House Speaker Jase Bolger, freshly elected to a second term to head Michigan’s House of Representatives, added his voice Wednesday to a growing coalition of political leaders in favor of increased state spending on early childhood education. “We should expand early childhood education opportunities as investments to help kids succeed. Those investments also will provide […]
Bolger backs bigger dollars for early childhood
Posted inBusiness Watch
From light rail to neighborhood rehab, Kresge Foundation pours money, attention into Detroit
Rip Rapson became president of the $3.1 billion Kresge Foundation in 2006. He has since changed the foundation’s focus from providing challenge grants that support building projects in local communities to program-related investments in seven areas, including community development, education, health and human services. Kresge also has taken a high-profile role in the revitalization of […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Labor says it will prevail, but RTW experts are skeptical
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Given recent events in Indiana, third-shift General Motors worker Roxanna Lucas was “not surprised” when Michigan followed suit by adopting a Right to Work labor standard. Lucas, like many coworkers at the sprawling suburban Fort Wayne GM assembly plant, sees RTW as nothing less than a calculated scheme to take down […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Indiana reaction belies pro-Right to Work claims
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — In the weeks after “Right to Work” became law in Indiana, Michigan-based Android Industries was anointed a poster child for the job growth state officials predicted would flow from the measure. Company officials insisted it was no accident they picked Indiana to open an automotive plant in suburban Fort Wayne in […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Political fallout from RTW deal yet to land
INDIANAPOLIS — With passage of Right to Work legislation imminent, Indiana Democrats huddled on a Monday night in February 2011 to plot strategy. The following morning, some three dozen state representatives bolted for the Comfort Suites in Urbana, Ill., trying to wait out a Republican majority determined to push the measure through. The move left […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Right to Work is no guarantee of economic success
By Timothy J. Bartik/W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Will “Right to Work” boost Michigan’s economic development? What does research say? Research suggests that the economic development effects of RTW are uncertain, with downside risks. Some studies find RTW boosts job growth, while other studies do not. Some studies find RTW reduces wages, while other […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
* A new analysis by the Senate Fiscal Agency says, “During 2013, both the U.S. and Michigan economies are expected to expand at a slightly slower rate than during 2012. Both the U.S. and Michigan economies are forecast to exhibit both income and employment growth during 2013, although Michigan is expected to grow more slowly […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Capitol Hill chaos should drive voters to kill off old ‘gerrymander’
Most people agree that our politics and government today are too often severely dysfunctional. And there’s one big reason why: The taproot of much of all this can be traced to our severely gerrymandered state legislative and congressional districts. For a glimpse of just how powerful this is, all you have to do is glance […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Snyder vetoes looser rules on owning lions, tigers, bears
UPDATE 1-2-13: Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed two bills last week that would have changed the state’s Large Carnivore Act, but encouraged lawmakers to resubmit them with specific changes in the new session. Bridge reported on the tie-barred Senate Bills 703 and 1236 last month (story below), which passed in the last hours of the Legislature’s […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Prison savings to reach $250 million
By Daniel Heyns/Michigan Department of Corrections I know for the past several years the Center for Michigan has been an active participant in the dialogue surrounding lowering corrections costs in Michigan. The Center facilitated the creation of the Corrections Reform Coalition — a collection of business, education, local government and nonprofit groups focused on enhancing […]
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