[Southsider2k12]

ichigan City ranked second in the latest cheapest places to live survey by WallStreetCheat.

Key items here. "The BLS data show that average prices paid by consumers for the mix of goods and services consumed in the area are about 15.7 percent below the national average. Sperling’s puts the overall cost of living in Michigan City at 86.7 percent the national average. Median home cost in the city is about 57.8 percent the national average, and the property tax rate is below the national average."

Be ready to be told that this is somehow a good thing. The reality is that it means one thing, there is no demand for people to live in Michigan City. That, my friends, is not a good thing. If there was demand, we wouldn't be below normal in all of those measurements. Think about the towns around us where people demand to live. Where do you think Valpo's median housing cost ranks? Where do you think their tax rates rank?

We need to start changing our long term thinking here, because what we have done historically has not worked.

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/the-8-l...wall&ref=OB

[JFairfield]

Could this have anything to do with Michigan City is a one-party (Democrat) town?

All you have to do is win the Democratic primary, and you have won the general election around here. This results in a plurality winning political offices, not a majority, since there are often more than two candidates in a primary. So, for example, in a primary, if Candidate "A" gets 30% of the vote, Candidate "B" gets 40% of the vote and candidate "C" gets 30% of the vote, Candidate "B" wins, even though 60% of the voters did not want him in office.

But there is nothing that can be done to change this. People get the elected representatives they deserve.

Others say that the cause of the decline is the poor quality of the employment pool in this area. Companies that close altogether may be blamed on the economy. But companies that close here and move to another area can cause one to wonder about the quality of the workforce here. The latest example is Newcomb Printing, who have been around for almost 40 years. They moved from their original location at 9th Street and Michigan Boulevard to Harbert, Michigan. If costs here in Michigan City are so cheap, why did they feel the need to move 18 miles away?