Opinion
OTHER VIEWS
Our Poor State
D
avid Littmannn, former lead
economist at Comerica Bank and
one of the foremost economic
experts in the United States, came to Adat
Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills on
Shabbat night, Jan. 11. After he spoke about
Michigan's economic decline, I felt an over-
whelming urge to pray for all of us who still
live and work in this state.
"Is Michigan stuck on stupid? Folks,
there comes a time when economic pros-
pects are so bleak that one must present
only the unvarnished reality. Michigan isn't
yet at rock bottom ... but the local and
state economies will be at that point within
the next 3-5 years."
That quote wasn't from Littmannn's
Jan. 11 speech to Adat Shalom, but was
instead said on Oct. 26, 2005, in Littmann's
"2006 Economic Forecast for Design and
Construction."
"We can be assured that Michigan will
see even greater economic erosion in 2005,
2006 and beyond, compared to sister states:'
he predicted.
Littmannn was absolutely right.
Michigan's unemployment rate at the
beginning of 2008 is still highest in the U.S.
Our per-capita personal income has been
below the national average for eight years
in a row. More than 100,000 people have left
the state in the last three years, almost half
between the ages of 25-39, 80 percent of
Littmannn gave this criticism before
them college graduates.
last year's budget fiasco in which our
David doesn't blame China, the auto
elected officials raised the state income
industry, escalating oil prices or the sub-
tax 11.5 percent and proposed levying a 6-
prime housing fiasco. He argues, instead,
percent service tax on dozens of arbitrari-
that Michigan's government, taxes and
ly selected services. After severe scorn,
burdensome regulations are mostly to
the legislature, after desperate last-minute
blame. According to Littmannn,
negotiations, instead modi-
Michigan is not a "right to work"
fied the service taxes to a 21
state, is overly constricted by an
percent "surtax" on Michigan
"archaic" union-based economic
business taxes, a punishment
structure with severe regulations
to companies that may drive
and has higher taxes than faster
more of them away from our
growing states.
state.
Over two years ago,
Littmann's words, however,
Littmannn said that Michigan
were not all doom and gloom
has been "losing ground to
on the Sabbath. He mentioned
other states on a trend basis
that
few people realize Michigan
Ar nie
for half a century." He said we
has
tremendous
resources in
Gold man
live in a "relatively poor state
oil,
natural
gas,
coal
and nuclear
Corn munity
stuck with "this perpetual fis-
energy
and
more
inland
water
Vi ew
cal insanity of wanting to raise
than other states. Unfortunately,
more tax revenue to enable state
state laws and regulations don't
and local governments to toss more scarce allow companies to access our economic
resources into areas of their special inter-
energy potential or to sell our own water.
ests ... rather than improving statewide
In essence, he said "the good news" is
incentives for attracting capital and work-
that eventually there will be economic
ers and maintaining them here."
blood, enough losses to force the state gov-
He continued that our "own smug, com-
ernment to radically reduce spending on
plaisant, obtuse, self-made or copycat poli-
wasteful, unnecessary projects.
cies contribute to an uncompetitive busi-
Littmann's prayer is that Michigan will
ness climate relative to the other 49 states."
finally be forced to reduce spending and
taxes, which will be incentives for compa-
nies and people to come to Michigan.
Until then, the exodus from Michigan
will accelerate as businesses continue to
suffer. Those of us still loyal to Michigan
can tell those remaining that Michigan
became like its largest city, Detroit, which
has watched 1,150,000 of its citizens leave
in the last five decades.
I can tell my own story of my son leaving
home to work in Chicago and his Jewish
friends leaving for New York and California.
We can commiserate on the plight of our
"poor state remembering the glory days
when we bought American cars and felt
pride in Michigan.
Now, we don't need to feel alone. In 2004,
Michigan was the only state in the U.S.
to exhibit a payroll employment decline.
Today, because of a weak housing market,
the credit crisis and slower retail sales,
other states are joining Michigan in its eco-
nomic doldrums.
There's little consolation watching
Michigan leading the country downward
financially. There is no satisfaction knowing
that while our state gets poorer, there may
be a lot more free time to pray. El
Arnie Goldman is president and part-owner of a
small business in southeast Michigan and lives
in Farmington Hills.
Bush's Middle East Hopes
Philadelphia
G
eorge W. Bush's policies toward the
Middle East and Islam will loom
large when historians judge his
presidency. On the occasion of his eight-
day, six-country trip to the Middle East and
entering his final year in office, I offer some
provisional assessments.
His hallmark has been a readiness to
break with long-established bipartisan
positions and adopt stunningly new poli-
cies, and by late 2005 he had laid out his
novel approach in four major areas:
Radical Islam: Prior to 9-11, American
authorities viewed Islamist violence as a
narrow criminal problem. Calling for a
"war against terror" in September 2001,
Bush broadened the conflict. Specifying the
precise force behind terrorism peaked in
October 2005, when he termed it "Islamic
radicalism;' "militant Jihadism" and
"Islamo-fascism:"
Pre-emptive war: Deterrence had long
been the U.S. policy of choice against the
Soviet Union and other threats, but Bush
A24 January 24 2008
Di
added a second policy in June 2002, pre-
emption. U.S. security, he said, "will require
all Americans to be forward-looking and
resolute, to be ready for preemptive action
when necessary to defend our
liberty and to defend our lives."
Nine months later, this new
doctrine served as his basis
to invade Iraq and eliminate
Saddam Hussein before the
latter could develop nuclear
weapons.
Arab-Israeli conflict: Bush
avoided the old-style and coun-
terproductive "peace process"
diplomacy and tried a new
Danie
approach in June 2003 by estab-
Spe
lishing the goal of "two states,
Comm
Israel and Palestine, living side
by side, in peace and security!'
In addition, he outlined his final-status
vision, specified a timetable, and even
attempted to sideline a recalcitrant leader
(Yasser Arafat) and prop up a forthcoming
one (Ehud Olmert).
Democracy Deriding "60 years of
Western nations excusing and accommo-
dating the lack of freedom in the Middle
East" as a policy that "did nothing to make
us safe," Bush announced in November
2003 "a forward strategy of
freedom in the Middle East:' by
which he meant pushing regimes
to open up to citizen participa-
tion.
So much for intentions; how,
in fact, have things worked out?
At the end of his first term, I
found that the Bush policies,
other than the Arab-Israeli one,
stood "a good chance of work-
ing:' No longer. Today, I perceive
failure in all four areas.
George W. Bush and
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia,
hand in hand:
Bush's once-improved understanding
of radical Islam has been reversed, to the
point that he uses lengthy and inelegant
euphemisms to avoid referring to the
problem by name, relying on formulations
like "a group of extremists who seek to use
religion as a path to power and a means of
domination."
Pre-emptive war requires convincing
observers that the pre-emption was indeed
justified, something the Bush administra-
tion failed to do. Only half the American
population and many fewer in the Middle
East accept the need for invading Iraq. It
created domestic divisions and external
hostility greater than at any time since the
Vietnam War. Among the costs: greater dif-
ficulty to take pre-emptive action against
the Iranian nuclear program.
Bush's vision of resolving one cen-
tury of Arab-Israeli conflict by anointing
Mahmoud Abbas as leader of a Palestinian
state is illusory. A sovereign "Palestine"
alongside Israel would drain the anti-
Zionist hatred and close down the irreden-
tist war against Israel? No, the mischievous
goal of creating "Palestine" will inspire
more fervor to eliminate the Jewish state.
Finally, encouraging democracy is clearly
a worthy goal; but when the Middle East's
dominant popular force is totalitarian
Hopes on page A25