Business Leaders For Michigan - Featured Content

Michigan Metros Well Positioned For Next Economy: Federal And State Action Could Accelerate Growth

Business Leaders For Michigan — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:51:00 +0000

DETROIT, Mich., February 23, 2012 – Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM), the state’s business roundtable, today released a strategy for accelerating the economic growth of Michigan’s cities and regions. The report, Michigan’s Metropolitan and Urban Strategy, was prepared by Public Sector Consultants and the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program.

“This report reinforces the 2012 Michigan Turnaround Plan and the need to accelerate the growth of our cities and metro regions to become a Top Ten state for job, economic and personal income growth,” said Doug Rothwell, BLM President and CEO. “Michigan’s metro regions benchmark competitively to national peers on economic performance and assets. The report outlines steps the state and local communities can take to go from competitive to best in class in economic growth.”

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Download a copy of the report

MEDIA ADVISORY: Business Leaders for Michigan Unveil Recommendations for Helping Michigan Cities and Metro Areas Achieve Their Economic Potential

Business Leaders For Michigan — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:10:16 +0000

What: At a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, Business Leaders for Michigan, in conjunction with The Brookings Institution, will discuss a number of the key drivers of the next economy. They will focus on how Michigan's cities and metro areas stack up with their peers, and discuss what can be done to help strengthen our cities and metro areas and grow their economies.

When: Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 12:30 p.m.

Where: MotorCity Casino Hotel, Grand Ballroom

(Ballroom is in the lower level of the MotorCity Casino Hotel Meeting space. Media Registration will be near the lower level entrance to the Sound Board.)

Speakers:

Bruce Katz, Vice President at the Brookings Institution and founding Director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program

James B. Nicholson, President & CEO, PVS Chemicals, Inc. and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Business Leaders for Michigan.

Doug Rothwell, President & CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan

Step 1 of the Michigan Turnaround Plan: Getting our fiscal house in order

Doug Rothwell — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:23:00 +0000

There is a lot of discussion in the world today about the debt being racked up by many nations. In most cases, this debt was accumulated after years of not following sound fiscal and accounting practices. America is a good example. For years we’ve failed to balance our budget, based budgets on overly optimistic revenue forecasts and did not take into consideration the long-term costs of our policy actions. Our growing debt obligations has led to a great deal of uncertainty about the future. This has caused job providers to slow investment and consumers to cut back on spending. Michigan experienced much the same situation during the past decade and this has contributed to our “one state, decade long” recession.

This is why Business Leaders for Michigan made the first step of the Michigan Turnaround Plan about responsibly managing finances. The Plan is a holistic, fact-based strategy to make Michigan a Top Ten state for job, economic and personal income growth.

Our original plan called for the state to manage its money the way a responsible household or business would – by balancing the budget without one-time gimmicks, projecting revenues using sound information and projecting spending needs over the long-term. Fortunately, the state has implemented many of these suggestions during the past year and as a result has been able to start paying down debt and generating a small budget surplus. As a result, business confidence is up and Michigan’s economy is turning around.

We must build on the solid foundation laid this past year by memorializing in policy or law the practices outlined above so we don’t slip back into bad habits after this Governor and legislature leave office. We need to continue paying down the billions of debt we racked up the past decade and require that every piece of proposed legislation have a “price tag” attached to it so policy makers understand the consequences of their actions. We also recommend the state adopt a long-term strategic plan that clearly identifies what we should expect from state government to guide annual budgets.

Adopting sound accounting practices and fiscal policies don’t get much attention in the news. But we’ve seen around the world what happens when we ignore these basics.

Business Leaders For Michigan Supports Increased University Funding Based On Performance And Accountability; Calls For Changes To Administration’s Plan

Business Leaders For Michigan — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:18:38 +0000

Urges state to shift from prison investment to university investment

LANSING, Mich., February 15, 2012 — Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM), the state’s business roundtable, today in testimony before the Michigan Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Higher Education at the State Capitol building, urged state policymakers to end the more than decade long trend of disinvesting in the state’s public universities and renew the state’s investment in one of Michigan’s greatest assets for driving job, economic, and personal income growth.

Patrick Doyle, President and Chief Executive Officer of Domino’s Pizza, and a BLM Board member, described Michigan’s public universities as key drivers for talent production, innovation, and economic growth in the state, and deserving of a higher priority in the budget process. “While many factors influence where a business decides to locate or expand, the quality of a region’s university system is a significant consideration, because every company wants access to the best talent. This fiscal year, Michigan will spend 76% more general fund dollars on prisons than we will on universities. Our public universities are a major driver of Michigan’s economy yet we are spending more on prisons than we are to help a Michigan student go to college. This investment strategy is upside down if we want to attract business investment and good paying jobs.”

Download the full press release

Download a copy of the committee testimony

Strong Majority of Michigan Voters Believe Michigan’s Universities are Important in Creating New Jobs

Business Leaders For Michigan — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:36:15 +0000

According to a survey conducted by Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM) in January, Michigan voters strongly believe our universities play an important role in the creation of new jobs.

“Nearly 92% of respondents said universities were very or somewhat important to creating jobs,” said Doug Rothwell, President and CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan. “These results confirm that Michigan voters clearly understand our public universities are one of our greatest assets for growing jobs and Michigan’s economy.”

In addition, voters also believe that additional funding should be tied to performance in key areas. Nearly 68% of voters support the idea of allowing universities to earn back some of the money that has been cut from higher education if universities increase their graduation and retention rates, keep administrative costs low, and increase financial aid. By a margin of 47%-33%, voters preferred this idea to a proposal that would give every Michigan college student $9,500 without being linked to results. “Voters are willing to support more funding for our universities, but they want accountability and performance for that investment,” said Rothwell.

Download the full press release.

Michigan CEO Summit Agenda: Lineup of top job providers to fuel discussion on efforts to grow the New Michigan economy

Business Leaders For Michigan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:35:00 +0000

Today Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM) announced the full agenda for the first-ever Michigan CEO Summit which will bring more than a dozen of Michigan’s top executives together to share strategies for building the state’s economic future. The daylong event will be held on March 15, 2012 at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit and will focus on strategies for achieving success at the local, state and national levels, and explore new ways to innovate, invest, and accelerate Michigan’s economic growth.

“This event provides a unique opportunity for business, civic and community leaders to hear directly from Michigan’s largest job providers about what they think are the major trends that will most impact our state’s economy,” said Doug Rothwell, President and CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan. “We will also focus on Michigan’s greatest challenges and opportunities and what business and others can do to grow the New Michigan economy.”

Download the full press release.

2012 Michigan Turnaround Plan and the New Michigan

Business Leaders For Michigan — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:10:35 +0000

Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM), the state’s business roundtable, announced today its 2012 Michigan Turnaround Plan (MTP), which includes a number of new recommendations for continuing Michigan’s turnaround and revitalizing Michigan’s economy and a new sixth step that lays out a 10+ year vision for a New Michigan.

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4Q ECONOMIC OUTLOOK SURVEY: More optimistic about long-term outlook for both U.S. and Michigan

Business Leaders For Michigan — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:35:33 +0000

DETROIT, Mich., January 17, 2012 – A survey of Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM), the state’s business roundtable, shows that the state’s largest employers are increasingly optimistic about Michigan’s short and long-term economic outlook. “Michigan’s largest job providers are getting downright bullish on the state’s economic prospects and backing it up with increased hiring and investment,” said Doug Rothwell, President & CEO. “Business leader optimism about the state’s long-term economy is at a three year high and nearly a third of the largest job providers are planning increased hiring and investment in the next six months.”

Download the full press release.

Regional Partners Advance Strategic Economic Outcomes in Greater Detroit

Business Leaders For Michigan — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:25:54 +0000

Report on Road to Renaissance Showcases Areas of Success and Leadership

DETROIT, Mich., December 12, 2011 — Business Leaders for Michigan, the state’s business roundtable, issued the last in a series of progress reports on the Road to Renaissance, a pioneering, comprehensive movement geared at engineering economic growth and development in the Detroit region.

First launched in 2006, the Road to Renaissance initiative used input from hundreds of civic and business leaders to devise a strategy for accelerating regional economic growth.

“This effort has had stunning levels of involvement, complexity and reach,” said Doug Rothwell President & CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan. “More than $100 million was raised to support the activities of Road to Renaissance, and countless hours, people and significant amounts of energy were dedicated to growing our economy in Greater Detroit.”

Download the full press release

Download the Road to Renaissance Report

Michigan makes huge strides in 2011

Doug Rothwell — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:17:06 +0000

Column by Doug Rothwell, President and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan and Phil Power, the Founder and President of The Center for Michigan

Michigan has much to be thankful for as this year comes to a close: Better managed state and local government, a brighter economic outlook and more efficient delivery of public services. Our state’s turnaround has begun, but in many ways the hardest work still lies ahead.

A year ago, our two organizations held a summit, “Common Sense Reforms for a New Michigan” in Lansing. We drew nearly 400 people, including newly elected Gov. Rick Snyder and many legislative leaders for a discussion of structural changes we felt were needed to turn around Michigan and put us firmly on the path to prosperity.

The summit resulted in recommendations to improve state and local government efficiency, business climate and quality of life in our state. We also pledged to report on progress one year later — hence this column. There is much progress to report.