Public Investments are the Priority
Just back from a week in beautiful – but rainy – northern Michigan. As I was leaving I circulated a terrific column by Rick Haglund (read it here). It once again provides evidence that lower taxes is not a path to economic success. Quite surprising it reports that the Tax Foundation – a conservative think tank – rated Michigan with…
Seattle Is Closer To Detroit Than You Think
At least we know that it is not weather that is keeping Detroit from being a top destination for young talent. According to the Wall Street Journal, the #1 “Next Hot Youth Magnate City” is Seattle, even with its 226 cloudy days per year (versus 185 in Detroit). Interestingly, metro Seattle is also not significantly younger than metro Detroit. The…
A Top Ten That Matters
Seems like every week there is another top ten list that folks claim Michigan should be on. Many are tax rankings. Some measure how "business friendly" states or regions are. Only problem with these lists is being on the top ten almost never means that you have a prosperous economy. When it comes to inputs that lead to prosperity at…
Books To Read III
When it comes to what we call preparing talent – teaching and learning – the books that best help me understand the big picture are: Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen, Michael Horn and Curtis Johnson. For those interested in how education should look in the future this is the best book I have read. It goes far beyond the increasingly…
The Limits of State Policy
Hal Wolman, formerly of Wayne State, now at George Washington, was in town this week. He is working on a national project to try to figure out what characterizes resilient regions – those that recover from big economic shocks. I participated in a meeting he convened of a small group of "old hands" on the Michigan economy. Most of us…