A Michigan urban agenda
All of sudden their seems to be a renewed interest in developing an urban agenda for Michigan. If this is more than just talk that would be very good news. Having vital central cities that anchor big metropolitan areas is a core characteristic of the most prosperous states––particularly those with high private sector employment earnings […]
What we do
Don Grimes and I are just putting the finishing touches on our annual report on the Michigan economy. It will be out in mid September. The genesis of these reports is the publication in 2006 of Michigan Future’s A New Agenda for a New Michigan. Which lays out our vision for a prosperous Michigan and our […]
Lessons from the Blanchard Administration
In an earlier post we quoted Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum from their book That Used to Be Us on tax and spending policy. They wrote: … the purpose of the exercise: It is not simply to reduce the deficit but to insure prosperity. Solvency is vital, but it is not enough. To uphold American […]
The increasing value of a college degree
There is growing chorus of policy makers and pundits questioning the value of a college degree. In their telling we have too many, not too few, college graduates. Don’t believe it! A new study, The College Advantage: Weathering the Economic Storm, from the the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University, provides the […]
More Jim Blanchard, taxes and jobs
As a follow up to my previous post on Governor Blanchard’s record of both raising taxes and a job creator, Don Grimes sent me an analysis of job growth in Michigan compared to the US and the state income tax rates during the full terms of Governors Romney, Milliken, Blanchard, Engler and Granholm and the […]
Jim Blanchard, taxes and jobs
As many of you know I worked for Governor Blanchard, I thought then – and even more so now – he was real good for the people of Michigan. His administration was about one thing: jobs. His record is exemplary. What follows are the facts on the economic results during his eight years in office […]
Optimistic about Detroit
In a recent issue of the Detroiter, Sandy Baruah, President and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber (and a Michigan Future Board member) wrote: “Ultimately Michigan goes as Detroit goes. The Motor City must be strong, vibrant urban center for the region and state to compete in the global economy. Detroit has to be the […]
The good of inefficient universities
Higher education is being assaulted across the country, not just here in Michigan. We have been – to our detriment – cutting higher education funding longer and more than others. But now there is a nationwide campaign to question the value of higher education and particularly to attack public higher education. One part of that […]
Taxes, economic growth and budget deficits
Another great New York Times Economix blog from Bruce Bartlett. Highly recommended! Bartlett, as you will recall, is one of the original supply side tax cutters. He served as senior staff to, among others, Jack Kemp, Ronald Reagan and Ron Paul. (By the way, his new book “The Benefit and The Burden: Tax Reform-Why We […]
Marriage, college attainment and inequality
When we started Michigan Future in 1991 we included in our initial presentations on the economy an observation that if you got a college degree (two year or four year) and if you raised your kids in a two parent household you were almost certainly going to be in the middle class. Turns out that […]