Still addicted to tax cuts
In a previous post I explored the nearly two decade bipartisan addiction Michigan policy makers have to cutting taxes. The latest evidence of the continuation of the addiction is the near unanimous vote by both houses of the Michigan legislature to impose the sales tax on the difference between the sale price and trade in […]
Manufacturing a liability?
Michigan political leaders, on a bi-partisan basis, have made manufacturing the lynchpin of their plans for restoring Michigan to prosperity. No question manufacturing––high paid factory jobs––was the key ingredient to Michigan being one of the most prosperous places on the planet for most of the Twentieth Century. The question is “can it be the driver […]
Best practice education policy
For decades there has been widespread concern on a bi-partisan basis about how lousy American kids perform on international math and science tests. Those test results have been the basis for much of the critique of American public k-12 education. There is real concern that the lack of math and science competency is a real […]
Michigan’s recovery in context
In my Detroit Free Press op ed comparing the Michigan economy during Governor Blanchard’s first term to the Michigan economy so far under Governor Snyder I wrote mainly about metrics other than the unemployment rate. As I have written previously we don’t think it is a great barometer of economic well being. But it is […]
Minnesota and Michigan II
Don Grimes and I are putting the finishing touches on our new report. The topic is the transformation of the American economy over two decades: from 1990 to 2011. Taking that long term view reveals patterns clearly. And the differences that Minnesota and Michigan have traveled is both stark and revealing of what we have […]
Michigan is a low wage state updated
As we explored previously Michigan is now a low wage state. What a turnaround! From Henry Ford’s $5 a day wage in 1914 Michigan was the place where if you were willing to work hard you could earning a living and realize the American Dream. No more. Two new studies provide more evidence on the […]
Michigan Future Schools Announces Four New School Openings in Detroit
Michigan Future Schools (MFS), an initiative of Michigan Future Inc., a non-partisan, economy-focused think tank based in Ann Arbor, announced that four new Detroit high schools it has invested in opened this fall, joining three others previously launched with investments from Michigan Future Schools. The four new schools are: Detroit Leadership Academy High School (YMCA) […]
Minnesota and Michigan
Not good news for Michigan. The unemployment rate is going up again. Up to 9.0% in August from a post recession low of 8.4% in both April and May 2013. This turn for the worse, comes with the huge Snyder business tax cuts in effect. You know the ones that were supposed to drive Michigan’s […]
21st Century central cities
In our 2006 A New Agenda for a New Michigan we wrote: “For many Michiganians, vibrant central cities are part of the past. No longer relevant or just something you visit in unique places like Manhattan, Toronto or Chicago. Think again! They are an important ingredient to future economic success. The pattern across the country […]
Student loans: a good investment
Conventional wisdom is that college educated Millennials are being crushed by student loans. A burden that will weigh them down economically for a lifetime. Its nonsense. Using data from The Ladders.com, Business Insider demonstrates the value of a four year degree or more, even if it includes student loans. They conclude: “Student loan debt is […]