American workers as the priority III
More evidence that American companies are doing well and American workers are not. This time from an insightful study by Andrew Sum and colleagues at the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. Its title says it all: The “Jobless and Wageless” Recovery from the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Highly recommended! What the researchers found is […]
The future auto factory?
Two interesting pieces on the future of auto factories. One from Bill Vlasic for the New York Times on the factory that will build the new small Chevy Sonic here in Michigan. The other on the amazing new VW Transparent Factory in downtown Dresden, Germany on You Tube . Both are worth checking out. The Vlasic […]
Explaining Michigan’s lost decade II
Received a thoughtful comment from former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Watkins to my post that Michigan’s lost decade can be explained by the fortunes of the domestic auto industry, not state tax and spending policies. Tom’s main point is that state leadership could have made – but didn’t – a difference by preparing Michigan […]
A decade of state spending restraint
Back to the must read new report from the Senate Fiscal Agency on state taxes and spending over the last decade or so. As you know, conventional wisdom is that the new Administration and Legislature took over from a high tax/high spending regime. Turns out to be complete baloney. The facts as laid out in […]
Welcoming West Michigan?
As readers of our work know, we believe that culture trump policy. In a world where economic growth is driven by knowledge and innovation, the most successful regions are those which highly value learning, an entrepreneurial spirit and being welcoming to all. The evidence is that Michigan is having trouble with all three. More evidence of […]
College: a better investment than stocks or home ownership
I’m frequently asked about the effects of rising and high tuition on college attainment. I answer in two parts. The first is obvious, of course, high tuition to some degree depresses college attendance. In a recent article AP’s Kathy Barks Hoffman provides an excellent overview of how declining state aid has been a major contributor […]
The value of a college degree
Public conversation these days is filled with talk of the declining value of getting a college education. Don’t believe it! The earnings premium from a four year degree or more is greater today than ever and almost certainly will grow going forward. Two terrific new articles make that case quite well. Both are worth reading. […]
Explaining Michigan’s lost decade
Don Grimes and I have written in each of our annual progress reports on the Michigan economy that Michigan’s economic collapse the past decade could best be explained as a single industry recession, rather than a single state recession. That our so-called lost decade is a continuation of long-term trends, rather than a departure. For […]
Detroit growing
Last May I wrote that the city of Detroit should focus on growing, not shrinking. As contradictory as it sounds the city needs to do some of both. But the priority needs to be growth. As I wrote: Detroit’s problem is not that there is no demand for central city living. The last two decades […]
Key quality of place characterisitcs
Finally had a chance to read the Knight Foundation’s 2010 Soul of the Community report. Conducted by Gallup it identifies the attributes that most drive community attachment. What is of particular interest is the finding that the more attached an area’s residents are the better the region’s economic growth. Metro Detroit is one of the […]