Economics
Washtenaw County To Become Wireless Hot Spot
Plans are in place to turn all 761 square miles of Washtenaw County into a wireless hot spot.
It’s just a vision now, but with collaborators such as the IT Zone, Washtenaw Development Council, the Michigan Broadband Development Authority and local cities and universities it could become a reality.
I think that this is exactly the kind of forward-thinking initiative that’s needed to shake loose the rust from this rust belt state. Michigan’s unemployment rate currently is 7.3%—the worst in the nation. And much of it is due to the fact that the major employers here are industrial dinosaurs. The jobs lost in the automobile industry over the past few years simply are not coming back.
So if Michigan’s going to pick itself up, it’s got to move into the 21st Century. The jobs of the future are high tech—not heavy industry. Unfortunately, the state also is suffering from a severe case of brain drain. Even though it has world class universities such as the University of Michigan, Michigan State, Lawrence Tech, those highly talented, highly educated young people see no prospects here and leave as soon as they can.
That’s why this project is so important. Countywide wireless access is just the sort of thing that will help the region to retain the highly educated people coming out of our universities. It could encourage them to stay and start the next big thing. Henry Ford was a local boy who began tinkering in his garage and started the automotive industry. If Michigan is to become great again, it’s going to need another Henry Ford.
Posted by The Editor on 01/23 at 12:01 AM
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The Golf Economy
I’m a golfer. And an economics teacher. So I was astounded when I read a 2002 study that found that the “golf economy” (the value of all golf goods and services) in that year was worth $62 billion. Compare that the movie industry’s $57 billion. That’s bigger than the Gross Domestic Product of Peru, Romania, Ukraine or Morocco.
How big has golf become? In 1958, Arnold Palmer was the PGA Tour money leader, with $42,000 in winnings. This year, Vijay Singh has won a little over a million in just two tournaments. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods is poised to become a $4 BILLION dollar man.
How fast has the tour grown? Just sixteen years ago, the purse total for the season was $41 million. That’s topped by this year’s first eight tournaments alone.
As much as I love golf, I find these numbers astounding. To think that we consume enough golf to keep an entire country going for year. Wow.
But don’t get me wrong. This is not some sort of liberal whine about how we wicked Americans waste money while others starve. That money was generated by a lot of hard work by the engineers who design the clubs; the chemists who develop new compounds for graphite shafts, grips, and balls; the aerospace engineers who develop new dimple patterns for longer flight; the course architects and builders; the course grounds keepers; the cart manufacturers; the marketers who move the products; and all the others in the industry. Golf provides a good, full time living to thousands who will never hit a ball in a tournament.
And that’s a good thing.
Posted by The Editor on 01/21 at 11:01 PM
Economics •
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