There are lots of theories being talked about today as to why Michigan's unemployment rate is so high - now at 8.5%! This is intended as a fact-based reality check on the "reasons" we sometimes hear being voiced for our economic woes:

• We have lousy weather

DON'T BUY IT: Minneapolis, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Chicago are doing just fine in cold or cloudy weather!

• We need Detroit to be as vibrant as Chicago

WELL SURE, BUT NOT AN EXCUSE: A thriving big city helps any state economy and there are lots of us working to redevelop Detroit. But there aren't many strong big cities in the whole nation. Detroit has actually measured up pretty well in the current economic downturn and was leading the state in new housing starts until last year! But a big city isn't a pre-requisite for state growth. Think North Carolina, Arizona, Texas and Georgia. None have a city nearly as authentic and "cool" as Detroit.

• We need to "diversify" the economy

SORT-OF: A diverse economy alone isn't the answer. For example, if Michigan's economy mirrored the nation, we'd be doing better than we have the past few years, but only "average" in overall performance relative to other states. What we need is an economy that is disproportionately weighted in high-growth sectors to beat the national average in creating per capita income growth.

• We need to stop going after auto jobs

WHY??!!: Auto jobs pay consistently above the national average and have some of the highest spin-off impacts of any industry. It's also a global growth industry - see above. Ok, we can't just focus on manufacturing jobs. But wesure should be going after r & d investments from the global auto companies. Think India, China, etc.

• We need a competitive business environment
  

TRUE: The ten states with the fastest per capita income growth are ranked on average twice as competitive as the ten slowest growing states according to Forbes. We don't have to be the cheapest place to do business to thrive, but we do need to offer good value for the dollar.

• We need more college graduates

YES & MORE EDUCATED WORKERS PERIOD: Not only are more jobs requiring college degrees, but just about all the best paying jobs are requiring more education than what many believe is necessary to compete. Skilled trades, health care workers, IT professionals and many others that don't require a college degree for all their positons, still pay far higher than average wages. But they require considerable technical education beyond high school.

- Doug Rothwell

Photo courtesy of Downtown Detroit Partnership