The blog discusses current affairs and development of national economic and social health through unique idea generation. Consider the blog a type of thought experiment where ideas are generated to be pondered but should never be considered definitive as a final conclusion. It is just a pathway to understanding and one may equally reject as accept ideas as theoretical dribble. New perspectives, new opportunities, for a new generation. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”—Thomas Jefferson
The U.P. is a great place to be during the winter. When community organizations step up to provide experiences for the young and introduce them to the "trails" in Delta County you know you are in the right place for young families with kids. The organization helps support these trails and expose kids to the beauty of the outdoors. Activities like this create enrichment opportunities for children.
This was from DNC press release....
Join us this Sunday for a FREE Youth Cross Country Ski Day at Days River Pathway. Anyone who would like to experience the trail and practice classic cross country skiing can stop by from 12 to 4pm to for free youth ski rentals.
Parents that would like to join and don't own skis are encouraged to reach out to one of the local bike & ski shops to inquire about rentals.
A big THANK YOU to our supporters Community Foundation for Delta County and United Way of Delta County for providing the funds to purchase skis and make these types of events possible.
Come on out and support the trails in Delta County. The DCNT is actively planning events, trail maintenance, and the creation of new trails. DCNT is grateful to all our members, sponsors and partners as we work to improve the trail systems throughout the county. If you would like to become a member, we will have membership forms at the trailhead.
Due to the pandemic, we will be practicing social distancing, hand sanitation and wearing masks in order to Stop the Spread. We ask that you follow these simple precautions while enjoying the beautiful trails in the UP.
As a reminder the Escanaba Civic Center and Public Health for Delta & Menominee County have FREE snowshoe rentals all winter long!
You can watch life the landing of NASA's rover on Mars. The U.P. has multiple sites selected to launch the space industry into the next world (😅). It will likely be a "far out" "out of this world "kind of experience" (😂!). The space program is really "taking off" and the landing on Mars is likely to be "astronomical" (🤣)! One could almost say that the "magnitude" of this situation isn't an exercise in "eccentricity" alone (😯)!
Ore docks in the U.P. of Michigan. Mining was a huge industry in the area. It is still big business but not really maximized since many companies buy foreign resources. There should be diversity within our industry and mining and processing steel is as important today as it ever was.
2021 Deer Hunting Regulations were approved Thursday by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission. This was approved from their Feb 11th, 2021 Meeting. The agenda is HERE but the recording isn't available yet (I know some are sitting on the edge of their seats waiting! 😏). For those of us who like to hunt (or at least thinking about it) regulations will make a difference in our hunting options.
Michigan is one of the states that maximizes its hunting and fishing industry. According to the Michigan United Conservation Club the state $11.2 billion in purchases and 171,000 jobs (4). That is big money for the state and rural areas that don't have established industries.
I'm working on some ideas on how to attract micro manufacturing to Delta County Michigan. Drawing tourist related micro-manufacturing allows the city of Escanaba and Gladstone to fill its down town store fronts for tourism while enough space in the back for small craft manufacturing (SME manufacturing may not be downtown but plenty of space in the area).
Thus, deer hunting could include all types of tourism craft manufacturing such as gloves, targets, arrows, bows, clothing, snow shoes, and much much more. Known as a hunting area Delta County could maximize its outdoors to attract small business and encourage tourism and industry.
Deer Management Unit-specific antlerless deer licenses have been replaced with a universal antlerless license that can be used across multiple DMUs.
Antlerless licenses may now be purchased without an application in the Lower Peninsula and portions of the south-central Upper Peninsula that have DMUs open to antlerless deer hunting. Licenses may be used on public or private land.
In the mid-zone Upper Peninsula DMUs that are open to antlerless deer hunting, a deer hunting access permit must accompany the universal antlerless license. The deer hunting access permit, intended to limit participation where the population can be sensitive to harsh winter weather, will be available through a drawing.
The northernmost DMUs of the U.P. are closed to antlerless deer hunting in all seasons.
Archery hunters in portions of the Upper Peninsula may pursue antlerless deer on their deer or deer combo licenses. DMUs 127, 066, 131, 042, 031, 007 and 048 will be closed to antlerless harvest during the archery seasons.
The expanded urban archery season through Jan. 31 is now permanent in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
Upper Peninsula supplemental and recreational deer feeding regulations have changed, including:A permit is no longer required for supplemental feeding in the Upper Peninsula.
Supplemental feeding can occur Jan. 1 to May 15.
Recreational or supplemental feeding is prohibited if a location is deemed to be a safety hazard.
All recreational feed must be given in increments of only 2 gallons per calendar day and only 2 gallons at any one time.
The 2021 deer hunting regulations will be printed in the 2021 Hunting Digest, which is expected to be finalized in late spring and available at license agent locations and online at Michigan.gov/DNRDigests around July 1.
Who are they? "The Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC) is a seven-member body whose members are appointed by the Governor and subject to the advice and consent of the Senate." (1).
China is the biggest EU trading partner. You will also see in the statistics that imports into China is growing while exports to China is a lower number. The deals are may be considered mutually beneficial but defiantly more beneficial to China. China also grew during COVID while the U.S. economy shrunk.
You will also notice that while China, U.S. and EU are the world's largest trading partner that China GDP with PPP multiplier is 16.4% and the U.S. 16.3%. That means China has a larger economy but not well distributed in terms of real wealth for people. The U.S. is much larger in terms of GDP per Capita.
It might be helpful for the U.S. to think about doing things in new ways. COVID and the digital world could be a serious game changer the U.S. if it capitalizes on opportunities. We must consider the possibility that new economic models should help the U.S. rejuvenate on our existing strengths to better master the economic supply chains of tomorrow.
There are probably lots of great ideas out there. Mine is based off research on economic clusters and the transactions between firms that develop innovation. The big question is how do we build new clusters and power them with investments so they innovate quickly to create a sustainable economy. You can read about some of my ideas HERE. 👀
Allowing people to get away with hate crimes in the form of ethnic cleansing behavior, coordinated harassment, embezzlement, manipulating children and radicalizing their followers to act is tantamount to lawlessness. These behaviors seem grotesque and something rare but not far from how it works in various form for many Americans. In Michigan, we don't track hate crimes well, have a difficult time investigating the full crime and its associated factors, and often don't act when its needed to act. We can change and improve that to create more stability for everyone.
There are those who stand up to hate and many good law enforcement officials that know the difference. There are others who should have never been hired, should be removed, and their backgrounds/complaints investigated. I'm thankful for the good officers who know the difference and hopeful our government will hold to account the bad officer who felt its ok (immunity) to engage in alleged criminal behavior (by the accounts of community members).
We want to understand the full scope of behavior and not ignore those behaviors we would only expect to see in the ravaged lands of third world conflict. We are struggling all over our country grasping and handling these issues appropriately. There are times when we should hold people accountable and times when we should simply create boundaries. What we can't do is pretend such behavior doesn't happen or it will rear its ugly head down the road.
These were not people who were upset. These are people who went beyond rude behavior and into coordinated, planned aggression that focused on intimidation and could have in more than one case led to violence. They discounted the life of children and in turn have little remorse for the damage they have done. It is learned patterned behavior from years of high school bullying. While this may appear "normal" to some people, this would be seen as criminal and dangerous in standard moral value systems (assuming justice is standard and has virtue-Socrates).
Why we must investigate and hold to account hate behaviors on a local level? Without investigation and accountability (as a general rule), our nation will be turning a blind eye to serious criminal behavior that will likely cause a major societal riff that won't be mended through "blah blah blah" political rhetoric. I think people are becoming disillusioned (the polls seem to be moving in that direction) with the talking about liberty and not acting on fundamental core values of our country. Time will tell.
The risks of not acting:
1.) Social Learning: We have taught others involved that such behaviors are acceptable, unlikely to be fully investigated, and that some people have more value to this country than others. We place a subconscious value of the lives of different people and different children that has nothing to do with their real value to their community and country. As people nestle into their culturally and ethnically homogenous groups they learn from each other and have a difficult time understanding and working with others (I wonder where that trend will end).
2.) Societal Instability: If this goes on long enough and is a shared experienced among a large section of society that will create doubt. When you look back to ancient Egypt when Moses was forced to secret away with his Jewish followers, Bosnia War, inter fighting in Iraq, Darfur genocide, they all have the same hate based behavior in common. One must only look at some of the sociological polls and how there is serious mistrust of institutions and what steps our leaders should take to restore that.
3.) Economic Calamity and Collapse: We are a large state (and country) and much of our population isn't fully performing because the environment hasn't been ripe for maximum human development (i.e. education system or access to opportunity). Stepping up to hate will signal this/our population that we are a single nation with central values that apply to everyone. If we are to develop powerful human capital in this country we must ensure that everyone can reach for the same fruit. Governments job is to create an environment where people can progress and earn based on their own skills, abilities, and knowledge.
While Asian Americans have been the target in recent weeks they are not the only ones who suffered from hate inspired violence. When our government officials do not take hate behavior seriously and let criminals walk without full accountability (with wisdom) then we know we are risking starting the beginning of the end of our great republic. Trust in our institutions requires investigation crimes and creating a sense of "universal justice".
While accountability doesn't always mean jail or criminal prosecution it does mean taking to account one's behavior. They must own and deal with these issues so that they no longer continue to be a risk to others. That may be prison time or that may be counseling; each situation is unique. It is about offering a sense of peace and justice not only to the victims but also to reorient bad behavior to a pro social end. We can't have a rehabilitation system that doesn't seek to rehabilitate.
Watch the video on attacks on Asian people. We could deal with these issues early by investigating the full crime of perpetrators, allowing for flexible local punishments, and tracking the behavior for research and investigation. Unfortunately, with our dividing political environment and shifting values (some becoming darker and some becoming more illuminated) we may not be able to stop hate incidents until we understand the gravity of the serious of choices that leads to dissolution.
I wonder if is ready to deal with hate and better secure a future for ALL of our children? If the goal of government is economic and social prosperity then we might want to finish the work our generation was expected to complete during our lifetimes. Passing laws that help researchers track, investigate, rehabilitate people who engage in hate behavior (mental health, misdemeanor, felony) before it becomes a bigger issues is important. Some problems work themselves out naturally while others will create insurmountable rifts. This is more than a diner squabble among family members.
Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin believes that further stages stimulus would be helpful. He states, "traditional economic models don't really work here". He would like to see a 5th or 6th bill get passed. Inflation could be a risk as the market becomes more flooded with govt. money but that inflation should be managed and stabilized. There should be some concern over the debt. However, he believes stimulus can be helpful for getting the economy back on track.
I think in this case he is right in terms of the economic principles are different then they were in the past. The fundamental nature of how we interact and share things has changed. The Digital GDP and Information Age are challenging a number of the old assumptions. New economic phenomenon will push our older economic models to better incorporate a digital e-commerce world.
I'm not opposed to spending money but I think that we should think mid to long term and how it will create a "net positive". Net positive means that we invest in things that can generate more value than their initial investments more business, stronger infrastructure, technological advancement, start-up businesses, worker skills, etc....
While the money helps today it also carries with it the potential to create a lot more value down the road. Its not just money to create liquidity alone! As a general government strategy, maximum utility of money makes sense (Read Utility Theory Here). It is possible to research and understand how money impacts outcomes in multiple venues.
While government's are generally not businesses they do need to improve their resource base so they can generate more revenue that leads to more government resources in the future (For example, when given a choice....invest for returns in things like perhaps digital infrastructure, worker skills, Great Lakes ports, online education, research, etc...).
As a nation creates more net positives they also develop economic sustainability where government expenditures increase the tax base through more economic activity that also improves the quality of life for Americans (jobs, opportunities, education, lifestyle, etc..).
