guatadopt

He did acknowledge that Medina was left out...expect a retraction tomorrow. Other than that, he really didn't say. Speaking of Cleveland development, did anyone see this? The hotel industry is banking on a Cleveland comeback. http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2008_3rd/Sept08_ClevelandOverview.html

I'm a loser and I calculate it myself. For a more official version, the Cleveland Fed publishes numbers for Ohio, PA and Kentucky regions. I emailed the PD guy back and forth...nice guy, actually. He seemed genuinely interested in the regional deflators and even asked where he could get more info.

The other problem is that the BEA uses national inflation rates for the Metro GDP, which is misleading. For example, it has Cincinnati at -0.4% and #320 on the list. How could an area of faster growth than Cleveland be lower than Cleveland? Simple. Inflation was much lower in Cincinnati during that time than it was in the rest of the nation. It was lower in Cleveland as well. Using local inflation rates, Cincinnati and Cleveland saw gains in economic activity. IN fact, Atlanta (known as a hot spot although they have employment problems recently) saew a decrease in GDP when using metro inflation rates. Never mess with an economist!

The PLain Dealer was wrong. I wrote a letter to Mr Breckenridge: Mr. Breckenridge, I am afraid that the article posted today in the business section reported incorrect information. According to the BEA (which was cited in the article), the Cleveland Metro economy actually grew 3% from 2005 to 2006. Apparently, the number you quoted neglected Medina county, which is in the Cleveland MSA. I attached a link for you to review. If you select 2005 and 2006, you will see that our economy grew from about 98 billion in 2005 to nearly 101 billion in 2006. As someone who is deeply rooted in Cleveland and is working hard to change the perception of the people living here, I believe that this creates more negative press and really adds to the population loss. To me, this is a serious error. I believe a new article would be appropriate. Thanks for your time and consideration.

There are so many that I've given up trying to reason with those idiots. How about "It should be a crime to raise your children within the limits of the city of Cleveland"

Yea, Akron! I'm in Cleveland, but love hearing good news from Akron. :-D

Mayday...exactly! Although, thinking about it, I would prefer the tax credit to be target toward in-demand fields. But this is a good start.

It's about time someone in Columbus sponsored this. We need to have this expedited. COLUMBUS -- The youngest members of the Ohio legislature have proposed a tax credit they hope will reverse the trend of college-educated young people fleeing the Buckeye State for jobs elsewhere. Under the legislation, college graduates who pledge to live in Ohio would earn a nonrefundable state income tax credit of up to $3,000 per year for up to 10 years. The idea was hatched Wednesday at a Statehouse news conference thrown by Rep. Josh Mandel, a 30-year-old Lyndhurst Republican, and Rep. Jay Goyal, a 27-year-old Mansfield Democrat. "We think this is a bold initiative to change and reverse the exodus of young people from the state," Mandel said. "This will help the businesses here in Ohio have a strong and talented work force that will compete globally." http://blog.cleveland.com/plaindealer/2008/08/legislators_propose_tax_credit.html

Gotribe...historical, that's not the case. There is not nearly the jump in November as in the Summer...but that's neither here nor there. I think the article touched on some important points. One thing I find interesting is that when Cleveland, Minneapolis, Detroit, Pittsburgh, etc. were experiencing the foreclosure crisis 3 years ago, nobody really cared. Now all of a sudden, everyone needs a bailout.

Right...that's the city rate. If you include Akron (Summit and Portgage) the unemployment rate is somewhat lower. We have to realize, though that unemployment spikes occur during the summer months as teenagers enter the workforce. I would expect this to go down in the coming months.

I thought this was a good article. I like the last part: Starting in the 1990s, Cleveland began turning around its reputation with the opening of new sports stadiums and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum downtown. The area's financial services industry also grew and attained national prominence with firms such as National City, KeyCorp and insurer Progressive Corp. Manufacturing also rebounded as the weak dollar boosted demand for products produced in the area, DeKaser said. Real Revival George and Bridget Richard are first-time buyers who want to stay in the Cleveland area and are being enticed by newly affordable prices. After looking for more than a year, they're now considering placing an offer on a three-bedroom, three-bath house in North Ridgeville, a suburb of Cleveland. A few months ago the asking price for the light-blue house, built in 1986, was $213,000. Now it's $189,000. The couple, who are high-school sweethearts, are expecting their first child. ``I'd like to take advantage of the market while it's low, go in, buy a house and just watch the market rise over the next number of years,'' Bridget Richard, 34, a child psychotherapist, said in an interview in the couple's apartment in Strongsville, Ohio. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aguztSyYWfCg&refer=home

Thanks for the welcome MyTwoSense. I wonder if the county could challenge the population. Cleveland has one of the fastest growing downtowns in the country. How could the county have lost that many people while downtown, Strongsville, North Royalton, etc. have gained people? Doesn't make sense. Although, I think the bigger issue is why...and that has to do with stagnant leadership.

That's a very misleading title and story in general. In pure numbers, it may look like the county lost Katrina-like population. However, Cuyahoga is one of the largest counties in the US. As a percentage of population, it does not rival Katrina counties. Also, the whole region lost less than 1% of its population. That's not good, but it is not as dramatic as this story makes it seem.