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Entrepreneurialism

SE Michigan's Entrepreneurial Cities

October 24, 2008 – 11:13 am

Congrats to six Metro Detroit communities for earning the title of the region's most entrepreneurial cities..
Auburn Hills, Dundee, Plymouth Township, Southfield, Tecumseh and Troy.
That news comes from the University of Michigan-Dearborn's Center for Innovation Research...
The 2008 “eCities” study (or “the Entrepreneurial Cities Index”) found that many southeast Michigan municipalities “are hard at work attracting, cultivating, [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Economic Development, Fresh Thoughts, Quality of Place, The Center at Work | Comments (1)

Michigan's bizarre circular thinking on biz taxes

October 24, 2008 – 9:36 am

Doug Drake tried to warn us.
"Are you ready for some grumbling?" Drake asked a crowd two years ago at a statewide tax policy conference hosted by the Center for Michigan. A veteran of many state budget and tax fights, Drake raised concerns about the prospects of replacing Michigan's old SBT business tax.
Let me remind you [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Accountability, Clear Taxing & Spending, Economic Development, Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (2)

Mass Transit Momentum, in Livingston, too

September 26, 2008 – 11:31 am

Metro Detroit mass transit czar John Hertel has been working for many months on a regional plan to end Southeast Michigan's dubious distinction as the only major American urban center without a rapid transit system.
This week, he unveiled his plan.
The push is growing even in the distant exurbs. Consider Livingston County, where cheap gas and [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Economic Development, Fresh Thoughts, Quality of Place, The Center at Work | Comments (1)

Flint's Answer to Right to Work

September 26, 2008 – 11:26 am

Last week, hours after business leaders declared Right to Work an important reform for Michigan's future, Democratic and Republican legislators showed up to the Grand Rapids Marriott for a dinner celebrating the West Michigan Regional Policy Conference. Senator Deb Cherry, a Democrat from the Flint suburb of Burton, was among the dinner guests. I impishly [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Economic Development, Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (2)

MI venture capital 'coming to life'

September 19, 2008 – 7:30 am

No one knows the ultimate fallout of the tremors on Wall Street this week. But on the eve of the mid-September crisis, venture capitalists from around the nation gathered in Detroit for the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds annual convention.
Why Detroit? Because "Detroit is reinventing itself as a technological hub for the 21st [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Economic Development, Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (0)

Michigan venture capital 'coming to life'

September 17, 2008 – 2:12 pm

Okay, admit it -- as the weekend approaches, you can think of more
exciting things than reading about yet another conference.
Well, so can I. But hang in here with me for a moment, because this one
is the real deal, when it comes to Michigan's future.
Last week, Detroit hosted the 15th annual conference of the National
Association of [...]

By Phil Power | Also posted in Columns, Economic Development | Comments (1)

Michigan's Economy: Inside the Numbers

August 7, 2008 – 7:02 am

Michigan joined Delaware and New Hampshire as the only three states to actually have shrinking economies in 2007, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
The BEA regularly measures state domestic product -- the value of all goods and services produced in each state.
Michigan had an economy valued at [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Economic Development, Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (3)

Investing in Michigan

August 1, 2008 – 12:09 pm

Lost in all the scandal news this week was an important new economic development tool announced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
The new Invest Michigan program will take $300 million from the pension fund piggybank for state retirees and use it to provide venture capital for small- and medium-sized companies that are growing and expanding in Michigan.
It's [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Economic Development, Fresh Thoughts, The Center at Work | Comments (4)

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