I sat at Monday’s school board meeting, covering it just like every other meeting I’ve ever been to. I try not to care, too much, about anything that’s being said. I’ve found that when I get emotionally involved in what’s being said, it becomes more difficult to hear what’s being said and much easier to hear what you want to be said.
A visual presentation by district chief financial officer Dan Garno brought me to life, a little bit. Garno was providing pretext for the budget and this particular segment highlighted the loss of jobs in Michigan and the rest of the country. In this presentation, a green dot signified job growth and a red dot the opposite. The more jobs or job loss, the bigger the dot.
Early in the presentation, there were lots of little green dots on the map. Except for, it seemed, in the Gulf coast area, where a giant red dot began growing on the screen (Hurricane Katrina?) As the chronological presentation continued, a red dot began hovering over Michigan. The dot kept growing. Soon other dots appeared all over the rust belt. Then on the west coast. As the map moved towards today’s economic picture, the entire country was covered in growing red dots. It looked like blood splatters soaking through a white t-shirt. It was a vivid presentation of the violence the economy has wrought on this state.
