Papers

10,000 Voices: The Final Report from 585 Community Conversations

Today the Center for Michigan unveils “10,000 Voices” — the final report of the Michigan’s Defining Moment Public Engagement Campaign. More than 20,000 volunteer hours in the making, this report represents the work of more than 10,000 of your fellow citizens – people from many walks of life and every corner of Michigan who joined [...]

SPECIAL REPORT: The 2010 Michigan Scorecard

In several key ways, Michigan has fallen further behind in the race for global competitiveness.
That’s the summary conclusion from the 2010 Michigan Scorecard, a joint publication of The Center for Michigan and Data Driven Detroit.
Click here for a quick glance of all Scorecard measures presented in an easy-to-read weather report format.
The forward-looking question: what [...]

Education Town Hall Report: Support for Pre-K and funding, scrutiny of bennies

The Center for Michigan’s town hall meeting in East Lansing Wednesday was jam-packed with citizens, business people and educators eager to see the issues of children and schools go to the top of the agenda for the 2010 statewide elections.
Click here for a quick guide to the big issues.
In case you missed it, here are [...]

SPECIAL REPORT: Citizen's Guide to Michigan Education Issues

The Center for Michigan’s Town Hall Meeting on Education on March 10 in Lansing is sold out.
But even if you’re not among the more than 300 people have registered for the morning-long discussion, you can quickly get up to speed on the big-picture issues faced by today’s students, educators, parents, and taxpayers.
CLICK HERE FOR AN [...]

Town Hall Meeting Report: An emerging grand bargain on taxes and reforms?

Nearly 300 Michigan citizens and a panel of seven experts discussed some of the most contentious issues in our state’s politics this Tuesday morning. The tone was civil; the disagreements, while plain spoken, were respectful; the questions from the audience were probing.
In my view, it was the best possible example of citizen engagement and clear [...]

SPECIAL REPORT: AN INSIDE LOOK AT MICHIGAN'S REGIONAL ECONOMIES

Beyond the dismal unemployment numbers, what’s happening in Michigan’s economy? Are there spots of growth? Are some regions healthier than others? How do Michigan’s distinct regional economies compare to others in the Great Lakes and across the nation?
New numbers from the feds provide fascinating and provocative answers to those questions.
At the end of September, the [...]

Reform Summit: Lansing ignores viable options

Crain’s summed it up pretty well…
An increase in shared services by local governments, reform of Michigan’s revenue-sharing formula and increased health care co-pays for government workers are among priorities the state should consider. Those were conclusions reached by attendees Wednesday at an East Lansing meeting to discuss Michigan’s future. The “Michigan’s Defining Moment” session, sponsored [...]

$1.5 Billion in Reform Choices

Tough & Painful describes our compilation of reform ideas as budget woes intensify in Lansing.
Just like the checkbook choices at many kitchen tables in Michigan, state government’s options for reform are tough, painful, hard to swallow. But not impossible.
The Center for Michigan has compiled a list of more than $1.5 billion in hard choices [...]

SPECIAL REPORT: Michigan's Incredible Shrinking School Year

Imagine if the United States completely flopped in the next Olympics. Imagine if countries like Japan and South Korea dominated the medal count and it was obvious those athletes had simply out-worked, out-practiced, and out-performed ours.
The likely results… Public outcry. Fired coaches. Promises of a quick return to athletic glory would echo across the land.
We [...]

Pocketbook Glance: How YOU Fund the State Budget

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm announced her latest budget plan last week. So what’s the big deal? Why should you care? Because no matter how you think the government should spend your tax dollars (whether it be social programs, education, criminal justice, environmental protection, a return of those dollars to you through tax cuts, or any [...]

Thinking and Doing

A statewide group of bipartisan business and political leaders formed the Center for Michigan in early 2006
to assist our state through its current period of wrenching economic trouble and create informed hope for a
better future Michigan.
Click Here to read full report

Common Ground Agenda for Michigan's Transformation

Click to read Michigan’s Defining Moment one year report:
A Common Ground Agenda for Michigan’s Transformation

A New Michigan Scorecard

If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know where you’re going.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s bipartisan Emergency Financial Advisory Panel preached that maxim more than a year ago.

“With regard to taxes, investment, and structural reforms, Michigan should set benchmarks drawn from best practices in Great Lakes and comparable states,” those veteran state budget experts declared [...]

The Michigan Tax Malaise

Three years ago, momentum began to build to overhaul Michigan’s business tax system.
Conventional wisdom held that our old Single Business Tax was too complicated and
cumbersome and inhibited the ability to attract, retain and grow business.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Click to read full paper

Michigan Hunting and Fishing Licenses Bargains too Good to be True

Michigan boasts some of the very best hunting and fishing anywhere in the United States. Anglers and hunters vote with their waders and boots. Only two states (Texas and Pennsylvania) have more hunters than Michigan. Only four states (Minnesota, Florida, Texas, and California) have more anglers than Michigan.
Click link to view complete paper: [...]

Comprehensive School Reform

COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL REFORM by Dave Campbell, Superintendent of Olivet Schools

Swift Gazelles and Lumbering Lions

Swift Gazelles and Lumbering Lions (March 2007) – Should we scale the Kalamazoo Promise?

A New Model Michigan

A New Model Michigan (January 2007) – Eight ideas to structurally change how Michigan does the public’s business in these difficult economic times.

Degrees & Workplace Needs – How Well Do They Match?

Degrees & Workplace Needs – How Well Do They Match? (July 2006) – A compilation of degrees granted by Michigan universities in the past five years raises questions about how well the grads match up with the needs of the Michigan economy.

Government Employee Analysis

Government Employee Analysis (July 2006) – Michigan has a leaner state and local government workforce than all but five other states. But our government workers earn higher wages than those in most states, Michigan demographer and census ace Kurt Metzger found in an analysis for The Center for Michigan.

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