As the leader of a youth-focused foundation in Detroit, I know firsthand that the Working Parents Tax Cut is a life-changing policy for hardworking families in Michigan. It is rare in Michigan right now, let alone in our country, to see unity behind policy initiatives. Recent polling of likely 2024 voters in Michigan found overwhelmingly strong support for a one billion dollar Working Parents Tax Cut (WPTC) to help parents raising young children afford household necessities like childcare. Michigan Future was a leader in the effort to expand Michigan’s Earned Income Tax Credit – succeeding in ..read more

Last fall, we released our proposal for a Working Parents Tax Credit (WPTC) here in Michigan – a large, refundable tax credit directed to working parents with young children, to help defray the high cost of childcare and combat the so-called “benefit cliff.” Our proposal would send non-affluent working parents $5,000 for each child under 3 and $2,500 for each child between 3 and 6. The motivation behind the proposal was two-fold. First, far too many non-affluent households in Michigan struggle to pay for basic necessities. This is particularly true for working parents with young children who ..read more

For years, we have been arguing that the economic development imperative in Michigan is to create places in our state that can retain and attract young talent. Because today’s young, highly-educated talent are concentrating in dense, walkable, amenity-rich neighborhoods within central cities, this means that to hold onto and attract more young talent, we need to develop many more of these talent-magnet neighborhoods. Our proposal for how we go about doing that is what we call the Neighborhood Talent Concentration Initiative (NTCI), a proposed state program that would provide resources to Michi ..read more

Michigan Future Inc., a Michigan-focused nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank, today announced the addition of Kirk Profit, founder of Profit Legal Services, PLLC, and Donald Rencher, president and CEO of the Hudson-Webber Foundation to their board of directors. “Donald and Kirk are terrific additions to the Michigan Future Inc. board of directors. Their combined experience and wealth of knowledge will be a great resource to our team,” said Michigan Future Inc. President Lou Glazer. “We are excited to have Donald and Kirk join the board.” Profit is as an attorney at Profit Legal Services, PLLC, a ..read more

We have written frequently about the wage premium enjoyed by those with a four-year degree or more. And yet we continue with a public conversation that increasingly questions the value of getting a four-year degree or more. The reality is that a four-year degree or more is the most reliable path to a middle class or better career. End of story! One of the main reason why a B.A. is the most reliable path is that the B.A. premium grows larger as one ages. The data below details this ever expanding premium. The data are for 2022 money earnings for full-time, year-round workers from all work: pay ..read more

Last fall, we released our proposal for a Working Parents Tax Credit (WPTC) here in Michigan. As the name suggests, this new refundable tax credit would be targeted to working parents with young children, sending $5,000 to EITC-eligible households for each child under three years old, and $2,500 for each child between the ages of three and five. The motivation for the WPTC is to help working parents with young children defray the high cost of childcare, as well as combat the so-called benefit cliff, in which public assistance declines as individuals earn more from work. In the months since we ..read more

Twenty years after the first edition of Michigan Future, Inc. and the University of Michigan’s report titled A New Path to Prosperity? Manufacturing and Knowledge-Based Industries As Drivers of Economic Growth was released, the two organizations are releasing a second edition which contains a startling finding: Michigan’s economic standing has plummeted with Michigan now ranking 39th in personal income per capita among the 50 states. “With Michigan’s new focus on becoming a more prosperous state, one that attracts and retains young talent, we looked to the report we issued in 2004 to see how o ..read more

In the postsecondary education landscape, short-term credentials hold a certain allure. In conversations around education and the future of work, certificates and credentials are often viewed as the way forward. To succeed in the future economy, the argument goes, some postsecondary education is needed, and it need not be a four-year degree. This argument holds that there are numerous good paying jobs out there for those without a four-year degree, but with an “industry-valued credential.” People want credentials to work. There is a demand for higher education alternatives that are lower cost ..read more

Governor Whitmer recently took two bold steps: She formed a population commission and created a new department on lifelong learning. Both moves deserve applause, which are part of a broader strategy tied to economic development and growth. Or, as we at Michigan Future, Inc. call it, The Prosperity Agenda.  Why are the governor’s moves encouraging? Because of the policy focus on retaining and attracting talent. Scholarly work done by Michigan Future, Inc. tells us that talent is mobile, that talent locates where it most wants to live, and that jobs follow talent. Research shows that talent ..read more

Adapted from Michigan Future, Inc. President Lou Glazer’s Growing Michigan Together Council presentation on November 2, 2023. Michigan was a 20th Century high-prosperity state. Now we are a 21st Century low-prosperity state. Ranking 39th in per capita income, 13 percent below the national average in 2022. This is the lowest Michigan has been compared to the nation ever. This is not a partisan issue. This decline has happened under both Republican and Democratic administrations and control of the legislature. The core reason for this unprecedented collapse in economic well-being is that the Mic ..read more