Originally published in the Grand Rapids Business Journal, September 26, 2005.

I draw these comics for a business newspaper in Michigan, so it only makes sense that I should hit on Michigan business topics at least every once in a while. Sometimes it just ain't all that appealing. Nothing sexy about Michigan business. We manufacture things. Grind them out. Set up the assembly line and work until the shift if over. Get your paycheck and come back next week to do it again.

Well, actually, it's not so much like that anymore. Those were the good ol' days. Now it can be just as monotonous, but you also get to lose money doing it. What's the old joke -- a farmer wins the lottery and a reporter asks him what he plans to do with the money. The farmer says, "I guess I'll just keep farming till the money runs out." It's kind of like that for Michigan manufacturers these days.

That, of course, is very much the negative view. There are new and existing manufacturers that are doing quite well. But it's not easy. (What is?) So this week's comic is kind of a recognition of the circumstances and the efforts required to make a go of it these days.