Tax cuts and economic growth

Another great New York Times Economix blog from Bruce Bartlett entitled “the Bush tax-cut failure”. Bartlett is one of the original supply side tax cutters. He served as senior staff to, among others, Jack Kemp, Ronald Reagan and Ron Paul. (By the way, his new book “The Benefit and The Burden: Tax Reform-Why We Need […]

Another irrelevant business ranking

Interesting Peter Luke column for Bridge on the conundrum of Michigan, despite enacting two big business tax cuts and right to work legislation, ranking near the bottom in a survey of more than 700 corporate CEOs according to Chief Executive Magazine. (You can find their rankings here.) Luke explores the contrast between Michigan’s ranking of […]

Attracting talent

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a column for the Financial Times makes the case that talent is what matters most to economic growth. And that place –– particularly vibrant central cities –– is the key to attracting talent. The column is entitled “Cities must be cool, creative and in control”.  Worth reading! Bloomberg writes: […]

Michigan employment by education attainment II

Below is the 2011 employment rate (employment to population ratio) data for 25-64 years olds –– the prime working years –– for Michigan’s three largest metropolitan areas: the nine county Detroit region (including Ann Arbor and Flint), the seven county metro Grand Rapids/Holland/Muskegon region, and the four country metro Lansing region. The employment rate is […]

Michigan employment by education attainment

More evidence that having a four-year degree or more is the most reliable pathway to employment in today’s economy. The table below displays data on the employment rate –– the proportion of the population that is employed –– for those in their prime working years –– 25-64 ––  by education attainment in Michigan and the […]

Design as an economic engine

Interesting feature in Atlantic Cities entitled: A Visual History of Michigan’s Outsize Influence on American Modernism. The story is built around the upcoming Michigan Modern Symposium upcoming at Cranbrook from June 13-16. Both the article and conference web site are worth checking out. (If for no other reason than to check out the pictures of Michigan’s […]

Crain’s on talent

Crain’s Detroit Business featured talent in their Mackinac Conference edition. Four articles. All worth checking out! They  highlight the importance, challenges and opportunities of preparing, retaining and attracting talent. An essential ingredient for future Michigan growth. Crain’s convened a roundtable on the topic that I was priviledged to participate in. The other participants were: David […]

Wanted: light rail for metro Detroit II

There has been good news on transit for metro Detroit. M1 –– the light rail line from downtown to midtown –– is going to be a major catalyst for future development of greater downtown Detroit. Thanks to the leadership of the Kresge Foundation and Dan Gilbert and Matt Cullen of Quicken (and other philanthropic and […]

Wanted: light rail for metro Detroit

At the same time that I was reading press reports that the powers that be have decided on bus rapid transit on Woodward from Detroit into Oakland County, Atlantic Cities ran an article on the success of the Phoenix light rail system. You read that right, no-real-downtown, sprawl-city Phoenix has made light rail a centerpiece to […]