By Liz Nass
Gongwer News Service
MACKINAC ISLAND – The opening day of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference, with an overall theme of collective power over divisive partisanship, was ironically a bit more critical of where the state stands.
The main focus of the opening presentation entitled “The House is On Fire” was a video presentation claiming that no state has fallen so far so fast citing stats the policymakers in attendance know very well: Michigan is 44th in the nation in fourth-grade reading scores, 46th in labor force participation and 49th in population growth.
The most sobering statistic, Bob Riney, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health and chair of the conference, said is dropping to last in GDP growth.
Riney said the state has fire trucks, but they are going in opposite directions.
He said Michigan does not have a Democratic or Republican issue, seeing a trifecta and administration of both of many over the years, but it is a Michigan issue. If problems are pinned on one party, it is unhelpful.
In a chamber poll released Tuesday, what’s causing the “house fire” is the perception across parties that the two-party system is failing the nation. By a margin of 15.5% to75.5%, voters do not think the Democratic Party has the same values as it did 20 years ago. For Republicans, the margin is around 19.5% to 69.2%.
However, when it comes to state politics, most voters have no idea what problems Michigan faces, most notably income decreases, where only one in four voters were aware of where the state stood, according to the poll.
Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah said it’s going to be hard to mobilize the political establishment to make change if voters aren’t demanding it.
He said people tend to think Michigan is “dead average,” but really the state is “dead last” in many ways.
“It's hard to solve a problem if you don't think you have one,” Baruah said.
More than half of voters were unaware of Michigan’s fourth-grade reading scores ranking and the unemployment rate sitting at 4.9%. Around three-fourths of voters were unaware of Michigan has dropped from 16th place to 39th place in per person income during the past 25 years.
Addressing economic fears, more people expect a recession in the next year rather than a growing economy for the first time since January 2025, with 49% of people fearing climbing inflation. There is also fear around availability of good jobs, with only 3% saying there are good jobs available and around 40% saying there are not.
About 26% of the respondents said they are doing worse this year, economically, with 59% citing inflation. However, 71.8% cited an overall affordability issue including costs, gas prices, not being able to earn a livable wage, and living on a fixed income.
The poll also said around 42.5% of respondents believe the state is on the wrong track, and a margin of 36.8% to 45.7% believe the economy is on the wrong track.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer remained popular with a 52.2% approval rating. This ranks her 5th in overall approval rating among the 27 second-term governors. Average net approval rating typically declines 13 percentage points during second terms, but Whitmer’s has increased by over 15 percentage points.
On topics like data centers, voters say regulations are crucial including the cost of electricity changes, additional tax incentives, prohibiting government officials from signing an NDA and using a closed-loop water system to cut back on water usage. By a margin of 48.7% to 41.3%, Michigan voters would consider a data center within 25 miles of their homes if these proposed regulations were in place.
Riney said it’s important for lawmakers to keep the jarring statistics in mind as they move throughout the conference, but they should also keep in mind that they can make a huge impact on all of it. He said the change starts with the culture and Michigan needs to change the conversation at the dinner table first.
“This is a state worth fighting for, but let's make no mistake, we're in a fight, and it's a fight that if we don't see it as a fight, we're not even going to have a chance to win,” Riney said.
Gongwer News Service
MACKINAC ISLAND – The opening day of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference, with an overall theme of collective power over divisive partisanship, was ironically a bit more critical of where the state stands.
The main focus of the opening presentation entitled “The House is On Fire” was a video presentation claiming that no state has fallen so far so fast citing stats the policymakers in attendance know very well: Michigan is 44th in the nation in fourth-grade reading scores, 46th in labor force participation and 49th in population growth.
The most sobering statistic, Bob Riney, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health and chair of the conference, said is dropping to last in GDP growth.
Riney said the state has fire trucks, but they are going in opposite directions.
He said Michigan does not have a Democratic or Republican issue, seeing a trifecta and administration of both of many over the years, but it is a Michigan issue. If problems are pinned on one party, it is unhelpful.
In a chamber poll released Tuesday, what’s causing the “house fire” is the perception across parties that the two-party system is failing the nation. By a margin of 15.5% to75.5%, voters do not think the Democratic Party has the same values as it did 20 years ago. For Republicans, the margin is around 19.5% to 69.2%.
However, when it comes to state politics, most voters have no idea what problems Michigan faces, most notably income decreases, where only one in four voters were aware of where the state stood, according to the poll.
Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah said it’s going to be hard to mobilize the political establishment to make change if voters aren’t demanding it.
He said people tend to think Michigan is “dead average,” but really the state is “dead last” in many ways.
“It's hard to solve a problem if you don't think you have one,” Baruah said.
More than half of voters were unaware of Michigan’s fourth-grade reading scores ranking and the unemployment rate sitting at 4.9%. Around three-fourths of voters were unaware of Michigan has dropped from 16th place to 39th place in per person income during the past 25 years.
Addressing economic fears, more people expect a recession in the next year rather than a growing economy for the first time since January 2025, with 49% of people fearing climbing inflation. There is also fear around availability of good jobs, with only 3% saying there are good jobs available and around 40% saying there are not.
About 26% of the respondents said they are doing worse this year, economically, with 59% citing inflation. However, 71.8% cited an overall affordability issue including costs, gas prices, not being able to earn a livable wage, and living on a fixed income.
The poll also said around 42.5% of respondents believe the state is on the wrong track, and a margin of 36.8% to 45.7% believe the economy is on the wrong track.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer remained popular with a 52.2% approval rating. This ranks her 5th in overall approval rating among the 27 second-term governors. Average net approval rating typically declines 13 percentage points during second terms, but Whitmer’s has increased by over 15 percentage points.
On topics like data centers, voters say regulations are crucial including the cost of electricity changes, additional tax incentives, prohibiting government officials from signing an NDA and using a closed-loop water system to cut back on water usage. By a margin of 48.7% to 41.3%, Michigan voters would consider a data center within 25 miles of their homes if these proposed regulations were in place.
Riney said it’s important for lawmakers to keep the jarring statistics in mind as they move throughout the conference, but they should also keep in mind that they can make a huge impact on all of it. He said the change starts with the culture and Michigan needs to change the conversation at the dinner table first.
“This is a state worth fighting for, but let's make no mistake, we're in a fight, and it's a fight that if we don't see it as a fight, we're not even going to have a chance to win,” Riney said.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
https://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
