“Knowledge is the treasure of a wise man” — William Penn, founder of the colony of Pennsylvania, and the ultimate cause of many incorrect answers on grammar-school spelling exams. * More worries from local government leaders about their finances if Gov. Rick Snyder and allies in the Legislature engineer a repeal of the personal property […]
Center for Michigan
Posted inTalent & Education
Invest in the 4-year-olds
Bridge Magazine’s parent organization, the Center for Michigan, takes quite seriously the challenge presented by the educational needs of the youngest Michiganians. It is a member of the Children’s Leadership Council of Michigan, which just helped organize two hearings (Sept. 28 and Oct. 5) before the House Education Committee. Tim Bartik of the Upjohn Institute […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Welcome to Bridge
It took me 46 years, but I finally attended summer school. This summer, I studied up on the nuances of inflation-adjusted dollars, website design, employment practices, marketing and, frankly, stuff I can’t remember right now. All this led up to what you see before you: Bridge Magazine, a project of the Center for Michigan to […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Why Snyder's government reform plan may sound familiar
(Originally published March 22, 2011) Gov. Rick Snyder’s speech Monday aimed at reinventing local government actually reinvented (or at least reiterated) numerous reform ideas offered in recent years by the Center for Michigan and other public interest groups. Examples: • Intensifying local government consolidation and service sharing was a key recommendation of the Center’s citizens’ […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Redistricting: How political map-making leaves voters with uncompetitive, pre-determined elections
(Originally published Feb. 10, 2011) In the past decade, voters decided 664 races for seats in the Michigan Legislature. The majority of those races were never in question. Millions of votes didn’t really matter. Districts for many state representatives and senators are not competitive. Many seats are engineered for partisan advantage. A consequence is the […]