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cairn - Friday, December 18, 2009   help schools Rate this idea:   Current Rating: 3.0 (177 votes cast) dissolve MI school board

earlbob - Wednesday, December 16, 2009   PROTECT OUR IDEAS! Rate this idea:   Current Rating: 3.0 (170 votes cast) Most inventions don't make it to market because of the "PGL Syndrome": Paranoia, Greed, and Laziness. Laziness never gets to first base, greed could be used as incentive, and paranoia is justified. America is known for innovation. For that reason, it seems that Americans are getting to be a minority at American based trade shows. You can almost hear the giant sucking sound that comes from American dreams being sent offshore for immense profit to few at the collective cost of small pieces of America’s future. The knockoff artist takes down not just small companies, but whole communities of people that believe in the potential for these products to enhance our lives. It has to stop. As a former manufacturer with 30 employees, I believe I have a way with what I call the "H.O.M.E. self employment system." H.O.M.E. is an acronym that stands for Home Operated Manufacturing Enterprise whereby anyone with simple capabilities (drilling, sewing, assembly, delivery service, etc.) can make component parts of products that deny feasibility for manufacture offshore by reason of the logistics associated to size. The "footprint" of a product in a store matters greatly to mass merchandisers as it is measured in $$$'s per square inch. The H.O.M.E. system eliminates the core of overhead cost: the CEO, most of administration, and even the factory itself. Where can all that money go? How about to the workers who actually make the products. The basis of the system is simply a way to organize people to work together to share the wealth. The sweetest part is that all involved have entitlement to not only be paid to make the products, but sell them at a whopping profit. In such a system, to knock off a product means you might be stealing your neighbor's job, and I wouldn't want to be a knockoff artist living in that neighborhood. Thanks to whoever came up with GIFM.org, a great idea in itself.

Ashley DeWitt - Tuesday, December 08, 2009   Olympic Winter Sports Training Complex Rate this idea:   Current Rating: 3.2 (218 votes cast) Michigan offers a unique climate that thrills winter sports lovers for up to 9 months out of the year. While we don't have the mountainous geography preferred for skiing or boarding, why don't we capitalize on the long winter by creating an Olympic Winter Sports Training complex? This complex could include courses for bobsled, luge, and skeleton, cross-country skiing, Olympic sized ski jumps, speed skating and figure skating rinks, and curling lots. Lake Placid, NY is a popular destination for Olympic skiers, why not make Upper Michigan a popular destination for other trainers and trainees? A state-of-the-art complex would boost the economy and increase tourism, especially if it also included a low-key resort for visitors and living quarters for Olympic families. It would boost sales for local winter gear vendors and encourage them to be top-of-the-line, as well as bring in outside vendors interested in sales to this demographic. Tourism, sales, and new resident numbers would increase over the span of just a few years. Trainees from across the nation as well as internationally could spend months training at one location for several events. It could mean a great reputation and notability increase for the state both nationally and internationally.

Elizabeth Briody - Tuesday, December 08, 2009   Transforming Culture Rate this idea:   Current Rating: 3.0 (166 votes cast) Wouldn't it be great if every Michigan workplace was viewed as the best possible place in which to work? Imagine a culture where people worked together rather than at cross purposes, where people's contributions were valued, and where their impact was outstanding. Transforming Culture, a book written by anthropologists working in GM's manufacturing plants in Michigan (Palgrave Macmillan due out in March 2010), identifies collaboration as both the cultural weakness and the cultural ideal in the American workplace. Such a simple concept, yet one that is often brushed aside or disregarded in favor of the promise of a "high tech" solution to workplace difficulties or the mantra that "We've always done it this way." We answer the question about how you change workplace culture through a step-by-step cultural transformation process -- moving from the "old way" (characterized by blaming, distrust, and micromanagement) to a new cooperative and collaborative ideal in which individual skills and talents are used to contribute to a more effective and efficient organization. We also describe 10 practical tools that have been successfully validated and used even in the challenging environment of GM-UAW plants. For example, one of these tools is a computer game that helps people see the impact of their decisions on workplace culture. Both the process and the tools are directly applicable to any Michigan workplace (and beyond). It's worth a try given the tremendous need in Michigan businesses, and the important impact that the work is having -- particularly at GM's new Lansing Delta Township plant.

steve - Tuesday, December 08, 2009   taxes Rate this idea:   Current Rating: 2.9 (205 votes cast) if there has to be a new increas in taxes,, it should be put on something that we all use or buy... income taxes dont nearly seem fair when a larger and larger portion of the work force is paid cash,, illegals just claim 12 dependants to get out of it.. property taxes are not a good option either since because some properties have multiple families living in them.. and properties are taxed at different rates.. i hate to see it come - but we all eat,, and we all use gas..