Tax policy that is anti talent development
Most of the analysis of the proposed sweeping changes to the nation’s tax system have focused on who wins and who loses. Companies vs. individuals. The rich vs. the middle class vs. low income households. This, of course, matters enormously. But in this post I want to focus on a different set of winners and […]
Declining blue-collar employment 2006-2026
The basic change in the economy we have been documenting for more than two decades is the transition from a factory-based to a knowledge-based economy. More broadly from a goods-producing to a service-providing economy. One where good-paying jobs are now concentrated in knowledge-based services. The new 2016-2026 employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics […]
Only high school required dominates new job projections
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) just released their job projections for 2016-2026. The Atlantic did a good overview article of the data entitled Why Nerds and Nurses are Taking Over the U.S. Economy. The BLS also did a summary analysis of the data. Both are worth checking out. What I want to focus on […]
Shared prosperity books to read
In my last post I recommended three books and a video on education and placemaking. In this post we look at three books worth reading on shared prosperity. Education, placemaking and shared prosperity being the three state policy levers we identified in our new agenda that matter most to achieving the goal of rising household […]
Worth reading and watching
I keep intending to do a post on what I am reading. But there turns out to be too much interesting to write about and I never get around to it. There are three books I have read recently that I highly recommend. And one YouTube video to watch. Two books on education, one on […]
Tax cuts not the answer to the Great Decoupling
In our first ever state policy agenda we identify dealing with the Great Decoupling as the preeminent economic challenge of our times. Figuring out how everyone benefits from a growing economy, rather than just those at the top. In the report we make the case that cutting taxes is not the way to combat the […]
Our shared prosperity state policy recommendations
As we explored in my last post Michigan structurally has too many low-paid jobs. About half of Michigan jobs pay less than $15 an hour. Add to that lots of part-time jobs and more and more contingent jobs. That leads to the Michigan Association of United Way’s ALICE report results that 40 percent of Michigan households […]
Too much low-paid work
A recent Washington Post article was entitled Half the jobs in America pay less than $18 an hour. Can Trump help? The consequence of way too many lower paid jobs––as well as too many working in part-time jobs––is you get lots of working American households who cannot afford to pay the bills, save for their retirement and […]
Liberal arts lead to good-paying careers
George Anders new book, You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a “Useless” Liberal Arts Education, is worth reading. The book tells the story of how liberal arts majors––no matter what the conventional wisdom––are putting together successful forty-year careers. Anders mainly explores the path of well-paid, highly-successful liberal arts majors most working for technology-based […]
Not all kids are being pushed to get a four-year degree
Conventional wisdom is that one of the main culprits in the so-called skill shortage is that all Michigan kids are being pushed to get a four-year degree. I am quite skeptical that that is accurate. (See this New York Times article about college counseling at a Topeka, Kansas high school for what is a far […]