[MI-IRISH]

Originally Posted by tjay

is it really ALL lansing? could it be all government in general? or maybe even partially our own fault? just sayin....

Our fault,that is not the case,i mean you are trying to tell me that the people here keep voting for the same ass-backwards politicians every election?The people here would never do something like that,i mean the minute a politician proves he's an idiot of a basket case he's out
Insert sarcasm wherever you'd like

[R7d61]

Originally Posted by mi-irish

our fault,that is not the case,i mean you are trying to tell me that the people here keep voting for the same ass-backwards politicians every election?the people here would never do something like that,i mean the minute a politician proves he's an idiot of a basket case he's out
Insert sarcasm wherever you'd like

lol!

[Ivorytickler]

You know what's really scary? With all the people leaving Michigan, our unemployment rate isn't going down. I wonder what it would be if our biggest export wasn't people right now?

I'm kicking myself right now. I had three offers to interview as soon as my resume hit the unemployment offices database when I lost my engineeing job. All of them from southern states. I should have just gone then.

I'm always a day late. I bought American cars and still ended up out of work. Used to be I refused to shop at Wal Mart on principle and now it's the only place I can afford to shop. If I'd bought foriegn and shopped Wal Mart all along, maybe I could have saved a little more money. Looks like I just shot myself in the foot.

[Ivorytickler]

Originally Posted by MI-IRISH

Our fault,that is not the case,i mean you are trying to tell me that the people here keep voting for the same ass-backwards politicians every election?The people here would never do something like that,i mean the minute a politician proves he's an idiot of a basket case he's out
Insert sarcasm wherever you'd like

Can we help it we like out idiot politicians?

Don't blame me. I didn't vote for Granholm.

[Ivorytickler]

Oh, and there are NO teacher position postings. It's April and there are NO postings. I'm getting worried about next year.

I feel like Michigan is in a death spiral.

[MI-IRISH]

Originally Posted by Ivorytickler

Can we help it we like out idiot politicians?

Don't blame me. I didn't vote for Granholm.

yeah,granholm,i would be happy if it were just myself, a bottle of hot sauce, and that knot on her face,look i'm getting goose bumps already

[malamute]

Originally Posted by michiganbob

Technically, the stat is that a FAMILY leaves Michigan every 12 minutes . . . which is actually worse, if you think about it. Here's a link to the story. (http://wkzonews.blogspot.com/2009/04/michigan-losing-family-every-12-minutes.html - broken link)

What's really scary is that the GM bankruptcy hasn't even hit the State yet. Watch out below!

As long as they keep extending unemployment, people aren't going to care that much. And when they leave unemployment, there are the many welfare programs. Those who want to work pack up and leave -- and the ones who are more satisfied with government handouts will stay. That will increase the proportion of the government dependent and keep the politicians in power indefinitely.

The problem is, in many states the unemployment rate is about 5% which means people are staying productive, working and keeping up with job skills. Someone opening a business might prefer people who are used to working over those who have been sitting around for a few years.

[wanderer74]

Originally Posted by malamute

As long as they keep extending unemployment, people aren't going to care that much. And when they leave unemployment, there are the many welfare programs. Those who want to work pack up and leave -- and the ones who are more satisfied with government handouts will stay. That will increase the proportion of the government dependent and keep the politicians in power indefinitely.

The problem is, in many states the unemployment rate is about 5% which means people are staying productive, working and keeping up with job skills. Someone opening a business might prefer people who are used to working over those who have been sitting around for a few years.

I don't know how true this is. I think there are probably at least a million people in this state who would leave the state because they know the job market anywhere is better than MI, but cannot afford to move. When I was 20, I left the state for the first time with a small U-haul trailer full of my limited possessions, $300 and a place to stay in a new state. I made it just fine and established myself in a new city within a month. I cannot do that anymore now that I own a house full of possessions and have three school-age children. Even if I were willing to walk away from the mortgage to be able to get a job - which I unfortunately probably would be - there's still the fact that a U-haul big enough for a whole house full of possessions for a family of five costs a couple thousand bucks, and since it's not so easy to crash at someone's house when you have 3 kids, you'd also have to have the money for deposits on rental housing. We've calculated it and the cheapest we could possibly move all of us is $4000 (counting deposit on a new place to live). When you're unemployed or underemployed, who has the money for that? And that's if you have a job lined up at the new location; particularly in a tightening national economy like this, it can be very hard to get jobs out of state unless you're in certain fields.

Furthermore it may have been true a year ago that most states were at 5% unemployment or so, but now I believe the national average is above 8%. Still better than Michigan for sure, but high enough that it makes it harder to think that some other place is the promised land for jobs.

[Ivorytickler]

Originally Posted by malamute

As long as they keep extending unemployment, people aren't going to care that much. And when they leave unemployment, there are the many welfare programs. Those who want to work pack up and leave -- and the ones who are more satisfied with government handouts will stay. That will increase the proportion of the government dependent and keep the politicians in power indefinitely.

The problem is, in many states the unemployment rate is about 5% which means people are staying productive, working and keeping up with job skills. Someone opening a business might prefer people who are used to working over those who have been sitting around for a few years.

What? People aren't going to care because they extend unemployment? What I got in unemployment was 1/5 of my previous salary and half of what I make now. They could extend unemployment until hell freezes over and it wouldn't make me not care about being unemployed.

I'm worried about losing the job I have right now. It's April and there's been no hint that they're renewing my contract (nothing said about them not renewing it either but this is the time of year they decide to make cuts). I'm glad there will be unemployment for me if that happens but unless the state starts replacing all of my income and benefits, I'll still care.

You talk like unemployment and then welfare are some kind of gold mine. They're not and people are smart enough to know it.

It's not an issue of being happy with government hand outs. Some of us are tied here by family and our spouses jobs. Do you really expect me to pack up and leave my kids behind to find work in another state? Yeah, if I end up out of work in the fall, I'll be drawing unemployment until I can find work again. My options, like many, are limited.

It's much easier to pack up and move if you don't have a family. The only way I could consider an assignment elsewhere is if it were of the nature that I could make frequent trips back to Michigan. Maybe something like 3 months on and one off or something like that. Even then, I'd miss my kids.

[Ivorytickler]

Here's a site that lists the current unemployment rate by state. Few are below 5%.

Local Area Unemployment Statistics Home Page