The Michigan Association of United Ways recently reported that in Michigan's strong pre-pandemic 2019 economy 38 percent of Michigan households were unable to pay for basic necessities. So in what many called the best U.S. and Michigan economy ever, nearly…
Governor Whitmer's new economic policy agenda states: The construction of this agenda has, as a guiding principle, the idea that a primary goal of state economic policy should be rising household incomes for all Michiganders, especially those who are struggling.…
The pandemic is hardening our two-tier economy. One where those at the top are doing well, but way too many Michiganders are struggling. Low-wage workers have suffered the most since the onset of the pandemic and the forecast is that…
Google, with much fanfare, recently announced "three new Google Career Certificates in the high-paying, high-growth career fields of Data Analytics, Project Management, and User Experience (UX) Design. Like our IT Support and Automation in Python Certificates, these new career programs…
Terrific Nicholas Kristof New York times column on Denmark. The article's subtitle says it all: Danes haven’t built a “socialist” country. Just one that works. Similar to Finland, Denmark is a capitalist economy with widely shared prosperity. Each offers a…
Terrific Bridge article on how hard it is for way to many out-of-work Michiganders to get unemployment insurance. The article's title says it all: Michigan unemployment system designed to slow payments working all too well. Bridge writes: A big source…
As America confronts the reality of structural racism, it is clear that we must fundamentally reform policing now. It also is clear that redesigning policing is not enough. We need to put on the table topics that have been off…
This post was first published in July 2017. As America confronts the reality of structural racism, it is clear we need to put on the table topics that have been off the table for far too long. One of those…
The struggles way too many Michiganders are going through to get safety net benefits make clear that we need to go to no red tape cash benefits. The main reason for how difficult it is to get much needed benefits…
As we have explored in our lessons from a pandemic-driven economy posts (here and here) what the multitude of low-wage workers need most is cash. Everyday in every Michigan community we see the vast number of low-wage workers––some still working,…