About Us

My research about Economic Drivers was birthed out of extensive research during my Graduate school years dating back to 2010. At the time, the US was emerging out of an economic collapse and high unemployment or as the world would term, “The Great Recession of 2007.” The Housing crisis was stated as the cause for the crash. What in-turn played out on the economic front, was industry after industry suffering major job losses and even business closures. In short, what happened in one sector trickled down to countless others, causing an economic collapse that reverberated throughout the public and private-sector. 

At that time, millions of Americans found themselves indefinitely laid-off. Manufacturing plants began to shutter which for the state of Michigan meant a major hit to our auto-industry. This is to say that anytime a State’s main economic driver gets hit, it trickles down to every other industry relying upon them to succeed. This is nothing new however. For the State of Michigan, our car manufacturing hubs in Detroit, Flint, Pontiac and Saginaw were already on the decline. This was most notable with the closure in 2010 of the once infamous Flint Buick city. Those that followed were Chrysler’s Axle-Plant on the Eastside of Detroit in 2010, GM’s Hamtramck American Axle plant closure early-on in 2009 along with GM's Pontiac East Assembly. Saginaw would also experience some closures. Once known as the birthplace of these industries; these hubs represented more than just the popular models and brands they produced but more importantly, they represented the people behind the production—the autoworkers. 

What was already evident to all in the state was that when one major industry failed, it trickled down to countless other industries. Ironically, the Bureau of Labor statistics forecasted at that time, that there would be a major shift in industry employment within 10 years, citing that the hospitality service-sector would see an exponential influx in jobs. Living through the worst of those times meant a heavy reliance upon government infused quantitative easing and stimulus payments to boost the economy while driving consumer consumption. 

Many states sought out ways to recover, by attempting to introduce work programs designed to diversify the skillsets of its workers enabling them to rejoin the workforce. The State of Michigan, under then Governor Granholm’s administration DELEG instituted, The No Worker Left Behind program. The US Department of Labor allocated WIA funding totaling $183,259,217 with allocations for dislocated workers, youth and adults. The program was originally designed as a reskilling-retooling initiative to assist people to enter new industry. Liken it to a diversification of skill-sets and credentialing that would allow one with newly acquired skill-sets and training to enter new markets quickly. 

2013 Marked the submission of this Capstone’s finished work entitled, “FEDERAL STIMULUS AND STATE ECONOMIC RECOVERY: AN ANALYSIS OF THE AMERICAN RECOVERY & REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 AND UNEMPLOYMENT TRENDS IN DETROIT, FLINT, PONTIAC AND SAGINAW.”

For a preview of this finished work see document: A short and long version is provided.