Michigan futurist Lou Glazer just published his latest progress report on Michigan’s transition to a knowledge-based economy. A few highlights:
“For the foreseeable future, Michigan’s economy will continue to lag the nation. With the very existence of the domestic auto industry in doubt, we are, at best, in for a few more years of decline.”
“In 2000, at the end of the boom years, Michigan still ranked 16th in per capita income. We were 34th in bachelors degree attainment. In many ways 2000 marked the end of an era when you could have high prosperity with low education attainment. No more! In 2007 Michigan ranked 33rd in per capita income, an unprecedented drop…”
“Beneath the headlines of continuous job loss, it is important to note that the national pattern of better performance in the high education industries holds true for Michigan as well. Employment in low education attainment industries fell off a cliff: down an astonishing 10.7 percent in a national expansion. In the high education attainment industries the loss was 1.1 percent… The pattern: good-paying work is concentrating in the high education attainment industries nationally and in Michigan.”
“Higher wages have been a competitive disadvantage for Michigan in retaining manufacturing jobs. Lower wages in the knowledge-based sectors of the economy — where most of the job growth and good-paying jobs are — could be a competitive edge for Michigan.”
For the first time, Glazer collected data on smaller Michigan metropolitan areas. Among those, Kalamazoo fares best, but even Kalamazoo is below the national average on wage and income metrics.
And Lou repeated his planks of what’s needed to return Michigan to prosperity, including expanded investments of quality of place, increasing public investments in higher education, and “transforming teaching and learning so that it is aligned with the realities of a flattening world — all of education needs reinvention.”
Glazer’s latest work comes on the heels of a special talent issue of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s magazine. Likewise, Metromode.com just illustrated how the young professionals who stay in Michigan, can quickly gain rank and voice in the efforts to pioneer a new state. Metromode’s story, Young Guns in Metro Politics, profiled several young leaders on the rise…
“Everyone I spoke to described being at a frustrating intersection of change and need. ‘Change’ is no longer a luxury or slogan, but something absolutely essential to Michigan’s economic survival, and ‘need’ means fewer of the resources required for risk taking than ever.”
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The “Lansing” Responses to Lou’s study remind me of the young lady who went to the Doctor and…..well, let her tell it in her own words.
“I went to the doctor for my yearly physical. The nurse started withcertain basics.”How much do you weigh?” she asked.”135,” I said.The nurse put me on the scale.It turns out my weight is 180.The nurse asked, “Your height?”"5 foot 2,” I said.The nurse checked and saw that I only measure 4 foot 11″ She then took my blood pressure and told me that it is very high. “Of course it’s high!”I screamed, ‘When I came in here I was tall and slender! Now I’m short and fat!”She put me on Prozac.What a bitch.”
Last year we had Phil speak at our annual convention and he was great. Would Phil recommend Lou Glazer as a speaker and if so, how can we contact Lou?
Thank you.