The Detroit News recently published an op ed I co-authored with Sandy Baruah, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber, and David Meador, vice chairman and chief administrative officer of DTE Energy. All three of us are also co-authors of the Rising Income For All call to action.
Our News op ed makes the case for a market economy that as it grows benefits all. We make the case that capitalism is the economic system that produces the best economic outcomes. But for decades the market economy has been leaving too many behind.
Our message is quite similar to the ideas we explored in a series of posts on reforming capitalism. In those posts we wrote about the need for a capitalism that broadly shares prosperity as expressed by Ray Dalio, the Niskanen Center, Nick Hanauer, Tom Wilson and Mark Benioff.
In our op ed Sandy, Dave and I conclude with:
This is a prime economic challenge of our times: having an economy that provides family-sustaining jobs –– not just any job –– so that all working Michigan households can raise a family and pass on a better opportunity to their children. To accomplish that, we need state and regional economic development, community development, housing and workforce development policies and programs that lead to an economy that both grows and benefits all.
… We can –– and should –– debate how to achieve an economy that as it grows benefits all. What we should not do is ignore that our economy is leaving too many behind. The first step in solving this problem is to recognize that there is problem. The second step is to expand the metric of our economy’s success beyond the unemployment rate. It must also include a focus on a rising household income for all.
For Michigan to succeed, Michigan’s families need to succeed. Today, 43% of our families are not succeeding and if they are not succeeding, our state is not succeeding.
