As we all now know Amazon picked New York City and the northern Virginia inner ring suburbs of Washington D.C. for their HQ2. Both characterized by high concentrations of those with four-year degrees or more and extensive transit systems. As we…
Recent bond reports from Moody's on Ford and the city of Detroit should be setting off alarm bells. Both reports paint a picture of the Michigan economy far different that the celebratory tone of most Michigan policy makers and business…
A recent Detroit Free Press article entitled GM's job cuts shift to a new kind of worker needed is worth checking out. It is a pretty dramatic example of the reality that––even for those with STEM degrees (in this case engineers)––the…
At least rhetorically––not so much when it comes to funding––there is a lot of support on a bi-partisan basis for community colleges. They are seen as critical to preparing workers for the skilled trades and other mid-skill jobs. Occupations employers…
After reading the title of this post, I'm sure many of you are asking "What does baseball statistics have to do with standardized tests?" The subtitle of Keith Law's book Smart Baseball provides a clue to the answer: The story…
2017 per capita income data for states has been published. What the data make clear for Michigan is that we are now structurally a low-prosperity state. No matter whether the state's and the nation's economy is growing or declining Michigan's…
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis' report The Financial Returns from College across Generations: Large but Unequal details the bachelors degree premium irrespective of race or parents education. And that premium is substantial for all. The data come from…
In our last post we explored 2017 American Community Survey data on median earnings from work of those 25 and older who worked for the nation, Michigan, and Minnesota. Earnings included in the data are wages and salaries from a…
The recently released 2017 American Community Survey provides data on median earnings from work of those 25 and older who worked. The table at the end of this post presents that data for the nation, Michigan, and Minnesota--the Great Lakes…
If there is one issue that both Michigan candidates for governor seem to agree on it is that fixing the roads is a top priority. Good news in a state that for a decade or more let its 20th Century…