College attainment and prosperity
At Michigan Future our goal for the state is high prosperity. A place, once again, with a broad middle class. A status we enjoyed for most of the 20th Century. But now have lost. Prosperity is best measured by per capita income. What we have found is that with the exception of a few states […]
On the wrong track: Michigan education policy
Two new reports make clear again that Michigan is on the wrong track when it comes to education policy. Both k-12 and higher education. Given the increased alignment between education attainment and state economic prosperity, getting education policy right should be an economic growth priority. As reported by DBusiness a new study from Demos ranks […]
43rd and falling?
As we explored in my last post on the best measure of employment––the proportion of those 16 and older with a job–-in 2013 Michigan ranked 43rd. Clearly not something to celebrate. To make matters worse there is a good chance that things will get worse, not better. Take for example the future job growth projections […]
Oh boy we are 43rd
Listening to the press, Lansing elected officials and Michigan business leaders one gets the sense that Michigan has one of––if not the––best state economy. Yes Michigan’s economy is better than it was in the depth of the Great Recession in 2009. And since 2009 on most economic metrics we have grown faster than the country. […]
Go to college II
At about the same time that Google Chairman Eric Schmidt was saying “Go to college. I can’t be any clearer.”, the Grand Rapids Business Journal reported that Governor Snyder at an economic summit he hosted in Grand Rapids said: “Michigan education is “too often focused on a diploma or a degree,” he said, “and not […]
“Go to college”
So says Google’s Chairman Eric Schmidt in a speech at SXSW. Schmidt said: “If all you care about is money, you should go to college. If all you care about is culture and creativity, you should go to college. If all you care about is having fun, you should go to college. Go to college. I […]
21st Century jobs policy
Jobs is the area where our vision of future success and the policies we are pursuing to realize that vision are most stuck in the past. Both across the country, and even more so here in Michigan. MIT’s Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee are doing the cutting edge work on the implications of smarter and […]
California growing
I wrote a post in November 2009 entitled “California Ascendant?” Using a Time Magazine article on the future of California as a jumping off point, I wrote that California was not as conventional wisdom had it then (and now) a state in irreversible decline, rather it was a state that likely would be a national […]
Lansing and General Motors
Good news! General Motors is expanding its manufacturing presence in metro Lansing. As the Lansing State Journal reports: “General Motors Co. will bring more jobs to Lansing with plans to build a $162 million stamping plant here, the latest investment the carmaker is pumping into its mid-Michigan factories. Local economic development officials Thursday said the Detroit […]
Welcoming matters
Terrific Bridge article by Chris Andrews on the importance of being welcoming. Highly recommended! Its entitled “Are Michigan’s restrictions on gay and abortion rights holding state back?” Andrews writes: “A number of experts on economic and community development say Michigan policies on gay rights and women’s access to abortion are creating barriers to growth and […]