Our genius can't be contained!! Just kidding. But we are moving the DL Lindsay blog to its own myspace page. Go to Myspace.com/dllindsayblog. I will still post a DL Lindsay story monthly at this library site because it is so fun and I hope everyone enjoys the viewpoints and subject matter that I post here.

Electrolux, Pfizer, Comerica... the list goes on. The well documented demise of the Michigan economy is already a known commodity. What we do about it is another issue. We can start by stop placing blame. Stop blaming Bush, Granholm, Kilpatrick, Wal-Mart and especially Toyota. I voted for Granholm and would do so again under similar circumstances but I was appaled by her recent comments when she learned of Comerica's BUSINESS decision to leave Michigan and go to Texas. She was upset that Comerica bank had put the interests of its shareholders ahead of the interests of the community. Why is that news? If the state of Michigan was a shareholder of Comerica stock isn't that what we would want them to do? Being a solid coporate citizen is always good when you can do it. It makes for great PR, but when it gets in the way of profits nothing gets cut faster than a companies social contributions to the community it serves. The Detroit Three automakers are making drastic cuts and they may still go out of business. Why is this Toyota's problem? Again this is a business and only in America it seems that a successful company that dominates its industry is seen as some sort of evil entity( Toyota, Wal-Mart, Microsoft just to name a few). We need to stop placing blame and look in the mirror to point the finger. What transferable skills do we learn working on the line in an auto plant? How many of us take the opportunity to further our education with tuition assistance? How many auto workers truly believed that they would never have to look for a job again? We can't afford to stick our heads in the ground just because we don't like the weather! I am a layed off autoworker and as such it is my responsibility to make sure I have the skill necessary to compete for jobs in this global economy. Not Michigan economy but global economy! It's not Toyota's fault or the American's that buy their vehicles responsiblity to support my family. It is mine and if we spent as much time preparing ourselves for the future as we do trying to find someone to blame for why we are out of work with no education maybe we can figure this thing out! Toyota is on the cover of the March 19, 2007 issue of Fortune magazine under the heading, America's Most Admired Companies. This should be required reading for every man, woman and child in Michigan. If you read Fortune and magazines like it then good for you but if you don't that just proves my point that much easier.

On the front page of the January 23rd edition of USA Today is the picture of a senior citizen under the caption: Retirees Up Against Debt. The article by Kathy Chu of USA Today talked about the growing number of seniors that are going into deep debt to try and supplement their incomes. The major reason for this isn't Grandma trying to buy that Benz she always wanted but attempting to keep up with her monthly medical expenses. This is an alarming issue because this generation will be one of the last to receive some form of pensions as well as social security benefits. What happens to future generations who will rely only on their own savings as it becomes obvious that big business won't be responsible for providing pensions or medical benefits to retirees? There's no point in placing blame for this situation. It is just sad when the richest country on earth can't find a way to care for its senior citizens. Older americans are increasingly working longer and have to decide whether to buy medicine or food. Please take the time to find this article in USA Today dated January 23, 2007. Even if you don't directly care for any seniors in your family check to make sure they don't have to make these agonizing choices month to month without telling you.

I am a skeptic by nature. Living in Michigan would make most people just like me but not all. Immune to all of this economic doom and gloom seem to be young people. In particular 18 to 25 year olds known as Generation Y or millenials. At Twelve Oaks mall yesterday, I witnessed the future and it may not be pretty. While reading the paper waiting for my wife to redeem her Macy's gift cards, I came across an article in USA Today. It spoke of the life expectations of Gen Y and their obsession with not only being rich but famous too. I laughed out loud reading this as two midriff baring teens(I know it's a little warm for January but is that necessary) looked at me like I was invading their sacred lands. Gen Y kids fully expect their lives to be full of million dollar homes and ski weekends in Aspen. They expect to fully fund their children's Ivy league educations while building and maintaining their empires. This view is of course fed by the constant media fixation on people who are famous but no one can remember why. Let's review: Millenials will rack of up tens of thousands of dollars of debt while in college. Not just paying for classes and tuition but buying everything on credit to look good. Also those who graduate often come back home to stay with mom and dad while plotting their next move on world domination from their parents basement(Mom I am grown now and staying in my old room makes me feel like a kid). I got some advice for all you teens that think your parents are suckers for not being rich or famous. Go to college, watch your debt and learn Mandarin Chinese because some of you will be working a lot harder, a lot longer and for a lot less than what your parents do right now.

prodigy: A person with exceptional talents or powers. I first saw it at the auto show. Italian, two-tone and shining brightly under those lights placed just so. After a split second of daydreaming, I saw my union rep walking down the crowded aisle toward me. We both silently nodded our acknowledgement and kept going on with our recently unemployed lives. The plant had been closed for a few weeks and I had purposely stayed away from anyplace I knew would be occupied by anyone from work. I was relieved when Steve just kept walking as he may have had the same thinking I did which was please don't ask how things are going? At that moment when the reality of the situation hit me and I quickly recovered from my infatuation with the Italian art work on wheels, I saw a guy that couldn't be older than 25 reaching into his sportcoat and pulling out a checkbook. I oddly watched him write a check for my fantasy and made it his reality with the stroke of a pen. I told my wife to meet me by the GM display later and made my way toward the new owner of the Scaglietti. For those of you that are automotively challenged I can tell you a Scaglietti is a Ferrari. A down right insane piece of machinery you never need but want so badly that your first born isn't neccessarily out of the question if you could sell him. It's that good. When I moved closer to the VIP area of the Ferrari display, I overheard the models on break from showing the beautiful beast that Mr. Checkwriter was some hot shot business prodigy who made his fortune after selling his Internet based business at 21 years old. I also learned that this kid flew to Detroit on his private jet just to see and purchase the car in person. Evidently he didn't want one from the dealership but the actual one on stage at the show! Reflecting back on my wife and two children and then looking at this kid buying a $200,000 car right in front of me it just hit like a freight train; why do you never hear about any 35 year old unemployed prodigies?

Thank you for setting up this blog so that writers in the area can stay in touch thru our library. I look forward to making use of this new perk offered by our Salem South Lyon Library.