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In Washtenaw County, our personal income went up 5.43 percent in 2012 compared to 2011, according to U.S. Census numbers.
Our unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in August, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor. That number is close to the 6.0 percent recorded a year earlier, but also the lowest among Michigan’s metro areas as the nation still looks for full recovery from the Great Recession. Statewide, the rate was 8.7 percent.
Our per capita income ($32,529) is higher than the state’s. So is our median household income ($59,737), according to the most recent census data.
That doesn’t mean we don’t see need: 14.2 percent of our population – representing mostly children — is below the poverty level, compared to 15.7 percent statewide.
Yet we also are responding to that: We have agencies that report a surplus of volunteers as they head into the holiday. And the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation – which manages about $65 million in assets for ongoing community philanthropy to support our quality of life — has paid $1,441,528 in grants this year through the end of September.
We are part of a community where we seek an active voice in change. We want to improve our systems and we demand accountability. We want to; we also feel like we have to, given the challenges facing school funding that keep pressuring our schools.
We still believe this is a good place to live, even amid challenges.
As our community considers elements of gratitude, The Ann Arbor News also is sharing the aspects of living here that some members of our staff consider reasons for thankfulness.
- I’m thankful for our deep investment in education and the opportunities that exist here – and that people are willing to fight to retain them. — Paula Gardner, editor
- I'm thankful for Ann Arbor's walkability and the creativity of the people who live here. — Kellie Woodhouse, reporter
- I'm thankful to live and work in a community that is so open and diverse. — Melanie Maxwell, photographer
- I'm thankful that Ann Arbor has the perfect balance of green space, water and concrete jam-packed into one tight geographic area. I can live in a charming historic neighborhood with tree-lined streets just outside of downtown and still be a two-minute bike ride or a 10-minute walk to my job and a world-class downtown culture (restaurants, shops, arts, entertainment, night life), and another two or three minutes away from a wide range of riverfront nature/recreational options. I'm also thankful to live in a progressive community that cares about people and has good safety nets in place for the least fortunate. All around thankful for my city! — Ryan Stanton
- I am thankful that we live in a community that cares deeply about itself and its institutions. Even when people are hyper-critical (which does happen on occasion) it is almost always due to the level of investment residents have in their community. — Ben Freed, reporter
- In this community, I find myself being thankful all the time. I can't even tell you how often I hear, 'You're so lucky to live in Ann Arbor.' — Lizzy Alfs, reporterBut automotive leaders are deeply concerned about supplies of EV materials and components.
When President Joe Biden set a goal of having EVs reach 40 to 50% of the U.S. market by 2030 there were plenty of skeptics — but don’t count auto industry execs among them.
GM is investing $35 billion to speed the adoption of EVs, including the soon to be built Hummer EVs.
If anything, electric vehicles will make up just more than half of both the U.S. and Chinese markets by decade’s end, according to a new survey of automotive leaders by consulting firm KPMG.
As recently as 2019, EVs were little more than an asterisk on the U.S. sales charts. But demand began to surge during the first year of the COVID pandemic and, during the first half of 2021, sales of pure battery-electric vehicles alone more than doubled. The pace continues to accelerate heading into 2022.
It helps to have so many new models offering motorists greater options in more market segments. These run the gamut from the relatively short-range Mazda MX-30 SUV to the 520-mile Lucid Air Dream Edition. Two all-electric pickups, the Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer SUT, are taking the technology to commercial and lifestyle buyers. And even more offerings will hit showrooms by the end of 2022 when, TheDetroitBureau.com recently reported, there will be more than 50 BEVs available — about four times more than today.
China is seeing an even more rapid expansion as a broad mix of existing brands, along with a flood of new startups, come to market with new BEVs, as well as plug-in hybrids.
The 1,100 automotive executives in 31 countries who responded to the KPMG survey forecast that electric vehicles will account for 52% of new vehicle sales in the U.S., China and Japan by 2030. Somewhat surprisingly, they predicted demand will be lower, not only in emerging markets like Brazil and India, but also in Europe.
Several other studies have put Europe in the lead for EV adoption, in part due to strict new regulations that are nudging manufacturers to phase out internal combustion engines. Rising fuel prices are also playing a role. Significantly, EVs already account for anywhere from 50% to 70% of demand in Norway. And Great Britain saw its share top 15% in September — UK motorists buying nearly as many EVs that month as they did in all 2019.
There are plenty of obstacles to address in the process of bringing EVs into the mainstream, and the KPMG survey underscores that uncertainty. Those who responded forecast the technology could make up anywhere from 20% to 80% of the Chinese market by 2030.
Many governments are taking a carrot and stick approach to promoting EVs. Along with new emissions and fuel efficiency regulations, they’re providing both industry and consumer incentives. The U.S. Congress currently is considering a measure that would increase tax credits for EV buyers from $7,500 today to as much as $12,500.
While 91% of the industry leaders were supportive of sales incentives, the KPMG study also found 77% of the executives confident EVs will reach mass adoption without such givebacks.
Not everyone is as certain. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares told Reuters he worries EVs will be limited primarily to the wealthy because they cost substantially more to produce than vehicles with internal combustion engines.
But other senior leaders see light at the end of that tunnel. During an online briefing this week, Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said the automaker hopes to bring the price of batteries down to as little as $65 per kilowatt-hour as production ramps up. Most manufacturers are paying between $100 and $150 per kWh today. The difference would add up to as much as $8,500 in a long-range model with a 100 kilowatt-hour pack. Nissan aims to cut the cost of other EV components, as well, with its future models reaching “parity” with gas-powered vehicles before the end of the decade.
And Nissan isn’t alone. General Motors CEO Mary Barra recently forecast that GM revenues will double as it switches to EVs, while margins will push into double-digits. And the KPMG survey found 53% of the respondents “extremely” or “somewhat confident” the industry will achieve profitable growth during the next five years. Nine percent were neutral, with 38% raising various levels of concern. Execs in the U.S. were the most optimistic, those in France the most pessimistic.
The leadership survey found industry leaders expect to see other changes sweep through the auto industry by 2030, including “a lot of M&A” activity, according to Silberg. Seventy-five percent of those who responded anticipate their companies will sell off non-core operations.
In light of the ongoing semiconductor shortages, the study did sound a note of alarm about the switch to EVs: the challenge of preventing future supply chain disruptions. Fully 95% of those responding to KPMG said they had some level of concern about “supply continuity” for lithium and other battery components, while 96% are worried about semiconductor supplies going forward. Even when it comes to more conventional materials like steel, aluminum and copper, only 6% of the executives said they were not concerned.1. The liturgical feast of Christ the King will be celebrated this year on Sunday, 24th November. The Diocesan celebration will start at 5.00 pm with a procession from the monument of Christ the King, Floriana, to St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta, where vespers will be said. This celebration will be led by the Archbishop Mons Charles J. Scicluna, who will also speak on this important