Michigan’s housing stock is thinning, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which pegged the state as one of only two with fewer housing units in 2012 than in 2010. Neighboring Illinois is the other. But the state of housing is far from equal across Michigan. In fact, there are growing hot spots for housing – […]
Census Bureau
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
* An Iowa legislator wants to move his state away from “no-fault” divorce. The no-fault system is the dominant one in the United States, including in Michigan. The state’s divorce (and marriage) rates have been on a consistent decline since at least 1990, according to the Census Bureau. However, Iowa’s marriage rate is higher and its […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Another income report is out, and the news is not so good for Michigan
Last time, I reported on the good news coming out of the latest Census Bureau report: median household income increased and poverty decreased for Michigan between 2010 and 2011. These data points were based on the results of the Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Income Supplement, conducted in March of each year. We […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan bucks trend – in good way – on family incomes
Michigan finally bucked a national trend in a positive direction as median household income rose while the national median was falling last year. More about that after the national news. Fall is almost here and the time has come for the Census Bureau to release its latest analyses of the economic health of the country […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it” — Thomas Fuller, 17th century British author. * There’s probably a great deal of math behind this which, as a liberal-arts grad, I will take on a certain amount of faith. The cool map, though, shows Michigan as one of just eight “green” states […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Poverty rises even as economy turns
One trend belies the notion that a rising economy lifts all boats: Michigan’s growing poverty rate. Michigan’s economy bottomed out near the end of 2009, and employment and incomes have been creeping upward ever since. But so has poverty. The share of Michigan residents living in poverty jumped from 13.5 percent in 2009 to 16.8 percent […]