NOT SO OPEN ANYMORE: America’s standing as a land of new opportunities and new vistas is being pummeled by data showing that mobility is declining. (courtesy photo/used under Creative Commons license) *America, we hardly knew ye. Once we were considered a land of mobility – both by economic class and geography. The facts have gotten […]
Land O Links
Posted inBrunch with Bridge
Primary-less politics leaves out public’s interests to service financial necessity
OR JUST DON’T BOTHER. As election cycles de-emphasize primaries, voters have less of a chance to hear ideas and policy proposals from individual candidates, writes Brandon Hubbard. Voter apathy frequently follows. (Courtesy photo/used under a Creative Commons license) Cover politics like a tennis match. That depressing advice came from a former political reporter I met […]
Posted inBrunch with Bridge
Orr, what? Detroit EM’s first days show more loyalty to state than city
THIS IS NEWS? Detroiters are well-aware of their city’s problems. If they have to accept an emergency manager, he should work for the city, not the state, writes Karen Dumas. (Courtesy photo/used under a Creative Commons license) Detroit’s Emergency Manager, Kevyn Orr, started his job with mixed reviews. Some thought he was a necessary evil […]
Posted inSuccess
Michigan veteran’s service didn’t stop after discharge
WITH NEARLY 10 MILLION PEOPLE … : Each day, countless Michigan residents go about their routine business – but in the process do some far from routine things. Bridge will regularly feature some of their stories and the impact they are having on our state. (Bridge illustration/A.J. Jones) For many Americans, Memorial Day means cookouts […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Bridge’s Top 9 totally unscientific great places to go that you might not have heard of
Michigan has about 15,000 places on its official tourism website. Chances are, you’ve heard a lot about Mackinac Island and Sleeping Bear Dunes, but the Cheeseburger in Caseville Festival, not so much. As the summer tourism season opens, Bridge went looking for a few places off the beaten path. In no particular order, you might […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest commentary: New revenue-sharing model shortchanges and infuriates municipalities
By David Lossing/Michigan Municipal League The Economic Vitality Incentive Program, a.k.a. EVIP, has been around for a couple of years now. EVIP is a program created by the state in 2011 to eliminate statutory revenue sharing and replace it with an “incentive” based program with only two-thirds of the previous funding. Under the program, local […]
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
What does Michigan have to do to get a little love?
Gov. Rick Snyder has spared no effort in making Michigan “business-friendly,” but the message has been slow to spread. So Michigan cuts business taxes by $2.4 billion, stages a political war (because that’s apparently what’s been lacking) that favors business over labor, more than balances the state budget and finally takes ownership of arguably its […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Local governments’ fiscal distress worsened by state’s actions
CHOICES MATTER: For two decades, decisions at the State Capitol have consistently damaged the ability of local governments to raise the money necessary to make their communities attractive places to live, work and do business, argues Mitch Bean. I am concerned about what seems to be a significant decline in the fiscal health of local […]
Posted inPhil's Column
State leaders navigating a route to new dollars for roads
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 […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Bridge and Detroit Free Press partner for 'A Better Michigan'
By Stephen Henderson/Detroit Free Press Editorial Page Editor When Michigan voters said “no way” to fixing Michigan’s awful and unfair school finance structure in 1993, no one I knew was more crushed than legendary Free Press Editorial Page Editor Joe Stroud. For months, he led a passionate campaign for reform, in the face of both […]