Eight Southern states, organized by a MI research group, try to relocate R&D in South

[wolverine]

Why don't they start by educating their own constituents?

http://www.educationnews.org/educati...ucated-states/

As much as Michigan can suck, the Southeast is way down on my list of desirable places in the entire world. Low education, seething bigotry, fanatical religiosity, only a few population centers of note - what kind of educated person wants to live there?

This is a Hail Mary. R&D isn't going to the south. Outside a few population centers, nobody wants to live there and the whole area is relatively poor compared to the rest of the nation. They're grasping at straws to get out.

I find that 2 out of 3 engineers out there probably don't care as much about the place they end up or even how bad it is culturally, socially or politically unless this individual has been personally impacted by those issues.... be it race or religion. They'll go where jobs exist, pay is good, cost of living is cheap. Other professions have different perceptions of places.

[old guy]

Much of the south will be the first to attempt to replicate Chinese strategies. As much as I despise it, they have very few options. Corporations understand this and will utilize it to its full extent.

[Patrick]

Well, you have 8 states salivating over a segment of an industry in the small geographic region known as Southeast Michigan. Basically, companies in the 21st century will no longer have any sort of geographic loyalty. Them main goal of corporate leadership is to maximize profit over all else. If that means locating to a region with a "better business climate" then so be it. However, poaching isn't a wise method in the long run.

The southern states have realized that Mexico is blowing their doors off with cheaper and often times better labor. Dixie needs other industries, or at least segments of other industries to survive. Instead of innovation and entrepreneurship, these states resort to poaching businesses by uising the well-worn tool called "incentives."

Here is an article from the southern perspective regarding Mexico's cheap labor threat:

http://www.southernautocorridor.com/...2/Default.aspx

The article states that Mexico is a threat and not a partner, but Michigan better wake up because the southern states represent just as big a threat as Mexico does.

Interesting note that Tennessee is making an aggressive move to court Chrysler for a new Fiat/Chrysler HQ. A LOT of people I know have called this a joke, but it isn't. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Sergio seriously entertains the TN offer.

[Newdetroit]

This Michigan based research firm seems to feel so strongly that it needs to "bring back" jobs to the US southern states. Perhaps someone should tell this Ann Arbor firm that these are "Michigan Jobs" that went to Mexico. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_859983.html

[courtney]

It's interesting to see how many in the metro area are so quick to dismiss the south as some cesspool of crap.

The reality is that places in the south have been drawing people and businesses from this region at, what seems to me, at least, an increasing pace for the past several years at least.

We spend many months a year in Anderson/Greenville county in SC. We've met so many former metro-Detroiters it's no longer a novelty - it's just expected. Even the clerk at the credit union I was closing an old account at was telling me how she worked at one in Troy before her family moved to Simpsonville several years ago. My brother and sister in law live next door to a family that actually lived less than a mile from us in St Clair Shores until 2 years ago. It seems like everywhere we go there, we run into those who used to live in Michigan. Not a single person we've ever met that have made the move down to SC expressed any desire to ever return to this area for anything other than a visit.

FWIW, the family next to my brother - they are in fact black. The mother said that not only are her kids getting a better education in the public school they are going to [[which wouldn't be hard considering how bad South Lake school district is) but that she had yet to encounter any issues with racism in the schools or the neighborhood - which had been a very common occurrence when they lived here.

So you guys go ahead and laugh at the thought that people might want to actually live in parts of the south, but until people stop accepting things here as they are and actually work towards a change for the better, more people [[and the families they support) will continue to leave.

[iheartthed]

Interesting note that Tennessee is making an aggressive move to court Chrysler for a new Fiat/Chrysler HQ. A LOT of people I know have called this a joke, but it isn't. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Sergio seriously entertains the TN offer.

It's extremely ironic because if Tennessee's senators had their way, the U.S. government would not have stepped in to rescue Chrysler from collapsing.

[Big Davve]

I have to agree with everything that Courtney said, while I love Detroit and have hope for its revival, I think its just a question of when, will it be in 5 years or 50 years, anyone that thinks of the south, or southeast in this case as a backwards boondoggle land filled with hayseeds and Klan sympathizers, you are sorely mistaken! Yes, I'm sure if you go to the backwoods of MS, or AL somewhere you can find those people, but has anyone making those comments been to Atlanta in the last 10 years? In the last 30 years? The city and entire metro area is absolutely booming, in 2000, Atlanta metro population was 4.2 million [[about where Detroit has stagnated for years) now its nearly 5.5 million! Charlotte is another booming, modern metropolis as well. The old union mentality shaming the "right to work" southern states is out the window, its more like the "right to go and earn as much as my effort allows" which can be quite a lot if you are an innovator, work hard and go for it!

[iheartthed]

I find that 2 out of 3 engineers out there probably don't care as much about the place they end up or even how bad it is culturally, socially or politically unless this individual has been personally impacted by those issues.... be it race or religion. They'll go where jobs exist, pay is good, cost of living is cheap. Other professions have different perceptions of places.

I think that's hard to say. The reality of it is that, with the exception of IT, engineering jobs tend to be located away from booming urban centers. Even engineering industries that are situated close to booming urban centers, like pharmaceuticals in New Jersey, tend to operate away from the urban core. So it's not that engineers don't care, it's probably more that most just don't have the option of working in places like Manhattan.

[aj3647]

So then why did VW locate in TN? Examples are easy to come by. Just find one that fits your narrative, and your all set.

Bottom line here is that we do live in a competitive world, and there will be those gunning for our jobs every year. All we can do is be the best, most adaptable, progressive city we can be!

Tennessee is not Deep South, it is not Alabama or Mississippi. Case in point, Tennessee's high school graduation rate is 14% higher than Alabama's. Tennessee is not a bad place to set up shop, neither is Georgia. It helps greatly that both of those states are anchored by numerous prestigious colleges. But Alabama and Mississippi are like third world countries in many respects.

BTW, I'm not bragging about Michigan by any means. The Canadian workforce, by comparison, is also far far more educated than what you would find here in Michigan as well.

[PeachLaser]

Many years ago, I was born in Highland Park not too far from Ford's old Model-T factory. At the time, my family lived around the corner in New Center from GM HQ's, the Fisher Building and Ford Hospital.

Not sure if it was because I had autos in my blood or what, but I became a big fan of prototype endurance sports car racing decades after my family had migrated south along the Dixie Highway.

As a result, I have a great love and hope for Detroit's rebound and success as well as having an in-depth knowledge of the international automotive scene. We lived on Lincoln St. back in the late '40's and early 50's while I know what Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish just did today. [[They've been to Detroit before).

Detroit has tremendous talent but, IMHO, the problem has been that Detroit has an 'insular perspective'. When the 'knowledgeable' buying public wanted efficient, good-handling, well-made and stylish vehicles, Detroit said, "This is what you want and need. We know." But, instead, the buying public bought elsewhere.

Even though Detroit's thinking was wrong, America bailed out Detroit because we have hope and belief that you can figure out how to design and build advanced automobiles for the 21st century.

[PeachLaser]

Many years ago, I was born in Highland Park not too far from Ford's old Model-T factory. At the time, my family lived around the corner in New Center from GM HQ's, the Fisher Building and Ford Hospital.

Not sure if it was because I had autos in my blood or what, but I became a big fan of prototype endurance sports car racing decades after my family had migrated south along the Dixie Highway.

As a result, I have a great love and hope for Detroit's rebound and success as well as having an in-depth knowledge of the international automotive scene. We lived on Lincoln St. back in the late '40's and early 50's while I know what Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish just did today. [[They've been to Detroit before).

Detroit has tremendous talent but, IMHO, the problem has been that Detroit has an 'insular perspective'. When the 'knowledgeable' buying public wanted efficient, good-handling, well-made and stylish vehicles, Detroit said, "This is what you want and need. We know." But, instead, the buying public bought elsewhere.

Even though Detroit's thinking was wrong, America bailed out Detroit because we have hope and belief that you can figure out how to design and build advanced automobiles for the 21st century.

[Patrick]

Many years ago, I was born in Highland Park not too far from Ford's old Model-T factory. At the time, my family lived around the corner in New Center from GM HQ's, the Fisher Building and Ford Hospital.

Not sure if it was because I had autos in my blood or what, but I became a big fan of prototype endurance sports car racing decades after my family had migrated south along the Dixie Highway.

As a result, I have a great love and hope for Detroit's rebound and success as well as having an in-depth knowledge of the international automotive scene. We lived on Lincoln St. back in the late '40's and early 50's while I know what Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish just did today. [[They've been to Detroit before).

Detroit has tremendous talent but, IMHO, the problem has been that Detroit has an 'insular perspective'. When the 'knowledgeable' buying public wanted efficient, good-handling, well-made and stylish vehicles, Detroit said, "This is what you want and need. We know." But, instead, the buying public bought elsewhere.

Even though Detroit's thinking was wrong, America bailed out Detroit because we have hope and belief that you can figure out how to design and build advanced automobiles for the 21st century.

That is an outdated, circa-1983 view on how you think the Detroit-based auto industry perceives the market.