Businesses will tend to flow to the places with the best operating conditions. Those conditions include tax rates and regulatory environment, crime, available labor pool, potential customer base, access to needed transportation or parking, etc. Also in that group of things affecting decisions, obviously, is if any money [[taxpayer or otherwise) is available to help pay for some business costs. That can be direct cash to relocate; that can also be subsidies to [[re)train the unemployed, clean up a toxic site, etc. Businesses have to determine where they can make the most money in the long run, and they move based on that determination.

Detroit for years was seen as a place where most businesses could thrive only with the aid of subsidies. Now, thankfully, that is changing. Suburban sites still have a lot of legitimate appeal, but the advantages versus being in the city are no longer as crystal clear. And- this is important- they no longer appear to be the "future" of our economic growth. That has returned to the city.

It is in Detroit's best interests to have thriving suburbs. I want every Michigan business to operate in the place that will allow them to be the most competitive and successful. For many that will mean Detroit; for some that will mean suburbs. Still others will find rural areas the best to set up shop. I hold no grudge against any firm that moves to allow for its own growth. Negative feelings about such things are not only unproductive, they are self-destructive.

In the long run, the relocation game isn't how growth occurs. It occurs when Detroit has conditions that allow the businesses that are here to operate without onerous taxation, heavy regulation, fear of prevalent crime, or without essential services. Which side of 8 Mile a company does business on is not relevant to me. That it can make a profit, pay its employees, and contribute to the community is far more important.