The Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce had a good idea almost thirty years ago: Invite the state’s major figures in government and business to a hold a serious policy conference on state problems away from the spotlight and all the usual hustle, stress and pressure.
And where better to do that than Mackinac Island? There, they figured, is the one place in Michigan where the high rollers would be unable to be summoned back to the office for a meeting.
There are no cars allowed on the island, and being situated in the middle of Lake Huron is something of an obstacle to a speedy exit. The conference was created, believe it or not, in a day before everyone had a cell phone tucked into their pocket.
Since then, Mackinac has evolved into a major social, political and media event, where coming to see and be seen is a major part of the program. Nevertheless, the conference does get people together who might otherwise never be in the same room.
Often, they actually get to know each other as human beings, rather than alien forces. Sometimes they even pledge to work together on goals like mass transit. Sadly, all too often, such agreements start to evaporate on the return trip, once they get south of Gaylord and longtime political realities take hold.
That has tended to be especially true in election years, and, guess what. This is an election year. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has spent years running for re-election, not against his Democratic opponents, but against Detroit Mayor Coleman Young and now, Kwame Kilpatrick. Not to worry -- the mayors have effectively used him as a bogeyman with their voters.
Oh well. You might also think that bringing together all these great and powerful minds in one place would create some sort of intellectual fusion that would provide powerful insights into the future.
Well, it is clear that those attending often think that is the case. Take last year’s Mackinac Conference. A panel of veteran political handicappers agreed that this year’s presidential nominees would be Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney.
That conference occurred right in the middle of the legislature’s budget wars, and concurrence on anything was hard to come by, except this: Both parties agreed that whatever replaced the Single Business Tax had to be revenue-neutral.
Eventually, they adopted a Michigan Business Tax that started out that way, but which then had a large surcharge added to it at the last moment. The first results show confusion, resentment, and a higher tax that seems to be generating less revenue than anticipated.
That doesn’t mean we ought to be cynical. This year’s conference theme is “Building a Stronger Michigan.” And we need to be in favor of anything that advances that. Still -- I wonder if the keynote speaker, Carly Fiorina, was a good symbolic choice. After all, she is best known for getting fired as CEO of Hewlett-Packard.
Oh well. At least we won’t have Mitt Romney to kick around anymore.
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