Weren't we to get away from an automotive based economy?

I mean nothing by this post other than a sharp jab at Mitch Daniels and his economic plans for Indiana. The Indianapolis Business Journal wrote about this yesterday. Seems some bright boys went to work with their computers.

Indiana has been in recession since late last year but is on a trajectory to climb out this fall, according to Moody's Economy.com, a national forecasting company.

A computer model based on employment and industrial production also shows that the manufacturing-intensive metro areas of Anderson, Muncie, Elkhart and Michigan City are in recession, Economy.com said. Indianapolis is in an expansion mode.

Indiana's woes trace to Detroit automakers, which are retrenching in the face of competition from foreign companies by laying off workers and closing factories. Their suppliers, including Delphi Corp. and Visteon Corp. have responded with their own rounds of layoffs and closings.

"Overall, the state is being heavily influenced by the downturn in manufacturing," said Economy.com associate economist Arnold Slesers. "Right now the outlook doesn't look good for manufacturing."

The article goes on for a bit more and is worth reading in full. All I suggest a quick tour from Kokomo to Marion to Anderson to Muncie to Richmond would have told you the same thing.

I always thought that Mitch Daniels stole from Frank O'Bannon the idea that Indiana needed to move from a low tech manufacturing to a high tech state. Daniels has not been able to sell this idea. He knows how to sell things but leadership requires more than being a tolerable auctioneer.

It is past time that Indiana could rely on the automotive industry to pay the bills. Surely it is also past time for us to accept any political leader who even hints that manufacturing will solve our economic problems.

Which brings up another IBJ article with the wonderful headline of 'Devastating' stretch awaits auto suppliers.