Extracurriculars as schooling
Imagine extracurriculars being school. That is the theme of a fascinating and important New York Times column by Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine entitled High School Doesn’t Have to Be Boring. (Mehta is an associate professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Fine runs a teacher preparation program at the High Tech High Graduate […]
The huge BA earnings premium for 25-34 year olds
The story we are told over and over again is for today’s students getting a four-year degree is no longer a good value for many. It may have been for their parents’ generation, but no more. Everything from student loans college graduates can’t afford because of low salaries; to employers getting smart and now hiring […]
More Michigan households unable to pay for necessities
The Michigan Association of United Ways reports that in 2017 43 percent of Michigan households were unable to pay for necessities. Up six percent from 2010 when the Michigan economy was just starting to grow after the Great Recession. How can that be? In an economy that President Trump calls the best American economy ever […]
A bold new Michigan playbook
Wow! Governor Whitmer’s first budget is a bold new playbook for improving the quality of life and standard of living of Michiganders. At its core it rejects the notion that the lever that matters most to improving the well being of Michiganders is low taxes. That low taxes––combined with minimal regulation––will attract employers who will […]
Michigan 2019: the state of the state
Terrific assessment of Michigan 2019 by Chad Livengood for Crain’s Detroit Business. (I did a podcast with Chad that accompanies the article.) He writes: There are potholes in Michigan — and not just in the roads. Potholes in household income. Potholes in the percentage of working adults. Potholes in student achievement and funding for K-12 […]
What we mean by career rock climbers
Governor Whitmer’s first State of the State address marks a major turning point in the state’s approach to improving the well being of Michiganders. One now public investment driven. After nearly three decades of disinvesting in education and infrastructure in favor of lower taxes, Governor Whitmer made the case that Michiganders have paid a high […]
Michigan is a low-prosperity state detailed
For the first time ever Michigan is a low-prosperity state with a strong domestic auto industry. The recovery from the Great Recession has produced lots of jobs. Which is good news indeed. But in terms of the economic well-being of Michigan households the news is not as good. From 1929––the year the federal government started […]
Foxconn, General Motors and business tax breaks
First came news about Foxconn not building a 13,000 employee manufacturing plant in Wisconsin. Then the next day came stories that they were going to continue with plans to build the manufacturing facility. Who know what will finally happen. What is clear is that if they build a plant it will not be the one […]
The growing BA household income premium
We continue to be constantly barraged with messages that for many not pursuing a four-year degree is the best course of action. Some version of if you don’t get a BA in a STEM field you are at high risk of being crushed by student loans and unable to realize the American Dream. It’s nonsense! […]
Marco Rubio and restoring the American Dream
In a previous post we quoted Republican United States Senator Marco Rubio on the need for an American economy that provides more middle class jobs. In an article for the Atlantic Rubio entitled America Needs to Restore Dignity of Work, Rubio writes: There was once a path to a stable and prosperous life in America […]