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 […]
Property value drops exceed 30 percent in parts of SE Michigan
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
*Michigan’s primary air hub – Detroit – is a great place for travelers to visit, at least based on the specific state and local taxes levied against visitors. Stateline has Detroit as no. 47 (out of 50 locations) in such taxes. Detroit’s single-day travel taxes of $22.37 is only about half of what hits visitors […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Top challenge to business is cost of health care
By David Baker/Baker Strategy Group Businesses play an essential role in Michigan’s economy. Business is the economic engine that pays people for their time and contribution and converts their work into products and services that customers need. According to the 2010 Census, there are close to 175,000 businesses in Michigan (excluding the estimated 680,000 non-employee […]
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 […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
*Perception and reality in our society: “A Gallup poll reported nearly nine out of ten people think LGBT people are already protected. They are not. And, according to the pollsters, three out of four people believe they should be protected,” reports Lester Graham of Michigan Radio. Michigan’s civil rights law, the Elliott-Larsen Act, does not […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Kindergarten retention, in current form, doesn’t help children
By Larry Schweinhart/HighScope Educational Research Foundation One of our conclusions from the 2012 Great Start Readiness Program Evaluation was that grade retention is a major state policy, made locally, that deserves serious study. Of students who had the Great Start program, 37 percent repeated a grade during their schooling, as compared to nearly half the comparison […]
Posted inMichigan Government
ID gap makes streets meaner for ex-cons
GRAND RAPIDS — Jeff Lowery figured it was going to be a tough road as he left state prison in late February, hoping to find work and housing. But without proper identification, he feared it would be impossible: “There is nothing you can do. It’s absolutely horrible.” Six months before was discharged, Lowery said, he […]