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Michigan Governor Wants 'Open Source' Economic Model

Posted by timothy on from the for-some-values-of-open-source dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Incoming Michigan governor Rick Synder spoke in Kalamazoo, MI today and says he wants to use an 'open-source economic development model' to help repair the battered down state. Perhaps during his time as president of Gateway he saw a benefit to the open source model, but can it really be successfully applied as an economic model?"

4 of 237 comments (clear)

  1. The Real Title: Kalamazoo by dch24 · · Score: 1, Informative

    I know editors don't actually Read the Fine Article, but this one is about Kalamazoo. Only later does he mention "Open Source".

  2. Re:What he means by dch24 · · Score: 4, Informative
    From the article:

    Snyder mentioned a concept called "open-source economic development." He said the state is going to look at every region and see which area is the best at a certain practice and ask if the community is willing to share it with the rest of the state.

    Applying best practices around the state is not about getting credit but rather uplifting the state for all, Snyder said.

  3. Not Open Source, but Constitutional Model by iinventstuff · · Score: 3, Informative

    Open source has a lot of excellent qualities, but applying it to finance may not be good. What is needed is a "Constitutional" model whereby all the rules are known in advance, solidified, and very difficult to change. This will keep opportunists from changing the rules to help them gain, financially. Even if all the rules are not perfect, being able to plan on them creates an environment of stability. The US financial model is not as stable as it was, because those unwilling to make difficult calls have chosen to simply print more money as a way of masking the problem and hoping it will go away. Now, business is trying to keep up with these non-sensical debt fetishes by the Fed decision makers. When we can get our leaders to calm down, survey the situation, and make slow and calculated changes according to established norms, then things will get better. If the Michigan Gov wants to make things better, then it is best to *not* try an use all the power that the office allows; rather restraint is more prudent.

  4. Re:What he means by Ynot_82 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've mentioned this before
    http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1377061&cid=29499823

    But I've seen the phrase "open source" used all over the place by non-tech people
    Particularly when they want to express the idea of a transparent process, one that's open (to debate and democratic reform)