DETROIT, Mich., February 9, 2016- Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM) today unveiled its agenda for continuing Michigan’s progress toward more jobs, higher incomes, and a healthy economy.
The organization’s Building a New Michigan plan is a fact-based roadmap to help Michigan become a “Top Ten” economic competitor by 2020. It is the successor to BLM’s Michigan Turnaround Plan (MTP), which was designed to restart economic growth after the Great Recession.
“Thanks to the support of the public, policy makers, business and community leaders, much of the MTP has been accomplished, with positive results—new jobs, higher incomes and a growing population. Now that we’ve shored up our economic foundation, it’s time for us to get building,” said Patrick Doyle, Domino’s President & CEO and BLM Board Chair.
Doyle said while the state’s economic growth has been promising, there is much more to be accomplished.
“The Great Recession hit Michigan harder than any other state, so while our recent growth has been impressive, we’re still not where we should be in absolute terms,” Doyle said. “The Turnaround Plan headed us in the right direction. The new plan is designed to complete the mission of getting us to become a Top Ten state.”
If Michigan was performing like a Top Ten state today, there would be 120,000 more Michiganders working and $11,000 more income per person annually.
“That’s enough to pay a year’s tuition at one of our public universities, or cover nearly three years of mortgage payments on the average Michigan home,” Doyle said. To accomplish these results, the Building a New Michigan plan calls for the following key actions during 2016:
- Become more competitive by strengthening the state’s fiscal stability. The plan calls for reductions in state and local debt, cost estimates for proposed legislation, and greater service delivery across jurisdictions.
- Invest in key assets, particularly the state’s talent pipeline. “Michigan must create more educated and skilled talent at all levels,” said Doug Rothwell, CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan. “We need to boost postsecondary enrollment and help Michiganders access the education and training programs they need to be successful.”
- Grow Michigan’s economy by leveraging its unique assets, most notably its potential as a Global Center of Mobility. Michigan’s automotive industry represents the single largest potential growth opportunity for the state.
- Ensure the state’s economic development efforts are growing the results we need. The state needs stronger approaches to business attraction, as well as a unified economic development strategy.
“We are eager to continue partnering with state and local leaders to implement our Building a New Michigan plan,” Rothwell said. “The future success of Michigan is dependent upon our collective efforts to compete, invest and grow in ways that make sense.” A full copy of the plan, Building a New Michigan, is available at: www.businessleadersformichigan.com/2016buildingnmreport/
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