Michigan & the Knowledge Economy

Great piece in the WSJ today about Michigan & the knowledge economy.

At a groundbreaking ceremony for a road project in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Friday, Mr. Biden joined Democratic leaders from Gov. Jennifer Granholm to Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow in suggesting that prosperity is around the corner. The federal government, he said, was doing all it could to help Michigan "lead us into the 21st century like you did in the 20th century."

Doesn't this say it all? Hey, maybe Steve is right and there is a role for government in stimulating the economy, or at least in promoting innovation. But I somehow don't think this is the same thing. Honestly, the federal government's solution is to throw money at a problem and hope that it gets spent wisely. Manufacturing and its 20th century model isn't going to help the state create jobs like it did even twenty years ago. College grads leave the state or search for opportunities that spur growth, both in the economy and in their careers.

The larger point is that what the middle class needs more than anything else is an economy where employers have to compete for their labor. The more open a state's economy is to investment and entrepreneurship, the more employers there will be. And the more education a state's citizens have, the more advanced the industries they can support.

Michigan needs to create reasons for its college graduates to stay. Kevin is an exception, and he found one of the few opportunities where technology and innovation is at the forefront. But the federal government isn't doing that. What's going to happen once the federal roads are built? Where do those workers go? Kevin's not hiring them. The stimulus money will be spent, invested in roads and infrastructure. It needs to be invested in workers.