Has the tide finally turned for Michigan?

“A rising tide lifts all boats.”

The line kept running through my head as I mulled over the optimistic chatter at the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce’s policy conference on Mackinac Island last month. I’ve been going to these gatherings for some time now, and this is the first time in years that I’ve heard such optimism expressed about so much by so many.

Taken together, things in Michigan seem to be moving in the right direction – more so than they have in a long time. This seems to be partly because of events – and also outstanding civic leadership.

One big plus is that the process of ending the Detroit municipal bankruptcy without wholesale catastrophe – while still not completely in the bag – seems to be moving forward, thanks to remarkable leadership on all sides: Newly elected Mayor Mike Duggan has moved smartly, assisted (!) by the City Council; Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr is proving to be smart, skilled and surprisingly compassionate.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven W. Rhodes is actually moving the ponderous legal machinery; his official mediator, Gerald Rosen, another federal judge, has been the prime and effective mover for the “Grand Bargain,” and Gov. Rick Snyder, facing re-election this fall, is keeping his eye firmly on the ball.

Leadership is a little like pornography. You can’t define it, but you know it when you see it. And it isn’t just happening in Detroit.

Lansing, for so long the symbol of partisan gridlock, actually seems to be working reasonably well these days. The legislature last week passed (on time again!) a $10.18 billion general fund budget; it’s expected Snyder will sign it promptly.

Perhaps most notably, the budget hikes state support for colleges and universities by $85.9 million, an increase of 5.9 percent. It’s the first significant increase for higher education in many years, and it suggests our leaders actually are beginning to realize our economic future will depend on skilled and talented people – who are most likely to be those with college degrees.

Unfortunately, the higher-education appropriation of $1.21 billion is still far less than the $1.98 billion the state spends on prisons. It will be a bright day when Michigan chooses to spend more on educating young people than expensively warehousing felons.

But there is more good news. It also appears the New International Trade Crossing, the new bridge over the Detroit River linking Michigan and Canada, has at last achieved some momentum. Manuel (“Matty”) Moroun has spent years and years, not to mention millions and millions, to preserve his Ambassador Bridge monopoly.

Nevertheless, the U. S. Coast Guard last week issued a permit allowing the NITC to go forward, which even the Morouns acknowledge is a big setback for them. They may file more nuisance lawsuits, but just about all that remains is getting the feds to come up with $250 million for a customs plaza on the American side.

In another little-noted triumph, the legislature removed previously passed language prohibiting the Michigan Department of Transportation from acquiring land essential to building the bridge. That had deeply upset and angered Canadian officials, who are essentially paying all
the upfront costs for a bridge both nations need.

Sure, everything is not all peaches and cream. It never is. We still don’t know if our lawmakers are ever going to have the guts to come up with enough money to repair our terrible roads, even after this horrendous winter. And most Michiganders still say our biggest problem continues to be jobs and the economy.

That, and the inability of our school systems in many places to provide children the skills to meet the needs of the labor market.

But overall, public opinion at last seems to be turning. A poll released two weeks ago by WDIV-TV and the Detroit News found that a majority (45.3 percent versus 40.8) of Michiganders felt our state is headed in the right direction.

It’s been gloom and doom for a long time in the mitten state, but at long last the tide does seem to be rising. Most of the boats are bobbing more up than down. And for people like me who write columns, it’s a lot more fun to be discussing good news.

We’ve spent too many years wailing over the bad.