good job in another state, but to pick up and move because you expect things will be different doesn’t seem very smart. I found it really interesting that educated people are leaving the state. I figured that it would be the poor and uneducated people leaving. Maybe the government should start paying people to take down empty houses and apartments. This would create jobs, and make property in cities look more attractive to new businesses.
ReplyDeleteThe First Thing i want to ask is if Michigan only has 7.5 million to spend and people are moving out, shouldn't that be a good thing? If Michigan is loosing more educated people than uneducated then the state should try to have more job opportunities to try and keep the educated people in the state. If every twelve minutes one family moves out of Michigan and there's 60 min in a day and 420 min in a week, the number of people in Michigan should have went down drastically. But it didn't, so that means that people are coming in, despite the horrible economy! And out of those who are coming in how many of them are going to be on government assistance and how many are educated?
ReplyDeleteI pay in state tuition at NMU, but it has been my understanding due to talking with friends that out of state residents receive scholarships and grants, making their tuition almost the same price as in-state tuition.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the government should be giving more money to in-state students so that they stay here; giving more money to the State through tuition, taxes, and helping the economy by consumerism.
It depends because I have some out of state friends and they struggle with paying their tuition because financial aid won't cover everything and most of it comes from private loans or their own pocket so in a way. They are helping the economy by bringing money in the university.
ReplyDeletewell, WHY are people moving out? Is it because there are no jobs left?! and our failing economy? I know I will probably add to these numbers when I have to move out of state to get a job. Michigan lost 12,000 students in 2007, so so much for me, future teacher, getting a job here if there is a decline in student enrollment. The state needs to create jobs otherwise people will go elsewhere. And richer, educated people are more likely to move than the poor.
ReplyDeleteI think the most important thing the state can do to keep the technically trained graduates here is to re-tool the auto industry. It seems more and more apparent that we cannot hang our hat on the fact that we make automobiles anymore. One area i think that we have the potential to be successful is in aerospace. Why cant we refit our auto plants to make parts for NASA or Boeing? It is a long shot, but if it worked it would solve the "brain drain" problem as well.
ReplyDeletePro-corporate attitudes would help. It probably doesn't help this state that the governor belongs to a generally pro-union party. It's no surprise that manufacturing jobs are leaving with workers being payed immensely more than workers in foreign countries or even the Southern states of our own country.
ReplyDeleteOne reason I think why so many people are leaving Michigan is because there ain't many job opportunities around. The economy is going down the drain and so many people are losing their jobs or having a hard time finding a job that they move to bigger places. Maybe if Michigan built another college more students would come to michigan. The tuition prices ain't helping many either, there should be more scholorships or more help out there to pay for college.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that Michigan is apparently losing a family every 12 minutes, but isn't shocking. When people see that high unemployment rate (it's at 12% now) they have a reason to leave. It continually gets higher, in January it was 11.6%. People are going where the jobs are. It's unfortunate and it isn't helping our economy since we aren't getting income taxes from these people.
ReplyDeleteWe need to encourage businesses to stay here and to grow. We need to utilize the growing interest in "green" inovations and expand them to create a larger job market. We also need to encourage graduates to stay in Michigan. There are so many graduates that leave Michigan and do not plan on moving back, so we lose not only their talent, but the income Michigan would receive from their taxes.
I think a big part of this is attitude. From the day I got to Michigan (from Minnesota), I heard MI residents saying how this economy sucks. People not even personally affected by the economy just regard their state's economy as 'bad.' Perhaps if the general attitude were a little more optimistic it would be easier to sustain a positive attitude about MI and to keep people in the state.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the cost of college, most schools in MI are much cheaper than schools in my state, even with out of state tuition. This is why I chose to go to school here. The cost for out of state students, though, is substantially higher than for in-state students. Even with the out of state and academic scholarships that are commonly given to out of state students, the tuition is almost double what in-state students pay. It is still cheaper than what I would find at most schools in MN, so I can't complain, but there is definitely a big difference between in-state and out of state rates.
Ultimately, I think the biggest difference will come from a change in attitude. There are many things in MI that make up for any lack in economy, like the cheap colleges, for example.
I have worked seasonaly for the State of Michigan for one year and working towards my second this summer. I understand that the economy is failing but people running scared is not the answer it is only making things worse. There is plenty to be done to help the economy that I think some people are not lookin at. The government should be giving more money to the State through tuition and taxes.
ReplyDeletePeople are leaving Michigan due to the lack of jobs in the state. I think that if the government in Michigan wants population to grow then they need to create more jobs. I also think that students that go out of state get more money from the government, so students that stay in state for college should get a break as an incentive to stay in Michigan. Also the government needs to do something to make Michigan more appealing such as lowering the price of houses or lowering property taxes. But at the same time right now I'm not sue if any of these things will help, because the economy is so bad and it isn't just Michigan.
ReplyDeleteAll the suggestions that are being thrown about are all well and good except for a few things. One of the most stated thought here is that the state should start creating jobs to keep people in the state but states cannot create jobs in situations like this. As we have discussed at length in class, states cannot run a deficit, so where is Lansing supposed to find the money to pay all these new workers if there is a huge budget deficit anyway? The best the state could do is make the state more tax friendly. I am from Illinois so I dont know much of anything about MI tax structure, but if it is as business unfriendly as it seems to be, then the best the state can do is to change its tax structure to try and lure new business to come to MI. In terms of government job creation, only the feds can do that these days, as they are the only ones that can run a deficit. Money from the stimulus should help, though more state aid to all the states was in the original bill. If Washington today could copy what Roosevelt did during the depression, direct federal government agencies employing people to build/repair things we need, that would put a lot of people back to work. This is epically true if MI roads are as bad as Ive heard they are. (being from IL i havent driven a lot of roads in MI)
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ReplyDeleteIt seems that everything revolves around the auto-industry. Once they go down, our economy goes down. So many people I know are revolved around the big three someway or somehow. I lived on the outskirts of Detroit for seven-ish years and our property values were going down like mad ever since the big three was cutting jobs a few years back. In the midst of the recession and witnessing the big three go to washington for a massive bailout, alongside massive job cuts. People are just loosing hope in Detroit and likely all over Michigan as well. Clearly, the auto industry is no longer keeping the economy stimulating so it may be best for most of us working class people to look elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThe Obama administration announced that they will be buying up 17,600 fuel-efficient vehicles from the big 3. This gives the companies a boost in auto sales and will reduce gas consumption by 1.3 million gallons and carbon emissions by 26 million pounds. This is an example of the direction that Michigan car companies need to start moving in. Michigan needs to diversify its economy. This does not mean that we let the auto industry sink. In fact, I believe that it means we need to reevaluate the current priorities of the big 3. If we do not revolutionize the industry, it will lose all credibility and become obsolete in the world market. With such huge decreases in manufacturing jobs statewide, we don't have time to waste. If the big three are going to survive, they need to set new standards in environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient vehicles that are accessible to the average American family. They need to prove to the people that they are reliable, adaptable and can survive.
ReplyDeleteI think people are always looking for an escape route. Instead of trying to fix things, they think leaving the state is the better choice. Personally, I think this is ignorant. There are jobs, I think people just don't look hard enough. If something is not exactly what they imagined, they dont want it, in terms of employment. Not too many think of working their way up. I think a huge problem is the fact that people concentrate on the negative aspects of Michigan's economy. Sadly, that's what gets the newspapers noticed. I think that the government should make positive news more available. Of course, still have the negative stuff, but also show another side of our economy.
ReplyDeleteI have read over previous comments, and I definitely agree with the scholarships and college tuition cuts. I know some of my friends moved out-of-state because schooling was cheaper.
I think it seems bad to some people now, but the economy fluncuates, it never really stays the same. I think people are "freaking out" over something that will eventually level itself out.
I think that the state of Michigan has to offer more incentives for people to stay here. Is it this bad in every state or just Michigan? Is this something that will fix itself or should the government be worried about what is happening?
ReplyDeleteafter reading all the comments again, I am now even more confused on how to keep people here in Michigan. Do we need to get a way for college students to get jobs in Michigan once they graduate? that seems like a good idea but how? Should we do something with taxes? or will that make the situation worse? It seems like the situation is a Catch-22.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ashley, is every state in this "situation"?
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though Michigan has a lot to offer - no smog, lots of vegetation, no earthquakes -
why is it that we are in such bad shape?
was there one event/series of events that put us in such a budget crunch?
I don't think that Michigan's problem is attitude. Yes, most residents are depressed about the economy, but it is because it is bad. If you look at the breakup in unemployment in the state of Michigan, the worst areas are in the UP and Northeast Lower Peninsula, their unemployment rates are about 12% and 18% respectively. We have a bad attitude about the economy because the economy is bad. And being optimistic about it won’t change the fact that it is bad. More drastic measures need to be in place. I think that providing incentives to college graduates that stay in Michigan is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteA large part of Michigan's economic problems stems from the auto industry and its failures. It is time for Michigan people and officials to realize that the auto industry isn't going to recover. They have failed again and again and at some point we need to restructure and move on. There is so much usable infrastructure that can be used for other areas of manufacturing. We need to use what we already have and change attitudes and structure to shift into a green economy. The auto industry could become a leader in electric car or efficiency car production. Change the empty factories into wind turbine producers. There are areas that are thriving on the production of these green technologies. Many of the skills that workers already have could be easily switched to other forms of production with little extra training. There is possibilities for Michigan but if we continue down the same mindset and path that we have been on we will continue to fail.
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