(Bridge illustration/A.J. Jones) Michigan’s largest teachers union is struggling to keep a toehold as change-minded foes with growing momentum seek to topple the MEA — one of the state’s traditional political giants. The 152,000-member union’s finances are deteriorating. Its growth strategy is uncertain. And it faces an unrelenting political offensive by opponents who see the […]
Business Watch
Covering the intersection of business and policy, and informing Michigan employers and workers on the long road back from coronavirus. Our Michigan Economic Dashboard shows key metrics that show how the state is performing.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Long-simmering GOP-MEA ‘war’ intensifies going into 2014
The Michigan Education Association and Michigan Republican Party are on speaking terms – sort of. SIGN OF TIMES: An MEA-financed billboard from last year’s elections reflect the heated rhetoric that has come to mark the union’s relationship with the Republican Party. (courtesy photo) Last year, the two sides regularly exchanged plenty of words – words […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Tax shift adds to fiscal woes at city hall
After years of political wrangling over the issue, business advocates hail the phase-out of Michigan’s tax on industrial machinery and business equipment as a welcome tonic for job growth. Public officials in places like River Rouge and Warren are not so sanguine. BILLIONS MORE LOST, BUT PROPERTY VALUE DROP SLOWING “This is not going to […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Who’s no. 1? County-by-county rankings on property values
No corner of Michigan has escaped unscathed from the “Big Flush,” the loss of billions upon billions of dollars in property values. In five years, total Michigan property values plunged by more than $260 billion, according to an analysis of state records by Bridge Magazine. But while the decline continued over the last year, it […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
In Michigan suburbs, once-pricey bedrooms worth less
Some 15 miles southeast of Ann Arbor, the cozy bedroom community of Milan belies stereotypical views of Michigan’s economic decline. Largely white, nestled around a quaint downtown and dotted with upscale, newer homes, it projects the very image of suburban prosperity. Analysis of property values in 2011 and 2012 tells another story. In a city […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Property value drops exceed 30 percent in parts of SE Michigan
It might be only a slight exaggeration to say that as Southeast Michigan goes, so goes the state. The region, with roughly 50 percent of the state population and the driver of half its economic activity, suffered the steepest drop in the state in total property value over the past five years. And though there […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Billions more lost, but property value drop slowing
In five years, total Michigan property values plunged by more than $260 billion, according to an analysis of state records by Bridge Magazine. But while the decline continued over the last year, it slowed considerably. Values dropped from $725.5 billion in 2011 to $698.6 billion in 2012. Adjusted for inflation, that amounts to a drop […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Detroit’s problems echoed in a (far) smaller Flint
The website is not the type of brand identity any city would seek. Called “Abandoned Flint,” it posts photos of ruined homes and businesses and a running commentary that reads like a post-modern apocalypse. Under photos of “Abandoned Travelodge,” it notes: “… people have totally trashed and looted it. Every single window was shattered. And […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Traverse City, Ann Arbor home sales point to brighter 2013
In parts of Michigan, a “For Sale” sign in front of a house is quickly followed by another: “Sold.” Realtors from Grand Rapids to Ann Arbor to Traverse City are reporting trends notably absent in Michigan for years. Home values are rising. And marketable houses in decent shape are often snapped up in a matter […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
What's property worth in your hometown?
The total value of property in Michigan dropped about $36 billion, in inflation-adjusted terms, between 2011 and 2012. And that constitutes good news on the property front in the Great Lakes state in recent years. The $26 billion drop – a loss of 5.7 percent – is far less than the declines seen since the […]