One area in which the conventional wisdom about small business holds is in benefits. Workers at smaller firms earn less in wages, get fewer paid days off and receive less generous health insurance benefits than their counterparts at large companies. The compensation gap is huge between businesses that employ between one and 49 workers, and […]
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
Michigan workers more likely to work for big business — then and now
Michigan has a long-held reputation as a big-business state. But the number of large establishments in the state and the number of workers they employ have dropped significantly since the mid-1990s, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Edward Lowe Foundation in Cassopolis. The Lowe Foundation compiles statistics on small […]
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Metro Detroit bank, Traverse Bay winery navigate way to 2012 '50 to Watch' list
It isn’t surprising to see computer software, health care and Internet-based companies on a list of up-and-coming companies in Michigan. But a community bank? Wall Street’s meltdown in 2008 wiped out hundreds of banks across the country, including 13 mostly small local banks in Michigan. The banking climate was so bad in Michigan that the […]
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Almost all in 2006 '50 Companies to Watch' still in business
Strathmore Development Co., an East Lansing-based commercial and residential developer, was named to the “Michigan 50 Companies to Watch” list in 2006. Times were good, but Strathmore and many other promising companies on that list were about to experience the challenge of their young lives as the U.S. economy nosedived just a year later. “The […]
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Snyder builds tax plan on complicated tax credit math
The Snyder administration’s plan to give tax relief to businesses by reducing the personal property tax rests … on the end of tax breaks for businesses. Yes, you read that correctly. Over the next several years, Michigan will stop sending hundreds of millions of dollars of business-tax credits out the door. The corresponding expected increase […]
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In Ohio, tax repeal advocates tout anecdotes
While Michigan tinkers with its tax structure in an effort to improve its business climate, its neighbor to the south already is collecting accolades and attracting investments. Site Selection magazine, in its March issue, awarded Ohio its Governor’s Cup for attracting 498 major capital investment projects in 2011, the most among the 50 states. Michigan […]
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Calley: PPT plan puts Michigan ahead of Ohio
Lt. Governor Brian Calley testified last week on behalf of the Snyder administration’s proposal to phase-out the personal property tax (read business equipment tax) by 2022. The proposal is strongly backed by business groups and just as strongly opposed by groups representing local governments and schools, which fear the loss of almost half a billion […]
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Moroun family looks to state ballot tactic to protect its business
News item: The Detroit International Bridge Company, which owns the Ambassador Bridge, wants to put a state constitutional amendment on the ballot, one that would require a statewide vote for the New International Trade Crossing bridge to go forward. There’s little mystery as to what this is really all about. The bridge company is entirely […]
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Snyder administration cleaning up state rulebook
The state has too many regulations and it costs too much to comply with them. That has long been a mantra of business groups. Now Gov. Rick Snyder has adopted the approach for state government as well. His Office of Regulatory Reinvention has been given the daunting task of sifting through all of the several […]
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When a license plate just isn't enough
One person’s infuriating government regulation is another’s measure to protect public health and safety. That philosophical split plays out every day in how Michigan is enforcing regulations on commercial motor vehicles. In recent years, farmers and small businesses that rely on pick-up trucks to haul equipment, supplies and inventories have chafed at the Michigan State […]