Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'michigan'

June 12, 2009

Greening Jobs

A great deal of focus in the midst of the economic downturn has been on “green” jobs, that sector of industry that focuses on renewable sources of energy and that, according to some pundits and politicians, heralds the future of American economic resurgence. Continue Reading...
June 02, 2009

GM Bankruptcy A ‘Hammer Blow’ To Michigan

The Detroit News says the General Motors bankruptcy filing “is a hammer blow for a state that was already on its knees.” In an editorial, the paper calls for an “emergency response” from government and an entirely new orientation to attracting businesses and jobs to the state: Longer term, Michigan’s entire focus must be on creating a business climate that makes the state attractive for job creators in a wide range of industries. Continue Reading...
January 08, 2009

One Good Thing about Term Limits

I’m ambivalent about the value of term limits, but one thing that can certainly be counted in their favor is that they (at some point at least), force lawmakers to go out and try to make a living in the economic environment which they helped to shape. Continue Reading...
September 15, 2008

The rise and fall of Kwame Kilpatrick

There’s a good read from a state politician familiar with Kwame Kilpatrick, the former Detroit mayor accused of all manner of illicit activity, in the Sep. 12 newsletter (PDF) from Michigan state senator Mickey Switalski (D-Roseville). Continue Reading...
July 16, 2008

Michigan Science, No. 7, Spring 2008

The newest issue of Michigan Science has been posted by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. I especially enjoyed reading Deneen Borelli’s piece on the failed “cap and trade” legislation titled, “Just the Facts.” Continue Reading...
February 29, 2008

Imprisonment and government expenditures

There’s a lot of consternation, much of it justified, about the news that now 1% of the population of the United States is incarcerated. Especially noteworthy is a comparison of the rate of imprisonment with institutionalization in mental health facilities over the last century. Continue Reading...
June 05, 2007

A Single-State Recession

The number of jobs (nonfarm, not seasonally-adjusted) added to the US economy since 2004 numbers around 6 million. But over the same period, Michigan has lost over 50,000 jobs. What’s going on? Continue Reading...
March 09, 2007

The state of discontent

Some of Michigan’s economic woes are pretty well outlined in an editorial in today’s OpinionJournal, “MoveOnOutofMichigan.org”. It begins by noting a symbolically important defection: Comerica Inc. was founded in 1849 in Detroit and the Detroit Tigers play in Comerica Park, but this week the bank holding company announced it is moving its headquarters to Dallas–where, it said, the bigger growth opportunities are. Continue Reading...
November 13, 2006

Conservatives and the GOP

In an op-ed last week, Acton senior fellow Jerry Zandstra argues that in Michigan, even though the GOP lost, conservatives won. In “GOP loses, but conservatives win in Michigan” Zandstra explains the phenomenon that “Conservative positions won in the ballot initiatives but Republican candidates lost.” Continue Reading...