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Fresh Thoughts

March 10 Education Town Hall almost sold out

February 18, 2010 – 12:27 pm

More than 230 people have registered for the Center for Michigan's Education Town Hall meeting on March 10 at Eagle Eye Golf Club just north of East Lansing. If you plan on coming, you have until this Friday to register because we're all but "sold out" for this free event. Don't delay! Reserve your seat [...]

By John Bebow | Comments (2)

Valentine's roses for governor and business groups

February 18, 2010 – 12:26 pm

I realize Valentine's Day was last week, but I've got two extra long-stemmed red roses to hand out today.
One goes to Governor Jennifer Granholm for taking the leadership reins at last, as expressed in her recent budget and reform proposals. Finally, she's calling for cuts in state employee pay and benefits. Going against the [...]

By Phil Power | Also posted in Columns | Comments (2)

SUCCESS STORY: Motivate Michigan contest sparks new ideas

February 18, 2010 – 12:26 pm

By Jo Mathis
Seth Samuels would like to stay in the state when he graduates from the University of Michigan in 2013.
But he knows the economy must improve for that to happen.
So the West Bloomfield resident has entered a new online competition for students with ideas to improve the Michigan economy.
"Motivate Michigan" will award scholarships and [...]

By The Center for Michigan | Comments (0)

SPECIAL REPORT: A citizens' quick guide to key state budget issues

February 18, 2010 – 12:26 pm

If you really want to be a committed Michigan citizen, fully prepared to quiz the politicians when they come knocking on your door for votes later this year, spend a half-hour glancing over the brand-new, easy-to-read state budget presentations of experts like the Senate Fiscal Agency, or House Fiscal Agency Director Mitch Bean.
Or, allow us [...]

By John Bebow | Also posted in Columns | Comments (9)

Granholm's budget makes strides toward real reform

February 12, 2010 – 11:29 am

Perhaps we woke up wearing rose-colored glasses on Thursday morning.
But, on first appearances, Governor Jennifer Granholm's new state budget plan seems to be a product of keen listening to the many business and reform-minded groups who have long demanded change in Lansing.
A year ago, the Center for Michigan published a list of more than $1.5 [...]

By John Bebow | Comments (8)

Say 'maybe' to Pure Michigan

February 12, 2010 – 11:28 am

Finally, there is some renewed light in the award-winning Pure Michigan tourism campaign. But that light is more flicker than bright beam because of a dim bill moved Thursday by the Michigan Senate Finance Committee.
Faced with a nearly unanimous House package for long-term, sustainable funding for Michigan’s can't-miss tourism promotion campaign, Senate Finance Committee Chairwoman [...]

By John Bebow | Comments (14)

3 good economic vibes

February 12, 2010 – 11:28 am

1. FROM BRAWN TO BRAINS AT BISSELL
Folks like Michigan Future's Lou Glazer have spent years trying to inspire culture change as Michigan shifts from manufacturing brawn-based economies to 21st Century advanced manufacturing and service economies. The Grand Rapids Press has just published an excellent illustration of this shift in a profile of the changes afoot [...]

By John Bebow | Comments (1)

Local government efficiency: 2 steps forward, 1 step back

February 12, 2010 – 11:28 am

Fresh off a stinging county-wide millage defeat last fall, the 10 public school districts in Washtenaw County are crafting a new and creative plan to carve out up to 25 percent savings by combining their school bus systems. It's the kind of move-the-money-to-the-classroom approach educational reformers have long preached!
Likewise, Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell is [...]

By John Bebow | Comments (4)

Beer taxes: taste great, less filling

February 12, 2010 – 11:27 am

In all of the financial details and reform plans tossed around Lansing since the start of 2010, one legitimate way to quickly shrink big holes in the budget remains officially off the books.
We're talking about the beer tax, of course. It hasn't been touched since the 1960s and simply adjusting it for inflation over the [...]

By John Bebow | Comments (5)

2010 Politics likely to get in the way of good budget policy

February 12, 2010 – 11:27 am

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
That slogan dates back to the 1960s, but for Michigan, it was never truer than it is now. Our long-suffering state is staring at the very real possibility of yet another dreary round of inaction from a paralyzed state government. This year, we are [...]

By Phil Power | Also posted in Columns | Comments (8)

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