Tag: MEGA (page 2)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) programs don't work and the Granholm-Cherry administration knew it.  That hasn't stopped them from showing up at press conference after press conference dating back to their reelection bid in 2005, though, and claiming credit for the creation of new jobs they KNEW, empirically, would never be created.

The Ivory Tower reported over the weekend that only 67,000 jobs have been created or retained by the state's big economic development programs in the last fourteen years.  To say that's a drop in the bucket compared to what Granholm and Cherry have promised unemployed voters at their many photo-ops would belittle drops in buckets.  

Last month on the Bloggers' Edition of Off the Record with Tim Skubick the Regressisphere's greatest champion, Liberal Lucy, parroted the administration's line (that's what she does best) and claimed that their job creation efforts (those are, specifically, the MEDC and MEGA, kids) had actually created or retained 700,000 jobs.

700,000 in promises over six years.  That's an average of 116,667 jobs promised every year.   67,000 in results over fourteen comes out to an average of 4,786 per year.  In other words, the administration typically promises more than 24 TIMES what they know, historically, they're going to be able to deliver.

Fourteen years establishes what the experts refer to as a "track record." Despite platitudes and promises of future successes, the administration had reports and facts and figures that indicated most companies that were granted breaks and preferential treatment by the MEDC and via MEGA wound up declining to take advantage of the tax breaks because Michigan's job creation environment was still too turbulent for expansion, or even survival.

Politicians lie to voters.  Integrity is far too rare in "public servants."  But knowingly and willfully lying to unemployed workers about job creation prospects?  That's cruel, that's callous and it just plain isn't funny.

Me: Michigan's economy is bad.

You: How bad is it?

Me:  It is SOOOO bad that mailmen have to steal stamps just to pay their mortgage.  Oh!

*Ba-Dam-CHING*

That certainly isn't funny and, alas, neither is it a joke.  Michigan's economy is making global headlines again this morning thanks to Macomb County Postman John Auito.  The man is in hot water for swiping nearly $20,000 worth of stamps from his boss, the United States Postal Service, selling them at fifteen percent discount and pocketing the cash.  The Chicago Tribune, CNN and everyone else under the sun report this morning:

Auito told agents that he began taking stamps in September because he feared foreclosure.

That, my friends, is a stunt even Newman and Kramer wouldn't try to pull off, but here in the Granholm-Cherry economy folks are being driven to the absurd. Things aren't going to look any prettier if General Motors picks up her bankrupt headquarters and pulls a Comerica bank on the region, abandoning the Ren Cen for greener pastures.

And as much as Mayor Fouts in Warren would like to see his home town become destination office space for the automaker, the odds that they leave the state entirely seem every bit as plausible.  Still, Fouts is giving it the old college try.  

Read on...