The Legislature opened its 2012 “lame duck” session this week. Where’s that phrase come from, anyway? Well, it was first used as a down-on-his-luck stockbroker, since an injured duck who cannot keep up with the flock is an easy target for predators. In the political world, lame ducks are something else again: Officeholders who were […]
Legislature poised to act on Right to Work
Posted inSuccess
A letter from the staff: Thanks
Bridge readers, The year has been a tumultuous one in Michigan public affairs – and at Bridge Magazine. Now 14 months into our effort to provide in-depth, wide-ranging journalism about Michigan issues, we continue to be amazed at – and humbled by – the positive response from you. Through the end of October, bridgemi.com had […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Retirement lawsuit bites into school budgets
When legislative reform of the Michigan Public School Employee Retirement System promised to cap school districts’ contributions at a flat 24.46 percent of payroll, many administrators reached for something else to uncap, in celebration. However, months later, with challenges to the reforms working their way through the courts, the bottle being opened might be holding […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Manufacturing and metros are recipe for success, says guru on cities
Bruce Katz has pushed a consistent message for Michigan: M&M&E. That’s short for manufacturing, metros and exports. A vice president at the Brookings Institution, Katz has worked in recent years with Business Leaders for Michigan in developing ideas for improving Michigan’s economy. Bridge Magazine spoke with Katz by phone recently to get his sense of […]
Posted inPeter Luke: Eye on the Capitol
Perhaps it’s time to leave constitutional amendments to the Legislature
A few final takeaways from the November election: Representative democracy is generally more effective than direct democracy. In 2010, voter turnout was 43 percent and an older, whiter Michigan electorate wiped out the majority that Democrats had built in the Michigan House in the previous two elections. On Nov. 6, turnout by a younger, more […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Michigan citizens can help nation avoid ‘cliff’
Now that the election is finally over, the national news these days is dominated by the specter of the coming fiscal cliff. So here is a “Michigan Citizens’ Survival Guide to Navigating the Cliff, Understanding it and, Hopefully, Surviving.” What the fiscal cliff means to Michigan: Perhaps the biggest event of the decade will start […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
* As this ProPublica story mentions, Michigan is familiar with the consequences when an oil or gas pipeline ruptures. The story also notes that pipelines are considered safer than alternative means of fuel transport (trucks, trains): http://www.propublica.org/article/ pipelines-explained-how-safe-are-americas-2.5-million-miles-of-pipelines * Jack Lessenberry pays tribute to former Michigan first lady Helen Milliken, who passed away last Friday. […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan’s recovery dangles from ‘fiscal cliff’
By Mitch Bean While the action over the “fiscal cliff” tax and budget decisions will occur on Capitol Hill, the consequences of whatever course is chosen will ripple across the Great Lakes State. Bridge asked Mitch Bean, a longtime head of the House Fiscal Agency, to explain the details of the national situation and, most […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Next time, a tougher road to the ballot?
Looking to change Michigan’s Constitution? Reaching the ballot is as easy as $1-$2-$3 if you’ve got a big enough checkbook. Collecting 322,609 valid petition signatures (10 percent of the votes in the 2010 gubernatorial election) for grassroots groups who might want to, say, create a nonpartisan legislative redistricting process, would be an imposing challenge. But […]
Posted inPhil's Column
After election, before Thanksgiving, a cheer for democracy
“Many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” – […]
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