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Readers of this blog know that at Michigan Future we believe the mission of economic policy should be income based, not employment or economic growth based. The reality is you do not have a good economy––no mater how low the unemployment rate or how high the economic growth rate or stock market––when 43 percent of Michigan households cannot pay for…

We provided participants in our education redesign conference, Outsmarting the Robots with a list of recommended reading, podcast and video. We wanted to share those recommendations more broadly. The list was assembled to include media we found interesting about the nature of work, today and tomorrow, as well as the kind of education/youth development that all kids will need to…

Let's start the new year with the big picture. An overview of the structural economic challenges Michigan faces if we are to have an economy that as it grows benefits all. Redefining economic success. First is understanding that even though Michigan has a historically low unemployment rate and corporate Michigan is doing well (as are those of us who have…

In a must-read New York Times article entitled Finland is a Capitalist Paradise, Anu Partanen and Trevor Corson describe a path for America to become a place with a capitalism that results in shared prosperity. Finland has rejected the notion that you have to choose one or the other. As described by Partanen and Corson the results are, almost certainly,…

When its comes to wages and benefits Michigan used to be among the top states. No more. The state has fallen from 8th in 1990 to 21st in 2018. Michigan has gone from $3,743 above the nation on average compensation to $4,416 below in inflation adjusted dollars. The table at the end of this post displays average compensation for the…