Many Michigan families are getting by–but still financially stressed
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why middle class life feels increasingly unstable over these last several years—especially in Michigan. Frequent readers of MFI know that we often cite the Michigan Association of United Way’s ALICE report, and its startling headline figure that 40 percent of Michigan households can’t afford basic necessities. Those figures […]
The Governor is right that talent is a big issue. He’s wrong about how to solve it.
Reading the guest commentary Governor Snyder penned for Bridge Magazine explaining the ideas behind his Marshall Plan for Talent was like riding a roller coaster. It’s clear Governor Snyder understands that the world of work has fundamentally changed and that Michigan’s education system has failed to adapt. He rightly asserts that the rate of change […]
We need regional transit to grow our economy. It shouldn’t be that controversial
A few weeks ago, Amazon announced that neither of Michigan’s major metros, Detroit and Grand Rapids, are finalists for the location of HQ2. Lou wrote about why we at Michigan Future were not at all surprised. For years, MFI has advanced an economic development strategy that would lead to a high-prosperity Michigan based on the […]
How are Michigan’s women doing? Not great. (Part 2)
On Wednesday I wrote about how women in particular are doing in Michigan’s–and the world’s–changing economy. I started by sharing data on single women-led households with children, who are more likely than not to be living in poverty. Then I took a look at educational achievement. Today I turn to income and employment, health, and leadership. […]
How are Michigan’s women doing? Not great. (Part 1)
Following a weekend in which, for the second year in a row, women around the world marched for a variety of issues affecting women and communities they care about, I thought it would be appropriate to spend a minute here asking: how are women in Michigan doing these days? For my answers, I turned first […]
From the swimming pool to the classroom: more thoughts on confidence
In my last post, I walked us through the four levels of confidence that are described by Roberta Michnick Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek in their book, Becoming Brilliant. They describe confidence as one of six of the most important capacities that children will need to be successful in the future economy. And I claimed that […]
School: A Confidence Booster or a Confidence Killer?
I’ve been looking more deeply into one of the “Cs” of the “6 Cs” that we believe, based on Roberta Michnick Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek’s book Becoming Brilliant are the skills that kids need to be successful in the 21st century economy (and which, overwhelmingly, our schools are not designed to build). This is the […]
Occupations in Michigan: The Future Won’t Look Like the Past
Two weeks ago on this blog, Lou wrote about some new job projections for 2016-2026 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). BLS data show that job growth between now and 2026 is going to be clustered at either end of the education spectrum: 47 percent of job growth will be in jobs requiring a […]
Robot-proofing our kids
Robots are having a media moment. It seems like everywhere I turn, the specter of robots replacing human labor at a massive scale–and the fear that engenders–is reaching a zeitgeist. Last week’s New Yorker cover shows a human man begging for change on a sidewalk while busy robots walk by in a rush hour scene. […]
Collateral Consequences: Making prisoner reentry harder and recidivism more likely
Last week I summarized the section of our recently released paper, A Path to Good-paying Careers for all Michiganders: Sharing prosperity with those not participating in the high-wage knowledge-based economy, that focuses on necessary reforms to the criminal justice system. I mentioned briefly that in most states, having a criminal record can make you ineligible for […]