Really Not Picking Winners
Governor Snyder in his State of the State address announced the state would no longer pick winners and losers. The way he proposed to implement that was by expanding eligibility for subsidies from the state’s Twenty First Century Jobs Fund to all industries rather than just a few pre-selected industries. It’s a curious way to […]
Not the South
What is most disturbing about the “we should be like the South” mantra is that, by and large, these are the lowest education attainment states in the country. Most of those who advocate becoming like the South also say that Michigan can’t be successful unless we substantially increase the proportion of our adults with post […]
State of the State
Thanks to the folks at Crain’s Detroit Business for publishing my reaction to Governor Snyder’s first State of the State address. You can find it here. Lots of good ideas/priorities in the speech – some quite courageous – but there always is the question of how do you make the numbers add up. Can you […]
High School Struggles
MDRC has done a comprehensive evaluation of New York City’s new small high schools. I think the findings are quite important. Mainly because NYC under Joel Klein – who recently left as school chief – is considered to be the best and most comprehensive of the school reform efforts in central cities across the country. Basically […]
A list you want to be on
Fascinating article on Yahoo Finance on the states with the highest proportion of households with incomes of $200,000 or more. There are now 4.5 million households in the country who earn more than $200,000, 3.8% of the population. The top 15 states with the highest percent of households with income above $200,000 in order: DC, Connecticut, […]
Two Steps in the Right Direction
Governor Granholm and the lame duck legislature in December enacted an important change in Michigan transportation policy. They are to be commended. The new policy, which goes by the name complete streets, finally takes away the long standing policy that the preeminent mode of transportation is driving. Now transportation officials must consider pedestrians, bicyclists and […]
Not Texas
The state we are probably lectured about the most as a model for how Michigan state government should work like is Texas. The story goes they are a low tax/low spending/weak union state and therefore has a strong economy. Think again! Turns out they have one of the largest state budget deficits in the country. […]
Shopping for schools
At its core Michigan Future Schools and the broader Excellent Schools Detroit are designed to use the market place to reform schooling for Detroit children. State policy makes markets a viable reform strategy because, by and large, school funding follows the student. Whichever school a student enrolls in receives the state foundation grant plus in […]
Engines of Prosperity?
Quite predictably the release of the 2010 Census was accompanied by a chorus of Michigan needs to be like the South admonitions. It happens with nearly every new release of economic and demographic statistics or rankings. But once again the data doesn’t square with the argument that the South is winning. Obviously it all depends […]
Politics vs. Economics II
My big picture take on the recent elections: Those doing well in the transition to a knowledge-based economy and minorities voted D. Those doing poorly in the transition and owners and top management of companies voted R. An over simplification obviously. But look at the election results maps and you find a strong pattern that central […]