Terrific column by editorial page editor of The Detroit News Nolan Finley entitled Where's the damn money?. Finley writes: Pithy slogans won’t fill a single pothole. Nor will shirking from the reality that the state’s decades-long neglect of its infrastructure can…
Governor Snyder and others have suggested Germany as a model for what they would like the Michigan economy to be. Largely a place that makes products that are in demand across the planet. A Michigan that once again is a…
In preparing for a presentation to the Michigan Society of Association Executives I took a look at what has happened to state taxes and spending this decade. Boy is convention wisdom wrong! To listen to the chatter from Lansing, despite…
Two excellent opinion pieces this week from the Grand Rapids Press. One on college attainment being the key to economic growth, the other on low taxes not being the answer. Both worth reading. The editorial on college attainment has some…
I had a chance a few weeks ago to lay out for the State Board of Education how I would deal with the state's long term structural budget deficit. Here is the agenda I presented: 1. Restructuring the Michigan tax…
Balancing the state's budget in an era of substantial, structural revenue decline is difficult. The bottom line, is getting poorer is hard. You have to give up a lot that we have enjoyed for years. But when you go from…
So if public investments are the key to better position Michigan to prosper in a knowledge-based economy what should policy makers do? The framework for action was spelled out by the Milliken/Blanchard panel in 2007. A group of bi partisan…
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…