Here’s some recent facts and about the Michigan. Michigan’s, and the nations, poor economy is still hitting Michigan’s business and families hard. This is due to Michigan’s industry heavy economy, a sector that has been devastated across America for the last 50 years. I personally believe that a country without a strong industrial base will soon find itself week economically, politically and militarily. There is hope though, but first the latest news from Michigan.

Detroit Tops Nations Unemployment, Michigan ties with California & Somalia for Most Failed State

California and Michigan continue to report the hardest hits, as they have for months. Of the cities with jobless rates of 15% or more, 13 were in California and four were in Michigan.

Among metro areas with populations of 1 million or more, Detroit reported the highest jobless rate at 15.3%, while Riverside, Calif., was second at 14.7%.

Detroit - Highest Office Vacancy Rate in the Nation
Nearly three-quarters of the country’s major metropolitan areas experienced an increase in office vacancies in the first quarter of 2010.

The city of Detroit has the highest office vacancy rate. Mired by troubles within the automotive industry, just over a quarter of all of the office space in the metropolitan region now sits empty.

Michigan Births Drop
The U.S. birth rate dropped nearly 2% in almost every age group — except among women ages 40 and older, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

“There is good research … that says the economy is a factor,” said D’Vera Cohn, a senior writer for the Pew Research Center, which also released a study Tuesday linking falling birth rates to the recession.

The trend has particularly big implications in Michigan, where the birth rate has declined since a peak in 1990.

In Michigan, the number of births dropped from 125,394 in 2007 to 121,128 in 2008 — about a 3.4% decline, according to the NCHS. And when compared with the numbers from 1990, it shows Michigan’s birth rate has dropped nearly 21%.

Hope for Michigan Business and Families
Young educated people have been leaving Michigan in droves over the last decades, moving to “cool” states with their “fancy” economies. While the not so educated youth of Michigan are leaving for “cool” states like Colorado, California and Oregon due to their trendy ideals and pot. Several young Michigan natives have moved to Iowa as well. Oh, the good news… Michigan is perfectly situated for surviving, and even thriving, in our global warming world. As global temperatures creep up over the next hundred years Michigan, surrounded by Great Lakes, will become an ideal tropical paradise. Our steamy shark free lakes will be the envy of a starving world, even if the temperatures raise enough for Piranhas to become an invasive species we can still drink the water. In fact, Michigan’s well armed militia will also be well prepared to defend one of the world’s last great sources of fresh water.

More Hopeful Hope
Some Michigan business, like the Ford Motor Company, have even started to make a comeback before global warming have already stabilized and have even began rebuilding market share. Hopefully Michigan can continue to have a strong, but modern, industrial and be able to make up for the job loss that downsizing in the auto and other industries has caused by expanding its tech and service sectors. Auto Engineers can become software engineers and used car salesmen can sell Search Engine Optimization services (that’s a crack on the sometimes tarnished reputation of SEO’s and used car salesmen by the way). However, the one true silver lining is that if Michigan becomes depopulated and poor we can always enjoy Michigan’s greatest blessing, its nature, without industrial waste and the constant encroachment of urban sprawl.

I’m writing from Detroit, ground zero for the new economy (I’m talking about global depression and destitution, not SEO and e-business) and the news is bad. The big three auto companies or big two now, are in desperate pearl. The bailout money has been denied them and congress will not be able to help them with Bush in office. The oil industry loving President has stated he won’t be helping Detroit automakers, blaming them for giving in to much to the unions. You would think he would thank them for making gas guzzlers that make his beloved oil friends rich, but not so. It doesn’t look like GM will be able to make it until even January when a new president and congress can through a life line. To top it off the Detroit Lions football team is 0-9 so far this season.

However, when I drive around Detroit and its suburbs in Oakland county (once one of the nation’s richest) listening to the continuous dire news coming from the radio, the scene outside doesn’t match what I hear. The bridges are still standing, gas prices are low and people seem to be driving to work. I guess there are more than a few foreign cars around me too, but in general things look stable. I guess looks can be deceiving though, I’m sure the Detroit Lions would look pretty formidable to me if I saw them up close.

Despite what is obviously a bad situation to everyone (and to some it seems we are on the brink of doom) there is probably an upside to this. It has famously been pointed out the renaissance came out of chaotic, warring Italy, not peaceful Switzerland. The point being that stressed, unstable situations can be breading grounds for innovations. It often takes dire situations and shocks to old systems to improve them and make real changes to their general structures. General Motors has been a slow moving goliath of a company, not embracing the winds of change such as fuel economy. The Lions can get a first draft pick and start building a new team. Michigan will have to reinvent itself, it seems even the most optimistic feel the auto makers will have to come back as much smaller companies. Michigan will then have to look towards other industries; perhaps in this environment tech companies can flourish. SEO, e-business, and hundreds of other technologically based company models could fill the space available. Michigan’s workers would have to reinvent themselves as well, but we need a revolution, not a modification. So if there is a silver lining, it is that the change continuously talked about in our last presidential election isn’t just a possible path forward, it’s the only one.

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Does Barack Obama a Favor

Today Barack Obama is making his third stop in Michigan this month and his first stop in Detroit. Detroit is a regional democratic strong hold and could be instrumental for the democrats taking the state in the general election. Kwame Kilpatrick is Detroit youngest Mayor ever elected (at age 31) and he is currently embattled in a scandal that will most likely bring him down. Kwame shares many similarities to Barack; both are young black democrats with meteoric career paths. Barack hopes that the similarities, associations and any comparisons end there. Kwame is political poison and his support would be as helpful as a Bin Laden endorsement. Association between Kwame and Barrack are the equivalent to tying McCain to George W. Bush. Kwame did do Barack a huge favor though, he won’t be attending Barack’s Detroit rally. If you’re wondering why, just do a Google search for Barack Obama then do one for Kwame Kilpatrick. There is a vast difference; Barrack commands the first page with a positive crafted message while Kwame is plagued with scandal headlines.

So the reason Barack doesn’t want a photo op with Kwame, is the Google results? Well, not exactly, there is the fact that “the hip-hop mayor” is involved in the most comical sex scandal this year (except perhaps Spitzers). Kwame denied a relationship with his Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, 37 but was ousted for lying under oath when the text messages from his city owned phone where made public. See if you think the text messages below contradict his sworn testimony that he did not have sexual relations with Beatty (I personally love the LOL’s from the mayor). I will give Kwame a little credit though; at least he did Barack a favor and didn’t hurt him like his self promoting pastor.

WHAT THE KWAMI TEXT MESSAGES SHOW:
9/12/02, 10:38 p.m., during trip to Washington, D.C.
Christine Beatty: Can I just come and lay down in your room until you get back?
Kwame Kilpatrick: Yes.
9/13/02, 9:02 a.m. (the next morning)
KK: They were right outside the door. They [the mayor's bodyguards] had to have heard everything…
CB: So we are officially busted! LOL
KK: LOL LOL! Damn that. Never busted. Busted is what you see! LOL. …
CB: LOL, LOL. Damn, so they have to walk in before you conceed busted! LOL.
KK: Hell yeah. Walk in.
9/15/02, 3:38 a.m. (still in Washington)
CB: I’m on my way to your room now. But by the time you get there I’ll be sleep and it will be 5am!
KK: I got something for you.
CB: LOL. Is that so? I’m in your room. Don’t let Mike check it [an apparent reference to Mike Martin, a bodyguard who often traveled with the mayor]. Are you in route or still hanging? What do you have for me?
9/24/2002, 6:56 p.m.
CB: This is one of those little things I had to tell you. Last night when I was laying on your shoulder in the car and you held my face and sang whatever song it was, that felt so good. It was just one of those little moments when you just made me fall some more.
9/28/2002, 11:53 p.m.
CB: Where are you now?
KK: At home waiting for all EP [executive protection unit officers] to leave. Where are you?
CB: At the residence inn in Madison hgts.
KK: What rm?
CB: …I’m in room 311 in bldg 3 in the back.
10/7/2002, 11:20 p.m.
CB: OK, I’m feeling like I want another night like the most recent Saturday at the Residence Inn! You made me feel so damn good that night. As you can see I can’t let it go! …
KK: I feel that we can do that in WV [West Virginia] + just relax together. I need you soooo bad. I want to wake up in the morning and you are there. Make it happen. Love ya.
10/8/2002, 10:18 a.m.
KK: I’m fine. Need a break. I want to get out of town w/you. Check on resorts outside of Houston.
10/16/02, 11:48 p.m.
KK: I’ve been dreaming all day about having you all to myself for 3 days…relaxing, laughing, talking, sleeping and making love.
10/31/2002, 5:28 p.m.
KK: I’ll feel better once I’m holding you.
CB: You didn’t say whether or not we are trying for some time tonight.
KK: Definitely. I’m getting a room. Damn that!
CB: LOL. Okie dokie.
(Kilpatrick later tells her to pick up room key at Marriott)
11/1/2002, 12:28 a.m.
KK: 6301 or 6302?
CB: Definitely 6302! 6301 has two double beds.
4/8/2003, 8:55 p.m.
KK: I’m at Laker game. The security doesn’t believe I’m mayor. Mike is pulling out all kind of shirt to prove it.
CB: And, did you miss me, sexually?
KK: Hell yeah! You couldn’t tell. I want some more. Don’t sleep!
5/5/2003, midnight
KK: That’s the first time that I couldn’t fully seduce you. My game is off. LOL! Thanx for the conversation and the QT! Love you!
CB: LOL! Your game is way on baby! “you had me at hello!” Jerry McGuire 2000. LOL. I just didn’t want to get caught.

The business environment in Michigan is without a doubt depressed. Presidential candidates have called it a one state recession and butted heads debating if the auto jobs will ever return and they probably won’t any time soon. Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the nation and heavily dependent on manufacturing jobs at a time when they are being rapidly outsourced to the developing world. Michigan is down but not out though, with a long history of innovation and an educated work force Michigan has the opportunity to reinvent itself as a technology leader. Michigan’s governor Jennifer Grandholm has suggested that we lead the nation in green technologies; others have suggested that short sited auto executives move their focus from hummers to hybrids. Other experts have suggested nanotechnology and biotech. However, high tech companies have been thriving in Michigan for years though, Troy is known for its miniature Silicon Valley technology center and midland has housed Dow Chemicals for decades. Two new high tech firms have chose Ann Arbor, High Tech Firms MyBuys and Sakti3, for their locations. MyBuys is a California based personalized product recommendation company and Sakti3 will be producing batteries. I find it very interesting and refreshing that MyBuys has chose to invest 5.4 million in their Michigan location, since like many others I have a pet direction that I feel Michigan should diversify into in the area of internet marketing and ecommerce. This is the niche I dwell in and I would like to see the state I dwell in become a major player in the area as well. Perhaps we can have a major SEO or search conference hosted in Michigan, after all Chicago, Los Vegas and New York are going to get boring. Obviously there are many areas in technology though; it’s just nice to see web marketing joining in the diversification. In 2007 Michigan was ranked 10th for cyberstates, a ranking devised to show the quantity of high tech jobs per state, California, Florida and Georgia took the top positions, for now.