Finally. After months of struggle, Michigan’s state senate passed legislation last week to accept Washington’s offer to extend Medicaid to nearly half a million of our state’s working poor. The vote was close – 20 to 18 — and the run-up to it was complicated, intense and very partisan. But when crunch time came, eight […]
Phil Power
Former newspaper publisher and University of Michigan Regent Phil Power is a longtime observer of Michigan politics and economics. He is also the founder and former chairman of the Center for Michigan which publishes Bridge Michigan and BridgeDetroit.
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Summer swan songs from the U.P. and below the bridge
“Michigan, My Michigan.” That’s the refrain of a song widely believed to be our state song. Sung to the tune of “Oh Tannenbaum,” the lyrics were originally composed in 1862 but recast in 1902 by Douglas Malloch to include the fine lines: “The whisper of the forest tree The thunder of the inland sea Unite […]
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Reaching out to Michigan’s vulnerable kids
OK, here’s what we know about how to get poor and vulnerable kids started on the path to success: Get ‘em enrolled in GSRP (Great Start Readiness Program) the state’s pre-K program aimed at four year-olds from low income families and designed to get them ready to succeed when they start kindergarten. Compelling research conducted […]
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‘Aerotropolis’ project finally taking off; could provide much-needed lift for Southeast Michigan
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. “What could be the single largest economic development project in Michigan history has been sitting there, right under our nose.” That’s the first paragraph of a column I wrote way back in 2001. In it, I advocated prompt action by Michigan leaders to make […]
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Michigan has to catch tech wave transforming learning
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. Reduced to essentials, here’s what happens in most American schools and universities: A “teacher” appears before a group of pupils and talks, making notes on a board or putting up images, while students take notes. Classes range in size from 20 to 30 […]
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Apply brainpower to get better results from billions spent on education
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. The education industry in Michigan is facing a coming tidal wave of change — and the landscape is going to be re-arranged. Money may seem to many to be the major issue, but it’s not. According to Gov. Rick Snyder’s message to the […]
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Detroit will not prosper without reversing population drain
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. Well, well. Kevyn Orr is now firmly in the saddle as Detroit’s emergency manager. Mike Duggan’s campaign for mayor has evaporated, leaving Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon in the driver’s seat. And Bob Ficano, the current Wayne County executive, is teetering on the brink […]
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Dingell is potent reminder of true public service in this hyperpartisan era
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers in their generations. The Lord apportioned to them great glory, his majesty from the beginning. There were those who ruled in their kingdoms, and were men renowned for their power, giving counsel by their understanding, […]
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‘Sanity caucus’ shepherds preschool reform, dollars through capital gridlock
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. I’ve had a few days now to mull over the goings-on at last week’s annual Mackinac Island Policy Conference. Much of the talk on the enormous porch of the magnificent Grand Hotel was how our political system seems incapable of dealing with big subjects on […]
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On a day once called ‘Decoration,’ thoughts on what's left behind
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. As has been our custom for years, my wife, Kathy, and I take time over Memorial Day weekend to plant geraniums on my parents’ graves. The stones are black granite, with the inscriptions sand-blasted gray in a formal Roman type face. The bright-red geraniums […]