Michigan’s populous counties economic well being collapse
In our last post we detailed metro Detroit’s most populous counties’ decline. In this post we widen our lens to look at all of the Michigan’s populous counties––those with at least 200,000 residents–– in the rest of the state. .As you will see, mirroring Michigan’s precipitous economic decline since 1999, each of the five most […]
Michigan is a poor state. Here is how we restore shared prosperity
This year the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference will begin with a session that proclaims that Michigan’s “House Is On Fire,” detailing the facts, including those grounded in Michigan Future’s data, that Michigan has indeed become a poor state over the past 25 years. That, of course, raises the question “how do we put […]
Metro Detroit’s economic well being decline
In our last post we detailed Oakland County’s decline, falling in per capita income from 21st among the nation’s counties in 1999 to 122 in 2024. In this post we widen our lens to look at all of the big counties that dominant metro Detroit. As you will see each of the five most populous […]
Oakland County’s economic well being decline
For decades Oakland County has been labelled one of America’s richest counties, No more! Mirroring Michigan’s precipitous economic decline since 1999, Oakland County has fallen in per capita income from 21st in 1999 to 122 in 2024. You read that right, more than 100 counties have passed Oakland County in a quarter century In 1999 Oakland County’s per […]
The paucity of Michigan middle income blue collar jobs
Michigan students are increasingly being urged to pursue the skilled trades rather than a four-year degree. The pitch is some version of you can do just as well in the trades over a forty-year career as you can with a college degree. Particularly given that you can pursue the trades without taking on student loan […]
Michigan’s ongoing two tiered economy
Post pandemic Michigan continues to have a two tiered economy. The reality is in 2024 Michigan has two labor markets, not one. One tier of occupations that do not require a BA where a preponderance of jobs pay below what it takes to earn middle income wages; and a second tier of occupations that require […]
The BA household net worth premium
We are back in a period of heightened “alarm” about the value of a four-year degree. This happens every time there is an economic slowdown and it is difficult for recent college grads to find a first professional job. The pattern that is repeated over and over again is recent college graduates who had trouble finding that first job over a forty year career […]
High demand occupation cautionary tale
This post was originally published in November 2017. It is arguably more relevant today than then. In an article entitled Goodbye, $165,000 Tech Jobs. Student Coders Seek Work at Chipotle. the New York Times reports: Among college graduates ages 22 to 27, computer science and computer engineering majors are facing some of the highest unemployment […]
A 4th grade reading cautionary tale
Over the past several decades we have been inundated with stories about so-called education miracle states. All garnering attention because of big gains in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 4th grade reading scores. The current miracle state is Mississippi. Several years ago it was Tennessee. And back at the turn of the century it […]
Fixing the roads doesn’t drive state prosperity
Since the turn of the century, our state has experienced a precipitous decline in economic prosperity relative to the rest of the country. In 1999, Michigan ranked 16th in per-capita income. In 2024, we ranked 39th. What we have been doing over the past 25 years isn’t working. We need a new approach. Yet every […]