General Motors Has Kicked Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township in the Teeth!!

[MonicaBHSMom]

Just in case you have not heard, General Motors will be closing the Powertrain plant. That is right, the Powertrain plant...the largest tax base in Ypsilanti Township.

The earthquake effect to the Ypsilanti Community will be a hurricane. Our community has lost Pfizer, Ford (Ypsilanti Plant) and now GM Powertrain in the past year. In addition, GM is closing an additional 6 plants in Michigan, in a state with 12% unemployment.

If you are between the ages of 25-45, it may be the right time to leave this state. GM closing 6 plants will effect EVERYTHING:

-Your Property Taxes will go up to make up lost revenue
-Your Water bill will go up for the same thing
-Your already down Property Equity will be worth about 50% less
-Many houses on your street, neighborhood, community will foreclose-Why....because many of the industries (Health Care Industries, Advertising Firms, Restaurants, County and Township Offices, Parts Plants, Teachers Dealerships, IT Firms, etc, etc, etc) are indirectly going to lose revenue..thus more lost jobs...in this state. GM has left no stone unturned.
-Southeastern Michigan will become a Ghetto
-Schools (even the better ones) by cutting back, will offer your children less education
-If your parents are Retired from GM, you will be taking care of their financial needs (like buying glasses or taking them to the dentist for you to pay for) because GM has cut their retiree medical and dental.

I could go on and on but the point is as a strong Obama Supporter in the last election, I CANNOT continue to support a man that will turn the town I was born, raised, had and raised my children within....into a ghost town. He has LOST my support, forever.

As for GM, I would rather die of a slow cancer related death before I EVER purchase another GM vehicle. As for my late Daddy that worked at GM for over 40 years, I am SO GLAD that you are not here to see what is happen to your many years of blood, sweat and tears.

[Andrew Alexander]

I don't know if blaming Obama is the right thing to do here. Trust me - I live in Ypsilanti, recent graduate of EMU and I was working at the cross street Dominos before getting fired due to summer lay-offs. This will affect me. I almost certainly have to leave the area without a dime.

But Obama had to look at what he felt was best for the country. It might have royally screwed Ypsilanti, but Ypsilanti is something like 20-30k people. Obama has to think of 300 million. I do not believe it is fair to really blame him. He doesn't want Ypsilanti to die either.

I do know how you feel though. I'm terrified of the ramifications of this.

[Andrew Alexander]

Also, not sure why it says I am from Battle Creek. I am not.

[The Weatherman]

GM has done this since the 80's, this is nothing new, being born in West Willow, I experienced this once before. The residents who now will have to find other means to live are the ones who will suffer, not GM, thats for sure. Ypsi needs a different infrastructure, other than the auto industry, learn from our mistakes, we cannot rely solely on that industry, this is where mom and pops stores will need to really step up to the best of their abilitly. As residents, we need to stick together through this, we will pull through this.

[Hammerhead]

I believe as a car company GM is finished. I doin`t like that idea but it looks that way to me.My first car was a "53 Oldsmobile" I loved that old car , my buddy had a "57 Olds " and today he has the body and engine of one in his garage he is rebuilding. He also rebuilt a "63 Chevy Impla" he bought in "66" it looks like new. We are going to redo a "37 Olds " and drive it fro Hot Springs South to California. I am saying this because GM was the cars when America was an industrial giant and we mad e things and our people had jobs that made something. Now I se the younger generation driving up to the fast food place in a Jap aspirin box. Fast food joints are the only jobs for a lot of people.

The politicians sold our country out with NAFTA and other trade treaties. I used to operate lathing machines , milling machines and grinders, turning out a product that me me proud.today the best paying jobs in America for blue collar workers is a prison job and that does not make me proud. It makes me mad.

I don`t blame Obama but I don`t think he has any interest in promoting industrial jobs. He is more into the intellectual elite.We need to elect a congress that is pro industry, one that will make laws that will protect American Workers. I believe in American Jobs that will make people feel good abouy what they do and produce simething we can use. We have to buy everything we use from China. vote the monkeys out who passed these so called freetrade agreements. They are BS and you are not going to have a country if we continue in the current direction. I am not a candidate for office and I don`t belong to either of these parties.

[anonymous]

you can thank all those that buy foreign named cars

[homesick]

I am not sure who to blame for the bad economy but we Americans are going to have to do something. We can't just put the blame on someone else and think that we are helpless.

What gets me is the price of everything. Everyone wants more and more money and no one seems to be thinking about how that will effect the rest of the population.

I think that we, All Americans, are going to have to re-think everthing. Jobs, NAFTA, health care, immigration and alot of other stuff. We are going to have to get the picture that we are all connected in one way or another.

[Andrew Alexander]

As a side note, I did have to leave Ypsilanti without a dime, and moved to Phoenix AZ.