Detroit News

Wait, that's not a surprise. Nevermind.

You've probably heard about the decision by Comerica Inc. to move their headquarters from Detroit to Dallas. The Detroit News Editorial staff wasted no time in blaming Governor Granholm for the move, politicizing Michigan's loss and proving once again that they are an obedient subsidiary of the Michigan Republican Party. From their editorial:

Even taking Michigan's bizarre tax system out of the equation, the state's regulatory and legal climate is not business friendly and is becoming even less so under Granholm's leadership. Her bureaucracy seems to have job destruction as its primary mission.

That would be a convincing talking point -- if it were true. Michigan is business friendly, thanks to the leadership of the Granholm administration and the MEDC. According to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Michigan was the fifth friendliest state for small businesses in terms of its tax burden and regulatory climate in 2005. Furthermore, Michigan has shown the most improvement in its "preparedness for the new global economy," according to the Kauffman Foundation.

Despite what the Detroit News would have us think, Comerica didn't blame the Granholm administration, or the proposed excise tax, for their move. In fact, Comerica's CEO explicitly refuted the idea that taxes were the reason for the move.

Babb cited Michigan's slipping economy, and Texas' growing one -- not taxes -- as the reason to move.

The move is about a new location that is more central to their growing markets -- not any tax proposal.

The Detroit company said the move will allow it to be closer to the bank's high-growth markets in Texas, Arizona, California and Florida.

Even the Detroit News' own news piece on "Why Comerica Checked out" doesn't have anyone blaming the Granholm administration for the company's move. The Detroit News editorial staff is clearly alone in making this accusation.

Although taxes are relevant (and we are competitive in that area), they are far from the only factor that has an impact on the economic well-being of a state. The Detroit News claims that because Texas lacks a state income tax and "is a right-to-work state with just 5 percent of employees unionized," it is preferable to Michigan. If that were truly the case, why is our median family income higher than Texas?

The reality is that no one person or even government entity is responsible for the fate of a state's economy. To claim otherwise is just dishonest. Regrettably, that's what we've come to expect from the folks at Detroit News Editorial.

To add on to what Eric mentioned, $80,000 makes up only 0.002 percent of our $3 billion budget deficit.  Get a life, Finley.

I don't understand this petty obsession with the FG's office, which really takes up an insignificant portion of our state budget.