Automation and careers
Readers of this blog know I worry a lot about how we are preparing our kids for the economy of the past, not the economy they will live in. Its not just the kind of work we want other people’s kids (not ours) to prepare for (either STEM or skilled trades) but also what we […]
David Cameron on education
British Prime Minister David Cameron’s Life Chances speech which we highlighted in our last post includes recommendations on education. Cameron, once again, lays out an approach outside the mainstream at least here in Michigan and the U.S. He calls for a broad, rigorous liberal arts education for all children, not just the children of the […]
A speech worth reading
Terrific speech by British Prime Minister David Cameron on poverty. You can read/view it here. Highly recommended! Cameron––who heads the Conservative Party––lays out a comprehensive strategy for improving the life chances of those growing up in poverty. That involves an active government in both the economic and social challenges that the poor face. Cameron starts […]
Low performing Detroit charters continued
There continues to be a widespread belief that low student achievement in places like Detroit have little to do with the quality of the schools. So holding charter schools in Detroit accountable for high standards is asking for something that is not achievable. Basically the story line is that urban kids bring too many deficits […]
What skilled trades jobs actually pay
THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED. YOU CAN FIND THE UPDATE HERE. As readers of this blog know I have been skeptical of the claims about lots of high paying skilled trades jobs going unfilled. And critical of the push by far too many elites to convince other people’s kids (not theirs) that they should forgo […]
GE to Boston, ConAgra to Chicago
For years we have used the following quote from Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes magazine, to describe what increasingly drives state and local economic growth: “Best place to make a future Forbes 400 fortune? Start with this proposition: The most valuable natural resource in the 21st century is brains. Smart people tend to be mobile. […]
Stagnant manufacturing employment
Good news in the latest report on employment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2015 saw the most net new jobs since the boom of the late 1990s. 2.65 million jobs were added in 2015. Of those 35,000 were in manufacturing. You read that right: manufacturing contributed less than one tenth of one percent of […]
Low performing Detroit charter schools
Nearly four years ago I wrote a post entitled Unlimited charters: not smart. Using data for charter schools serving Detroit students––then and now the epicenter of charters in Michigan––it made the case that the charter sector had not earned the right to charter an unlimited number of new schools. Student achievement was too low. Two […]
New report: lessons learned
Our latest report identified a clear path to prosperity for states and metropolitan area in an economy shaped by globalization and technology. The only exceptions to the pattern are those few who have been benefiting from high energy prices (like North Dakota). In the midst of an auto boom, Michigan in 2014 is 35th in […]
What about Up North?
Recently I have been receiving lots of questions about how to improve the economy in northern lower peninsula Michigan. To be honest, we don’t have good answers. Across the country, in rural areas/small towns––except for those with lots of high priced energy related commodities––incomes and college attainment are low and populations, by and large, are stagnant, […]