Michigan’s Story is America’s story; especially since the smart young administration of President Obama invested so heavily with tax-payer money and political capital to save Detroit’s global leadership in advanced manufacturing. This is particularly so for Northern Oakland County. As President Obama said after Northern Oakland County-based Chrysler Corporation recently emerged from bankruptcy; “Only a month ago, this great American company’s very future was in doubt. Now, as a result of a substantial commitment by the U.S. government, and tough sacrifices from all stakeholders, Chrysler has a new lease on life.” [Click below to view President Obama’s in-depth views on the Chrysler and G.M. bankruptcies].
Chrysler / Fiat will be smaller and leaner after emerging from the structured bankruptcy sponsored by the Obama Administration. Executives and laborers alike will no longer live fat and happy on the largess of unreasonable bureaucratic corporate entitlements. The bloated, over-regulated culture of Detroit’s Big Three will, in fact, recede in the rear-view mirror; and many see these events opportunistically.
Oakland County, Michigan: Ground Zero for Michigan’s Knowledge Economy
Oakland County, just 20 miles north of Detroit, has for decades been a ground zero for the knowledge economy in metropolitan Detroit, in Michigan, and in the U.S. The table below demonstrates the county’s remarkable resiliency in the face of economic hardship. Over the past 20 years the negative impact of globalization on American manufacturing caused Oakland County to tumble only from the 2nd most highly ranked county in the U.S. across a range of variables to the 7th most highly ranked county.
Dazed and bruised though it may be, there is a clear opportunity for Oakland County to capitalize on current developments. Leaders can lean on the still sturdy rump of the car culture while building the infrastructure for a more highly diverse and fast-moving 21st Century knowledge economy.
The green leafy shoots of economic progress are already visible this June as Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson announced new deals that will bring a total of $748 million in new investments to Northern Oakland County.
The biggest news was General Motors' announcement, as reported in this New York Times article, that it would invest $650 million at its Orion Township plant to build a new line of small cars.
The area's economic pull was also on display last winter when, as reported by the Michigan Business Review, the multi-billion dollar Canadian automotive manufacturer, Magna Electronics, chose Rochester Hills to establish a critical new unit that will work with Ford Motor Company on next generation electric cars.
Thinking Outside the Box: Mid-western Capital of Film and Television Production?
From electric power-trains, and advanced manufacturing to alternative energy, tourism, and Hollywood film-making, Michigan leaders are thinking outside the box.
In 2007, for example, the Michigan legislature passed a bill offering Hollywood a tax incentive of 40 cents on the dollar to produce movies and television programs in Michigan. From 2007 to 2008, in-state expenditures on film and television ballooned from $4 million to $126 million. As Ann Arbor Business recently reported, some argue that Michigan could become the film capital of the mid-west.
Following on the success of critically acclaimed movies and TV shows, such as Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino and HBO’s Hung, Michigan is now attracting major investors to develop large studio lots and post-production facilities.
The $80 million Raleigh Studios Michigan in Pontiac, on the edge of Northern Oakland County, will, for example, convert 600,000 square feet in an old G.M. plant into a state of the art studio and post-production facility employing over 3,000 people.
Tax incentives started the dialogue with Hollywood, but it’s the state’s natural resources that are leading to significant investment in infrastructure. Michigan, after all, has some of the best scenic assets in the country, from vast sand-dunes and ocean-like lakes, to decaying urban centers and quaint towns.
Pastoral and family-friendly Northern Oakland County owns its share of these natural treasures, from the Meadow Brook Hall county estate, the Paint Creek Trail and Yates Cider Mill, to numerous village squares.
In addition to tempting Hollywood location scouts, these assets have contributed for decades to Michigander’s quality of life. The award winning Pure Michigan tourism campaign effectively captures the magic of America’s “North Coast”. This funny Chicago Sun-Times column confirms the allure.
