It’s time for leaders in the legislature to put aside short-term skirmishes that produce momentary headlines and focus on longer-term imperatives that will leave a lasting mark.
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.
Binding cities, with few ways out
State policies over many decades are choking off revenue to cities across the state. Is Michigan willing to change?
A death on the Internet and the gift of time
Acceleration of events imposes dimly perceived but very important changes in the way we think
Chinese copy cats and Japanese bullet trains; lessons for America
On a trip overseas, the perils of international free-trade agreements appear in China, and the wonders of a strong infrastructure unfold at 200-mph in Japan.
Don’t trust government? Help to change it!
This year, The Center for Michigan’s public outreach campaign focuses on how to restore public confidence in government. Signing up for our local Community Conversations allows you to be part of the solution
Oligarchs and demagogues, as America teeters
All it takes is an inattentive or bored citizenry to set the stage for the decline of the republic
Flint report shows government’s size is less critical than its effectiveness
If the experience in Flint teaches anything, it’s that when lots of local people complain loudly and persistently about things going wrong, usually there is something going wrong
How many are satisfied with the present state of politics in Michigan?
I’ve been traveling around the state recently, speaking to various community groups and service clubs. As usual, when I get in a room with Michiganders, I learn a ton by asking questions: How many are satisfied with the present state of politics in Michigan? How about in the country? (Zero hands go up.) How many […]
Would a Bloomberg run break a fractious two-party system?
We are witnessing the slow deterioration of a political system that is showing itself incapable of governing our country effectively
For a free executive education, look no further than Flint
The catastrophe in Genesee keeps revealing itself, with lesson after lesson on how to miss seeing, and mishandle, a modern meltdown