Managing Decline vs. Investing for Growth
SEMCOG – the council of governments in metro Detroit – has just released its 2035 transportation plan. Paul Tait, its excellent Executive Director, notes that one of the common concerns he runs into is folks – including policy makers – who wonder why we are working on long range plans, when we have an immediate […]
Lessons Learned by the Freep
A terrific recent editorial in the Detroit Free Press. Its their summary of what they learned matters most from their series on the collapse of the domestic auto industry. The editorial’s subtitle says it all. Rx for recovery: A new commitment to education. The world has changed. As we say repeatedly, what made us prosperous […]
Families
The current issue of Dome magazine has an article from the folks at Gongwer about the just enacted education reform legislation. It ends with comments about how the real problem with student achievement is families. Kids coming to school not ready to learn. Its an important part of the case that many make that “those” […]
2010 Predictions
The folks at MiBiz.com asked me to one of their guest columnists on what to expect in 2010. You can read my column here. As you will read, I don’t see any big changes in the year ahead. Yes the national economy will improve. And so will Michigan, but we will continue to lag the […]
Lou’s 2009 Presentation
The powerpoint presentation Lou Glazer uses in his speeches around the state on the future of the economy and what Michigan needs to do to prosper in it. Michigan Future Inc. Presentation 2009 View more presentations from michiganfuture. [slideshare id=2773667&doc=09-standard-presentation-091224090658-phpapp01]
A Reach School For Every Kid
Didn’t get into Harvard? Well, it is good that you applied. Research highlighted in a Wall Street Journal article today about the value of a college degree indicates that future economic success may be better predicted by where you apply to college than where you go to college. The reason – where you aspire to […]
A Constantly Changing Economy
The main business Michigan Future is in is trying to understand the flat world and then be a catalyst to better position Michigan and its citizens to prosper in that economy. Our core belief is that the people and communities that will do best economically are those that align with – rather than resist – […]
Keeping Talent: Rethinking the Recruiting Machine
One of the maxims of marketing is that it is always easier to retain a customer than it is to attract one. For Michigan, the question of how we keep our talented graduates in the state is a crucial nut to crack in our transformation. Yes, having great places for young people to live […]
Toyota
Interesting article by Nathan Bomey in annarbor.com. Its about Toyota apparently considering moving some of their knowledge jobs from California, with Ann Arbor being one of the leading options. Bomey cites our work in speculating that lower labor costs here might be one of the reasons. Turns out the story that Michigan is a high […]
Good Stuff from the GR Press
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 encouraging news. Four-year degree attainment is up twenty one percent at Michigan’s public universities since […]