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06/03/2007Like it or not, Detroit is vital to state's healthMACKINAC ISLAND — Each spring, for 20-plus years, many of Detroit's top business and political leaders have gathered on Mackinac Island to brainstorm about improving the state's largest city on issues ranging from health care to politics to race relations.What's that mean for northern Michigan? Plenty. There's a reason for the old saying, "When Detroit sneezes, the rest of the state catches cold.” Some politicians have made plenty of hay pitting the rest of the state against Metro Detroit — former Gov. John Engler was among the most strident — but the fact is that the Motor City's future is critical to pulling the entire state of Michigan out of its prolonged economic slump. Southeast Michigan's battered economy is taking a major toll on northern Michigan, in areas ranging from job losses and cutbacks at our Tier II and III automotive suppliers, to reductions in travel to our part of the state from people who live and work in southern Michigan. The psychological impact of the deep, southeastern Michigan recession also casts a long shadow over the entire state. Combined with the political gridlock and deep partisanship within the state Legislature, it's tough for a state to rebound when its largest city is suffering and the politicians can't stop bickering. Unlike a few years ago, there's a sense of urgency in the air at the Mackinac conference. The contingent is taking on tough issues and the speakers, media and others don't sugarcoat what's at stake. That's a contrast from many of our would-be leaders in northern Michigan, where they like to keep their heads down and are more worried about being seen as "team players” than tackling tough issues or making hard decisions. Maintaining the status quo seems to be fine with them. But Detroiters have learned, sometimes painfully, that the status quo isn't working anymore in today's global economy. On the positive side, gatherings like the Detroit Regional Chamber conference are starting to show at least a few results. Business owners and politicians are beginning to agree that significant changes are needed to shake Michigan from its economic doldrums, particularly in the areas of health care reform and improving the public education system for 21st century challenges. The anti-Detroit rhetoric from most state politicians also is on the wane. Most lawmakers realize the fortunes of a state's largest city are tied to the entire state, even if that seemed so hard to grasp just a few years ago. The challenges are steep, but the folks gathered on Mackinac Island seem to understand the stakes are high and no less than Michigan's future is on the line.
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By Bill O'Brien
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