Presentation by: Harry C. Veryser, Senior Lecturer at UDM

Topic: The Michigan Economy - Future Prospects

Professor Veryser stated that the Michigan economy is a living example of Say’s Law that the more you produce, the more demand is created.  In essence, each of us has prosperity that is linked to others.  The crisis confronting our State government is directly linked to the decline of the automobile industry in Michigan.  As citizens of Michigan, our prosperity is currently linked to the declining fortunes of the domestic automobile industry.

According to Professor Veryser, the causes of the auto industry in Michigan can be referred to as our “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

The “Four Horsemen” are:

· Government regulatory and trade policies.
· Corporate management’s failure to innovate and its slow response to international competition.
· Union work rules that slowed cost-cutting and innovation.
· The financial system’s failure to meet the financial and investment needs of the automobile industry.

Professor Veryser stated that Michigan’s economy could improve if:

· There’s a 10% increase in market share by the Big 3.
· New entrepreneurs make investments in Michigan (however the current high cost of doing business in our state discourages entrepreneurial investments). 
· We can attract industries that will halt and reverse the state's "brain drain."