Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. Finding money to fix our crumbling roads has been by far the biggest (ahem) roadblock in Lansing for many months. Although nobody’s willing to come out and say so publicly, within the last few days a structure has emerged for getting the estimated $1.2 […]
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.
Posted inPhil's Column
Critics of ‘Common Core’ school standards are worried about politics, not learning
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. Michigan was one of 45 states which adopted “Common Core” standards back in 2010. The standards are aimed at setting out the kinds of skills that will qualify kids to successfully meet 21st century challenges, both in post-secondary education and fulfilling careers. There are […]
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A few words of (hopefully) wisdom for Michigan’s graduates
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. It’s graduation season – and last Friday, I had the honor of giving a commencement address to those earning economics degrees at the University of Michigan. There’s an old joke that plagiarism is when you steal from one author; research is when you use […]
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Schools, colleges aren’t preparing students for careers in Michigan
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. Paul Hillegonds, who these days is a vice president at DTE Energy, is one of Michigan’s most plugged-in and thoughtful people. Whenever something valuable and useful is going on in our state, Paul, a former speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, is […]
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Philanthropic groups step up to lead Michigan’s urban revival
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. There’s no doubt that one of Michigan’s biggest stories this year is Gov. Rick Snyder’s decision to put Detroit under an emergency manager, and put attorney Keyvn Orr in that post. But Detroit is far from the first or only city in the state […]
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Change the school focus from spending more to spending smart
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. Can anything really move the “needle of achievement” in our kids’ schools? Over the years, we’ve sure spent a whale of a lot of money, time and lung power trying to answer that question. “School people” — by which I mean teachers, their […]
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As special interests drag down government, private entities move to public’s aid
Phil Power is founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: The biggest barrier to a prosperous American economy is the U.S. Congress. Cynical, no doubt. But true in important ways not seen for generations. The Economist, an internationally respected news magazine, recently ran a […]
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Will Michigan voters ever get the campaign finance reform they deserve?
Last week was National Sunshine Week, designed to increase transparency in government: Opening up the workings of government and politics to the healthy light of day makes things cleaner and better. Sure. Over the years, I’ve watched plenty of National Sunshine Weeks come and go, without much actually changing. So I’m more than moderately skeptical […]
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Michigan, nation will sorely miss Levin’s leadership, integrity
One major thought popped into my brain when I heard Carl Levin had decided not to run for a seventh term in the U.S. Senate next year: “Class is a lot like pornography. You can’t define it, but you sure know it when you see it.” Carl is a class act, through and through. And […]
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Snyder, Detroit journalist offer hope for city mired in woe
I’m old enough — 74 — to remember the days when Detroit was a thriving city and a magnet for folks throughout Michigan. When I was a little boy, my mother would put on her white gloves and hat and take me to the enormous J. L. Hudson store downtown. At that time, it was […]