An important book
The focus of our work at Michigan Future is how to restore Michigan to high prosperity––a place with a broad middle class––in an economy that is being transformed by globalization and technology. What has been clear to us since we started doing this work in the early nineties is that what made us prosperous in […]
More than a test score
Another great piece from Paul Tough. This time a New York Times magazine article entitled “Who gets to graduate?” Its about what matters most to graduating from college. The answer isn’t your ACT or SAT score. Tough is the author of two terrific books on education success, particularly by poor kids. Whatever It Takes (about […]
A must read report
Doug Drake has authored a must read report on the role lower taxes has played in shaping the Michigan economy over the last two decades. It’s entitled: Michigan’s Tax Policies: Wrong Turns on the Path to Prosperity. You can download the report here. The report details two decades of tax cuts from 1994 to 2012. The costs […]
Michigan and Minnesota taxes
We are working on our next report. A case study of Minnesota’s economic growth policies. With an emphasis on tax and spending policy. These, of course, are the policy levers widely considered to influence state economic outcomes the most. In doing the work the question arose “how to measure tax burden?” The answer effects the comparison […]
The New Path to Prosperity: Lessons for Michigan From Two Decades of Economic Change
Michigan Future’s 2013 report examining how Michigan can return to prosperity reviews the changing patterns of employment and private sector income from 1990 to 2011 in the United States, Michigan and Minnesota. The lesson Michigan needs to learn is clear: The places that are doing best today and almost certainly will do the best in the […]
College pays updated
The Bureau of Labor Statistics each year publishes a chart that details the unemployment rate and median weekly earnings by education attainment for those 25 and older. The data for 2103 is below. Each time I look at the new data the question that comes to mind is “how can the data be […]
Be like Mississippi
In a recent report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation Michigan has the third-lowest score for the overall well-being of black children, only slightly better than Mississippi and Wisconsin. Horrible! In a Bridge column W.K. Kellogg Foundation CEO La June Montgomery Tabron writes: The study is a wakeup call for us all and should serve as motivation […]
Watch this
This is going to be one of my shortest posts, although it might take the most of your time. Its worth it. Here is the link to a video of a session at the recent Urban Land Institute conference. The session’s title is You get what you pay for. ULI describes the session this way: […]
Lou’s Alma College commencement speech
Lou delivered the commencement address to the 2014 graduates of Alma College. The speech focused on the job market the graduates are likely to face over the course of a forty year career. Making the case that the four year degree the graduates have earned is the most reliable path to a good paying career. […]
The futility of resisting new realities
Policy makers on a bi-partisan basis continue to try to recreate the economy of the past. Lets start with the basic facts from our latest report: The New Path to Prosperity: Lessons for Michigan From Two Decades of Economic Change. The chart below summarizes job growth in America from 1990 – 2011. As you can […]