Ideas

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David Ford - Monday, November 30, 2009

right to work state

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Current Rating: 3.0 (217 votes cast)

Michigan should be a right to work state. Joining a labor union should be voluntary. Here is a good article on the topic by the Mackinac Center. Eplains in goo detail the pros and cons. http://www.mackinac.org/article.aspx?ID=3354

David Ford - Monday, November 30, 2009

allow drilling

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Current Rating: 3.1 (221 votes cast)

Allow oil and gas drilling in areas desingated as 'sensitive' by production companies which have the ability to do so with appropriate safe guards. There are many drilling companies with good track records. These companies should be able to drill for local energy resources without the threat of environmental litigation. Start with lower 'risk' locations to try it out. Have the production companies post cash, a bond, or a percentage of the revenue in the event of an unremediated spill.

Trish S. - Sunday, November 29, 2009

Winter Carnival

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Current Rating: 3.0 (221 votes cast)

There's a park in Saginaw,Haithco Park,that is widely used during the summer months to accommodate public swimming, but during the winter months it just sits there, but for a few ice fishermen. Why not utilize this park year round and have a Winter Carnival offering fishing, ice skating, snowmobiling races, warming tents, and vendors. There is plenty of parking, and motels/hotels in the area to accommodate the tourists, plus it's location is ideal for advertisement and people can access it easily from the expressway! Not to mention, the revenue it could bring to the area businesses. If you live in, or near Saginaw then you know we could definitely use the money!

Dave Thompson - Saturday, November 28, 2009

Repurpose the abandoned military housing as a trainning complex

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Current Rating: 3.0 (201 votes cast)

I would like to turn the base housing that is sitting empty over to be a charter school, trade accademy, rescue training, dog training complex for my own for profit reasons. I am an old voulenteer for Disaster Action Response Team thru American Red cross. Andi can teach others how to do it too. I could make this a conglomerate of business and non-profit groups to manage it, staff the classrooms and do outreach. When complete i would like to put alot of unemployed, subsidized housing, medicaid reciepients to work in the process. And to put the property taxes back in the townships budgets. They need it bad. There are at least 120 homes we could be putting low income families, and vets, and disabled people into at the same time. You'd be doing me and the community a huge favor by getting me the position of community planner or something. I don't need money for the postition. I would like to make a deal where i can have a few of the units for my company out of it. Perhaps the inspection contract as well. Say something like $200 to do a pre repair inspection and then again for the closing. They got to have inspections anyways before closing.. and i can do all of those myself. I could wire the entire complex and cable and phone as well. As well as all the carpentry and repair work. The rest of the infastructure is still intact. All i'd need would be an operating budget i can draw from and a title. You could take all the credit and if it works.. develop somehing similar in all the countys. It would certainly help with disasters if everyone knew who to call for help. And i have plans to put together a team to travel to the phillipines and other places which are hit by typoons and tsnumis and hurricanes. And i'd send one down to New orleans ASAP once i can train them. Anyways.. if at all possible..could you see what you could do for funding. And possibly chamber contacts that i'd need. That is if you trust me to fix it. Dave Thompson Pres. MCDC

Comments

#1 Posted By: Dave Thompson on Thursday, December 17, 2009
Seems no one likes my plan yet. Perhaps i can explain it more. We need jobs here, we need better education for our people to be trainned to do jobs, we need new businesses, and new hiring that would come from a revitalized economy, we need to do something to get families off of welfare, we need elderly care programs, we need to help out all our returning soldiers; especially the disabled, and they will need housing that is handicapped accessable. Well my plan will do all that and more. It would be funded entirely with federal grants, private donations, charity organizations and foundations, local businessess and trade associations like the BASM and chambers of commerces; and many state and federal programs and agencies. Now Granholm wants to create import/export businesses, and alternative energy businesses, and she wants to improve our education here in mich. My plan does all that. Not a problem setting it up as an accademy that trains people in all those areas, while also setting it up wih contacts in china, brazil, panama, mayalasia, phillipines, and ecudor for now. I was planning a school down in panama anyways after i get this project done. Simple enouh to just set it up as the base of operations for the import/export businesses granholm wanted. If she needs to know what products.. simple enough too. They need a millon things in those countries, and i can find thousands of things we can use that they make. And since my specialty is construction, i could easily incorporate energy efficent products and technologies into both my field and for an import/export business. Ok... now Obama wants to lower unemployment, create new businesses, fix the housing mistakes, and basically just turn the economy around. To this end he has made alot of money avalaible for existing programs and new grant RFP and goverment contracts. My plan does all that he wanted and then some. And you couldn't find another more cost effective plan anywhere. And mine is as shovel ready as they come... i can start now. Have the entire project set up within 2 years, and have all those property taxes gong into the city's budget wihin a few months time. At the very least it will be a new type of school that teaches real life skills that no one else teaches.. few colleges have construction courses, and the ones who do aren't anywhere near what the students can afford. My accademy will teach anyone thats old enough to work how to get a job using skills they learn in school, and thats not what colleges are doing. They only cover the proffessions which will reguire years of knowledge. My classes could be taught in 6 months for most trades

#2 Posted By: David Thompson on Tuesday, January 19, 2010
In light of the recent disaster in Haiti it just makes my idea of turning this old abandoned property into a trainning accedemy for disaster recovery students even more sensible. If we had this accademy up and running we would be able to send rescue crews all around the world whenever a disaster such as this happens. Think of it as 400 families with trainning in everything they would of needed to be ready to do the recovery. Rescue dog teams trained to find survivors and rescue workers trainned in how to deliver the food and water that the survivors of these disasters urgently need. And it's part of the trainning to teach them all basic first aid at least. I would of easily been able to set it up where each family voulenteers one member to serve 6 weeks to 6 months of service to nonprofits out of every year. Not only for these international disasters but also down in New orleans and current or future disasters that happen in the US such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. The land and buildings here are just sitting idle anyways, the people here still need trainning in something anyways, and the people all around the world will still need help anyways, no matter whether the politicians think this is a good use for old abandoned property or not. I can tell you all one thing. If i were in charge of this Haiti rescue.. it would of been done the first day instead of waiting 4 days to get those supplies organized and ready to distribute and there would be many more survivors of this quake than there are now.

Tom S - Friday, November 27, 2009

Buy cars here

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Current Rating: 3.0 (160 votes cast)

Years ago the big three did not charge "destination charges" if you bought a car at it's local source. I realize they changed this to equalize the price of cars. But -- what if State of Michigan could create the right incentives to encourage the auto industry do that again. We could be known as the State to go to for the best price for a new car if it was made and sold here. Since we still do make alot of vehicles here the choice for the buyer could be very good. It would be a win - win for auto workers and Michigan. The important rule would be, the buyer would actually have to come to Michigan to purchase. That would also help the tourist business. While were at it, Michigan needs to drop the sales tax on buying a used car. In most states the sales tax is only on new cars.