For many years, Kurt Metzger has served as Metro Detroit’s ace demographer. Journalist, public policy wonks, business executives, and politicians who need quick reads of the region’s pulse keep Kurt on speed dial.
This week, Kurt put down his spreadsheets and picked up his prose pen to contribute to the treasure trove of forward-thinkers who have served as guest bloggers for MetroMode.
Kurt raised two big questions:
1. What are we doing to assure the region (and state as a whole) are welcoming to immigrants? A century ago, almost one-third of Metro Detroit’s residents were foreign-born. Today, the number is fewer than one in ten.
2. What are we doing, as a region and as a state, to leverage the 2010 Census? Kurt’s warning…
“Census data directly affect how more than $400 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education, transportation and much more. That’s more than $4 trillion over a 10-year period. With the state and local news dominated by stories of DEFICIT and RECEIVERSHIP, we cannot afford to sit idly by and hope that the Census Bureau, through its employees and media buys, will provide Michigan and all its local governments with an accurate count. As is the case with elections… IF YOU DON’T PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE RESULTS!”
