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 […]
Flint
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 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 inLand O Links
Land O Links
“Knowledge is not a passion from without the mind, but an active exertion of the inward strength, vigor and power of the mind, displaying itself from within” — Ralph Cudworth, 17th century English philosopher. * ProPublica gives a grand tour of campaign finance laws over the last few decades. You probably won’t enjoy the tour stops […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Learning life outdoors: Old idea, new generation
Dick Laing recalls with pride working with Michigan Tech Universityon a residential “boot camp” style program in forestry and conservation skills in the Upper Peninsula that helped disadvantaged youngsters develop life skills. The program eventually fell victim to budgetary neglect, he says. Laing never doubted, however, the value of the effort to put children from urban […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Unfunded legacy costs = big trouble for local governments
By Robert Daddow/Oakland County deputy executive “Property tax revenues implode.” “Deficit elimination plan draconian.” “Troubled pension plan may not pay benefits.” “Pension investments crash, will cost retirees.” These troubling headlines reflect a branding that no responsible official would ever want to see for their community. They create an image that stains a local unit as […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“There are only two kinds of people who are really fascinating — people who know absolutely everything, and people who know absolutely nothing” — Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and author. * Durable goods manufacturing, as a percentage of total economic activity, is “at or near pre-recession levels for each Seventh District state,” says the Federal […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Pension costs burn through city budgets
Lansing’s taxpayers were doused with some difficult news last week: The city’s pension fund for police and fire retirees could use a nearly $2 million boost from the city’s general fund. And the city’s already fighting a budget deficit. Big-city fire departments across Michigan continue to wrestle with the legacy costs of public safety pensions, […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Guest column: Change tax code to feed starving Michigan cities
By Dayne Walling/Flint mayor In Michigan, cities were the greatest victims of the recent near failure of the economy and the housing market. Michigan is not seeing the same renaissance of returning to the city at a significant rate equal to the national trend. The problem is that all of the cuts to government here […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan's 'Faltering 40' on college prep
If you want your son or daughter to succeed in college, there are 40 public school districts you may want to avoid. In an analysis by Bridge Magazine and Public Sector Consultants, these 40 districts, spread across the state and ranging from urban to rural, scored in the bottom rungs of four different college-readiness measures. […]