Tag: One Tough Nerd PAC (page 2)

"We know it's important for us ... to get these young people before prospective employers," Mike Finney, CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., said Monday at Gov. Rick Snyder's 2013 Economic Summit in Cobo Center here. "We're starting to scale that up. We've got to start facilitating the connectedness to make these things happen."

The effort, based on a pilot program that aims to connect qualified technical school graduates with open jobs, is an extension of the governor's efforts to boost job creation, lower an unemployment rate hovering around 9 percent and encourage the state's business community to take a leading role in spurring economic growth.
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In an interview, the governor said economic development is about more than extending "tax credits. It's about people helping people." And the traditional system for matching the supply of talent to demand in the private sector "is broken, and it's not just broken in Michigan. It's broken nationally."

In that, the relentlessly positive Snyder sees opportunity. There's opportunity to keep graduates of Michigan's colleges and universities at home; opportunity to attract talent from other states if Michigan can develop a program to connect talent to employment; and opportunity to leverage the promise of a recovering economy.

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History fun factoids:

Michigan Gov. Rick Synder, who appointed Orr as emergency manager Thursday, was acquainted with Orr while at U-M. Snyder, who graduated with a law degree and MBA in 1982, reportedly met Orr during a snowball fight on campus.

"Michigan's citizens are tired of the divisive political culture in Lansing," Snyder said on the campaign trail. "Midnight deals, closed-doors meetings, lobbyists and special interest influence have stood in the way of long-term solutions.

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An upbeat Gov. Rick Snyder said Wednesday that there might be "shovels in the ground" for the New International Trade Crossing bridge project within two to six months.

But Ken Silfven, Snyder's deputy press secretary, later clarified, saying the governor was using "two to six months" as a metaphor for receiving the U.S. Presidential Permit needed for the project to proceed. Actual construction might begin in two to three years.

OK, by force of government, you got your bully pulpit way, Snyder.  Congratulations.  Thus, provides a perfect time for some much needed levity.

An American economist traveled to China to observe a canal project. The Chinese delegation showed him the plans and the model of everything that would be built along this new masterpiece. When they traveled out to the worksite, the economist was aghast at what he saw. The men were all using hand tools such as shovels, pick axes, and wheelbarrows.

The American economist asked the leader of the Chinese delegation, "Why on Earth are your people using hand tools? Why are there no bulldozers or other modern equipment?"

The leader of the delegation stood up straight and replied, "If we used that type of equipment, all of these men would lose their jobs in a couple of months."

The economist rubbed his chin in thought and then smiled, "Oh, it's a jobs program. Why don't you take away their shovels and give them spoons?"

The rest is worth your time.

Governor Rick Snyder has cut a radio ad urging voters in Kalamazoo and Calhoun Counties to re-elect House Speaker Jase Bolger. The Marshall Republican is running for re-election against Democrat Bill Farmer. The Gongwer News Service (subscription required) reports that the ad was paid for by the House Republican Campaign Committee and authorized by Bolger's campaign. The ad is seen as another sign that Bolger is facing a tough re-election fight. Democrats have made an issue of his involvement in a plan to put a "straw candidate" on the ballot to help State Representative Roy Schmidt's re-election chances in his Grand Rapids district. Schmidt switched from the Democratic to Republican party right before the filing deadline.