Student loans and home ownership
The story that taking out student loans is a path to pauperdom rather than prosperity dominates the public conversation. One problem: its wrong. As we have covered repeatedly (see here and here) getting a four-year degree, even with student loans, is the best investment one can make. One part of the story about the negative […]
Why Pittsburgh is booming
We have written frequently (most recently here and here) about Pittsburgh as Exhibit A for how so-called Rust Belt regions can return to prosperity. The basic recipe: make the transition from a factory-driven to a knowledge-driven economy largely by retaining and attracting talent. The New York Times––in the Fashion and Style section of all places––provides […]
A decade of change in employment by occupation group
The table below displays changes in employment nationally by the minimum education requirement for occupations as calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor. Its the same database we wrote about in our exploration of the reality of good-paying jobs that do not require a four-year degree. What stands out are the first column and the […]
Accelerating an American caste system
Readers of our latest report know that we very much agree with Robert Putnam’s framing, in his book Our Kids, of the basic economic division in American now being class, where class is increasingly defined by college attainment. That top quartile families––most with at least one adult with a four-year degree or more––are doing well economically. […]
Inferior education for others’ kids
Governor Snyder and State Superintendent Whiston recently announced a major initiative to emphasize occupational training in high school. At the same time the New York Times published an article on the efforts by technology industry billionaires to make coding a foundation skill required for all K-12 students. Both are part of a broader effort by […]
Good-paying occupations that don’t require a four-year degree
We hear a lot about the abundance of good-paying jobs that are available that don’t require a four-year degree. We decided to learn more about those jobs. The data come from the U.S.Department of Labor (USDOL). It does not include those who are self employed. Wages are calculated for full time equivalents. So no matter how […]
Kansas Rs raise taxes, Michigan Ds MIA
Kansas’ Republican dominated state legislature overrode a gubernatorial veto to raise taxes ending Governor Brownback’s failed supply side tax cut experiment. That, as we have explored previously, resulted in an economy lagging the nation and budget shortfalls that required reduced spending on education and other basic services. The Washington Post reports that 18 of the […]
A terrific new report on the Michigan economy
It was an honor to serve as a member of Governor Snyder’s Building the 21st Century Economy Commission. Its report is really worth reading. Thanks in large part to the leadership of Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah, the Commission Chair, and terrific staffing by PwC, the report provides a visionary roadmap of what Michigan […]
How to pay for our policy agenda
Many of our recommendations laid out in our new report, A path to good-paying careers for all Michiganders, involve increasing public investments. Which raises the question, “how do you pay for those essential public investments?” We have long believed, and the data show, that the states and regions with the most prosperous economies––the broadest middle […]
Sharing prosperity with those not participating in the high-wage economy
Most jobs now and in the future will not be high skill. And therefore will not be high paid. That is the fundamental shift that has occurred in our economy over the past several decades. The high-paid, low-education-attainment jobs that were the backbone of Michigan’s mass 20th Century middle class are gone forever. In their […]