Cleveland Moodswings

Our family unit was in Traverse City Michigan last week on vacation.Now we are back, and I am not  feeling particularly refreshed. Actually....

We stayed at a pretty nice condo complex, and got to know another couple or two, from the Detroit area. Like Ohio, Michigan hasn't exactly been rocking n rolling when it comes to the economy for the last few years or so. Like Cleveland, Detroit is an old manufacturing town, and is trying to find ways to re-invent itself. Gosh, it even has a few casinos, which are about to get even nicer...i.e. more upscale.

The guys I befriended, a couple of Kevin's, from Detroit's outer suburbs, were not too hopeful about Detroit's future.{Kind of like I get sometimes, about Cleveland's future.}In Detroit, when the auto industry starts downsizing..it really hits hard. GM, Ford, and Chrysler employ thousands of workers, from entry level folks on up to execs that make a few hundred large a year.Imagine if University Hospitals, The Cleveland Clinic and a few corporations...{Quick.... name 5!}layed off thousands of people all at once.

Detroit Companies:
General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Comerica, Detroit Edison, Penske Automotive Group,Credit Acceptance Corp,Bullseye Telecom,VisionIT,Kelley Services, Walbridge Aldinger,Borg Warner...

The Kevin's, when asked about the impact of the Casino's, said that they did bring jobs, and tourism to downtown Detroit. They did not say that the casino's were lifesavers, but that they did add some value to the area, numbers wise.

Are casinos the answer to our area? They may be part of the answer. They are certainly more of an answer than the "Blue Light District" that the geniuses at Cleveland City Hall are promoting.
I attended the "Professionals in the City" event with a CPA friend of mine a couple of weeks ago, hoping to actually see and hear Mayor Jackson.Saw him. Heard him. I do not remember hearing anything memorable concerning our city's future.
When asked why he is not more "visible" by an audience member during a panel discussion, his answer:
" I am not going to change the way I operate just because Dick Feagler, who does not even live in the City of Cleveland says I should." Ok. How about becoming more visible because you are what is known as a public official?
We need a real leader so bad in this city, that it hurts! It is getting tougher and tougher for a local small business owner like myself to be positive every day about Cleveland! {PLUS Akron, Canton, and Youngstown..} We are losing population. Homes are being foreclosed at a scary rate. Cleveland schools are ranked towards the bottom of the barrel.Our poverty level is at the bottom of the barrel. We have only a handful of major corporate HQ's left. I could keep going. We all know the problem areas, and there are always good discussions, and some good ideas. A Medical Mart? Yes! Raise taxes to help fund it? No! The folks that will benefit the most from the Medical Mart need to step up to the plate, and offer financial  backing! The infighting has only just begun, to get a Medical Mart built here.It may not end until  the next Mayoral election!

So...this is how I am feeling {at least today} after driving back from Michigan. Back to Cleveland. Back to my town. Back to???