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Columns

Reform: The New Work Week

June 20, 2008 – 10:28 am

Gas is, as I write this, $4.19 at my neighborhood station, and they've dropped the $50 credit card limit on the pump.
This is getting plenty serious.
Fortunately, there is somebody taking a common-sense approach to the problem: Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. A month ago, he proposed voluntary rescheduling for county employees so they'd work [...]

By Phil Power | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (7)

The Hope Factor in Michigan

June 12, 2008 – 9:05 am

With spooky coincidence, last week marked both the 40th anniversary of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's assassination -- and the winning by U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of the prize RFK had sought.
I was involved in Bobby Kennedy's campaign for President, which was so abruptly and tragically ended in the pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in [...]

By Phil Power | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (2)

A Sad Display on the Island

June 6, 2008 – 11:10 am

MACKINAC ISLAND -- If you've never attended the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce's annual policy conference on Mackinac Island, know that the first -- and overwhelming -- impression is the amazing crush of people.
This year's conference drew around 1,800 participants to the fantastically beautiful porch of the Grand Hotel. For three days I was [...]

By Phil Power | Also posted in The Center at Work | Comments (2)

There's No Monster Under the Bed

June 6, 2008 – 10:08 am

By Mike Flanagan
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Forget that we have nothing to fear but fear itself.
We have nothing to fear but fear of change.
Michigan has begun its ascent to the top of the world's job chain with the most rigorous high school graduation requirements, an aggressive worker training program, and a growing realization that we [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in The Center at Work | Comments (0)

Tax Brinksmanship Hurts Business

May 15, 2008 – 11:28 am

You might say the new Michigan Business Tax was born under a cloud and with an unnecessary "birth defect" that now has the state's business community up in arms. So how did we get here?
First, a quick recap: Last year, faced with a billion-dollar deficit and threat of a state government shutdown, the legislature [...]

By Phil Power | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (5)

MI's New Info Assembly Line

April 24, 2008 – 5:31 pm

Just off the Walter Reuther expressway in Pleasant Ridge, a tidy little suburb near the Detroit Zoo, Michigan's rust belt past sits cheek by jowl with the beginnings of our knowledge economy future.
Welcome to ePrize, a small firm with a big ambition: To be the Google of the interactive marketing and promotion industry. Location is [...]

By Phil Power | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (1)

The Dillon Recall Charade

April 17, 2008 – 1:53 pm

Think Michigan legislative politics are all sweetness and light these days, following last year’s partisan bruising budget wars?
If so, you might want to take a look at what’s going on in the 17th State Representative District. It consists of a corridor of land that is mostly shaped like the northern part of Idaho, and includes [...]

By Phil Power | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (10)

Keeping Score on Michigan Prisons

March 28, 2008 – 10:58 am

IBM's axiom is old, but it still makes sense: "You cannot manage what you do not measure."
We all know that Michigan needs a big time transformation to get through today’s tough times and on to a prosperous future: A vibrant, diversified economy; a place where talented people are welcomed; a wonderful place to live and [...]

By Phil Power | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (5)

College-educated autoworkers

March 19, 2008 – 3:32 pm

One of Michigan's major handicaps has been the profound ignorance most families have about the vital importance of higher education to their children‘s future.
Fortunately, a solution may finally be in sight.
But now as for decades, the prevailing culture scandalously disrespects learning. The single most depressing statistic I’ve seen was in a Detroit News statewide [...]

By Phil Power | Also posted in The Center at Work | Comments (2)

Taking Stock of Michigan's citizens' movement

March 13, 2008 – 9:48 pm

It was two years ago that a day-long conference in Ann Arbor marked the start of a citizen movement to transform Michigan from a struggling, fearful Rust Belt state into the kind of proud, prosperous place we’re all longing for.
Participants at "Where Do We Go From Here?" considered Michigan’s financial picture, tax structure, workforce and [...]

By Phil Power | Also posted in Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (1)

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