Green Lethargy
submitted by: Vicki Dmitruk - Fourth Coast Soaps
Happy New Year to Everyone reading today! I have been looking forward to discussion with like minded supporters on the topic of the greening of Michigan and was very happy to discover this network. So you might imagine my dismay to see that there has been no discussion for over a year! Does this signify a level of lethargy regarding this issue for our great State or are people too busy with other things to post with any regularity? If you are out there, I would enjoy knowing who might be a part of this community and if it is still an entity.
As I was traveling yesterday, I heard a local radio ask its audience what three things they would do to make Michigan a better state. Submissions were to be accepted over the course of the next week. As I have little time to listen to the radio, I thought it would be interesting to post a blog to have people post their ideas on what they believe would be good for Michigan to make us a stronger state.
When I think of what makes a difference, my first choice would be to fund an improved educational system. I would like to see Michigan to be known as the state that places the highest importance on educating its population at the highest level in the nation. Guarantee a place in higher education for everyone who academically qualifies. Create a statewide corp similar to the federal job corp where graduates can volunteer to repay their low interest student loans supplied by local institutions. Michigan should be known as a leader in educating and keeping a productive, prolifically literate, and technologically progressive population. Let our children know we want them, and need them, seriously.
Have you seen the billboard around the state touting how much money the state gambling system gives to our schools? I estimate that every school in Michigan gets $1,000,000 from the lottery sytem based on those ads. What do the schools do with that money? Where does it go? Why isn’t that enough to get us off the ground?
Encourage this highly trained population to utilize their skills within the state. Provide real state tax incentives for those students who graduate from college, build and grow businesses within the state, and contribute to the new technological and ecological landscapes of the state’s future. There is no reason we can’t market these new entrepreneurs to the country or the world just as we marketed the automobile industry when it was newly developing. A state supporting its own rising and energetic business climate shouldn’ t be kept under the covers, but we don’t hear about it today. I applaud the Pure Michigan campaign. I think it does a great job promoting our state. We need a like campaign promoting our state’s outstanding educational commitment, when we get one.
Third, we need to think out of the box and get beyond the politics. In an effort to bring jobs back to our state economy, I believe we need to take a solid stand and be known for something, as a state, not as a legislator within the state. What do you think of when you think of Michigan? What would prompt you to move here? I think we need to find movers and shakers that are willing to place their faith in the future. Create a design, a focus, a direction we can move toward that announces who we are and why we love living here.
Michigan is the only state surrounded by three great fresh water lakes. Up to last year, we had more boats registered in our state than in any state in the nation. Where else will you find such a large expanse of soft sand dunes? We offer four seasons! We need to recognize the gifts our state offers us, protect them, and create ways to support, enhance, and utilize them. We need to make certain that others know we value them and protect them. I believe there are myriad ways of creating businesses around our state’s natural resources without exploiting or spoiling them. Green technology should beat a path to our state and showcase their products. We would benefit as a state and reverse current trends.
I am not a pollyanna. I know it isn’t a simple process. But seriously, why isn’t anyone stepping up to the plate? Why hasn’t anyone posted a blog on this site for over a year? Does anyone really know what time it is?
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on: Tuesday 01. 5. 10 -
Topics: Living -
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