General Motors Corp. plans to cut at least 3,500 more salaried jobs in the next few months and could be forced to cut even more as it struggles to survive, a leading labor economist said Tuesday....

"It's going to be a cold holiday season," said Sean McAlinden, chief economist at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.

But again, in the spirit of optimism and that classic Granholm rah-rah-can-do attitude there's a flip side to that coin.  With fewer cars being produced there will be fewer cars on the street.  With fewer jobs in the state there will be fewer moms and dads leaving the house in the morning to go to work and driving home after the five o'clock whistle.  Less traffic, less congestion, and if the Michigan Department of Transportation's latest edict is as bone-headed a move as anyone with two brain-cells thinks it is, at least there'll be fewer folks risking life and limb on icy, neglected roads.

According to the Detroit News, there are some dramatic cost cutting moves taking place this snowy season.  Might be time to break out the old snow tires, studs and chains.

Under the (MDOT) directive, road commissions would give high priority to freeways, but would limit less traveled secondary roads to a single plowing and salting.

"Basically, it's an effort to reduce overtime," said Bill Shreck, MDOT director of communications. "Once we get the roads passable, we don't want to be paying overtime on roads that aren't that heavily used, especially considering the rising cost of salt and fuel. We will keep working on freeways until we're down to bare pavement."

Oh, well, at least they'll work on the freeways.  

Just remember, this winter when you ditch your car on a Michigan road that hasn't been plowed or salted in days you can stay warm until help arrives, daydreaming about Dan Mulhern and his fulltime multi-person staff at the Office of the First Gentleman... or about the fancy new Michigan State Police Headquarters that the Michigan State Police said they didn't want... or about the bailout your tax dollars provided to an industry that pays its employees, on average, over $40 an hour more than the average Michigan worker overall.  

See?  You even feel warm thinking about it right now.  Warm or hot under the collar... either way.