On my trips up to northeastern Michigan, I have noticed huge lumber harvest along some of the routes I take. Many more than in past years. I was wondering if anyone who travels to the western part of Michigan has noticed this as well. It would seem that our lumber is worth a lot more after tariffs on imports. I also see many small Amish lumber mills turning the logs into lumber. They use big drafts horses to move the big logs. I really like seeing them working out there with simple machines and farm animals, in contrast to modern farms that are worked with huge, complicated machines growing corn or soybeans on thousand-acre fields.
Yes, there was an ice storm up there north of M-72 there are a lot of trees down, but these are lumber cutting operations, some are clear cuts, others leave some trees standing. It is startling to see the clear cuts for the first time. I travel in Gladwin County on our back roads trip up north, which is where you can a see more and more Amish farms. They usually have a large white farmhouse and big red barns. They raise a variety crops and animals, unlike most modern farms, and many run a small sawmill. For some reason they can use carissin to power the saws but move the lumber with horses. We often see a young boy behind the reins of a six-horse plow. All this while living among the modern farmers and small-town folks. They are expanding into Arenac, and Iosco counties, we see new farms starting up quite often. We get a quart of Maple Syrup for $6 dollars at our favorite stand.
This is probably, for a medley of reasons, low-reliability data, but went through HUD data this evening to make a plot of total homeless population, and unsheltered population, for Lansing + East Lansing area from 2005 to 2025.
COVID changed things so much, it's hard to really wrap my head around it all yet.
800 people isn't as manageable as it sounds if you really want to help them to the extent that some argue for. Even if you allocate just $10k per person you'd be spending $8 million per year, Lansing's budget is about $300 million per year for context.
True of course, I can't defend my thoughts about this issue, I believe many levels of government should be taking issues like this with a determination to solve the problem one way or another, everyone should be considered in a commonwealth.
$8 million is nothing when we're spending $60-80 million on police that don't seem to improve anything...
I'm not one for "defunding police", but given my experience with them, witnessing the murder of a neighbor (who was a terrible person, but that aside...no one deserves to die) and all associated with the neighbor and the police departments ineptitude, I'd rather siphon some off for the homeless. When our neighbor was shot and dying on the curb, we were put on hold for more than 5 minutes before speaking to a person. That was literally life or death...and that was calling 911...not some other number.
It's funny...we bought a house in a "higher rent district" and the police are always scrambling for nothing, like people ringing doorbells asking for money, but in the lower tax income areas, drive-bys and murders are still unsolved. Sure, that's not that common in Lansing (or at least I'd like to believe), but it does happen. The police and detectives cared for about two weeks and then lost contact.
Sorry, got way off topic with a bit of a venting, but I'm just saying, $8M in that budget could be accounted for. I say that without digging deeper into out police budget but $60-80M seems like a huge amount for the overall budget and for a city our size.
I agree with you, perhaps we could use some of a hotel stay tax money to solve this problem. I think visitors could help us a little.
I would like to see police precincts located in every neighborhood, and more patrols throughout the city. People have been shot in Frances Park and Moorse River Drive right next to the Governors' home. If folks knew that there will be police patrols coming by regularly maybe they would think twice about breaking the law or attending one of the instant nighttime gatherings that lead to a lot of trouble in our parks. I am sorry you witness this tragedy in your own neighborhood. Homelessness and crime are branches of the same tree. I think we can find ways to solve these problems starting on the first day someone is born here.
Comments
I have not seen the Amish lumber mills with the draft horses, that is cool.
https://davidshane.substack.com/p/some-musings-on-travel-by-train
Little bit of politics in there as well, but mainly chatting about traveling.
800 people isn't as manageable as it sounds if you really want to help them to the extent that some argue for. Even if you allocate just $10k per person you'd be spending $8 million per year, Lansing's budget is about $300 million per year for context.
I'm not one for "defunding police", but given my experience with them, witnessing the murder of a neighbor (who was a terrible person, but that aside...no one deserves to die) and all associated with the neighbor and the police departments ineptitude, I'd rather siphon some off for the homeless. When our neighbor was shot and dying on the curb, we were put on hold for more than 5 minutes before speaking to a person. That was literally life or death...and that was calling 911...not some other number.
It's funny...we bought a house in a "higher rent district" and the police are always scrambling for nothing, like people ringing doorbells asking for money, but in the lower tax income areas, drive-bys and murders are still unsolved. Sure, that's not that common in Lansing (or at least I'd like to believe), but it does happen. The police and detectives cared for about two weeks and then lost contact.
Sorry, got way off topic with a bit of a venting, but I'm just saying, $8M in that budget could be accounted for. I say that without digging deeper into out police budget but $60-80M seems like a huge amount for the overall budget and for a city our size.
I would like to see police precincts located in every neighborhood, and more patrols throughout the city. People have been shot in Frances Park and Moorse River Drive right next to the Governors' home. If folks knew that there will be police patrols coming by regularly maybe they would think twice about breaking the law or attending one of the instant nighttime gatherings that lead to a lot of trouble in our parks. I am sorry you witness this tragedy in your own neighborhood. Homelessness and crime are branches of the same tree. I think we can find ways to solve these problems starting on the first day someone is born here.