GM needs rock climbing engineers
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 foundation skills for all are what we call rock climbing skills, not job-specific skills. The […]
Community colleges need to be redesigned
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 claim where there is more demand than supply. To be effective institutions of better matching […]
Baseball statistics and standardized tests
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 behind the old stats that are ruining the game, the new ones that are running […]
Michigan is a low-prosperity state in a strong economy
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 per capita income––in a strong economy with an even stronger domestic auto industry––is 11 percent […]
The bachelors degree premium detailed
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 Federal Reserve’s 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances which surveyed a nationally representative sample of 6,248 […]
Detroit, Grand Rapids and Minneapolis work earnings
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 job plus net self-employment income. In this post we look at that same data for […]
New data on earnings from work by education attainment
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 most prosperous state. Earnings included in the data are wages and salaries from a job […]
Michigan needs more than fixing the roads
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 infrastructure crumble. But saying you are in favor of fixing the roads is not enough. […]
Time for a new approach for achieving prosperity
From our inception more than a quarter century ago Michigan Future’s focus has been on achieving prosperity for all Michigan households. Recreating a Michigan that is one of the most prosperous places on the planet as we were for most of the 20th Century. In our first-ever state policy agenda we pull together all that […]
Low unemployment is not economic well being
Three New York Times articles lay out the new reality that having a low unemployment rate does not mean that American households are doing well economically. In fact today’s reality is that increasingly the two are disconnected. Lots of people working and struggling to make ends meet. As we wrote in our state economic policy […]