Michigan has an underpopulation problem. The state’s growth was flat between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and in the last three years Michigan’s population actually declined. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2023 convened a panel to study the problem, but the Growing Michigan Together Council’s December report was stuffed with new spending and old ideas. Virtually nothing in the 86-page report addressed the question of how to persuade people to live in Michigan.
The Mackinac Center has been studying this problem for many years, and we recently released a survey of the best research on interstate migration. We will continue to present the best practices for arresting Michigan’s population decline and building a state where people want to live.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer created the Growing Michigan Together Council last summer. It was charged with recommending reforms to grow Michigan’s population.
… moreThe new report from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Growing Michigan Together Council offers up old ideas and asserts that they will be effective at reversing Michigan’s population decline.
… moreGov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Growing Michigan Together Council released its final report last week with recommendations purportedly designed to help grow Michigan’s population.
… moreGov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Growing Michigan Together Council released a final report on ways the state could increase the state’s population Thursday.
… moreGov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “Growing Michigan Together Council” report should have contained new ideas for attracting residents, but it only repeats our state’s history.
… moreGov. Gretchen Whitmer’s council on population growth just published its official report. I don’t recommend it for reading. It was stitched together by a 27-member committee representing interest groups, bureaucrats and politicians who were informed by other interest groups, bureaucrats and consultants. The resulting groupthink seems to have squeezed out all creative or useful ideas.
… moreAmong the reforms recommended by the Growing Michigan Together Council in its 86-page final report: “Create a process to ensure licensed/credentialed professionals from outside the United States can have their relevant documentation translated and applied to Michigan’s standards.”
… moreStudent achievement continues to decline despite record spending on K-12 education. Yet the Growing Michigan Together Council believes Michigan officials can improve results — and increase the state’s population — by spending even more on public schools.
… moreGov. Gretchen Whitmer is concerned about the size of Michigan’s population and has created a council to study the issue and generate policy recommendations.
… moreGov. Gretchen Whitmer created her “Growing Michigan Together Council” June 1 with a goal of creating a blueprint to grow Michigan’s population and encourage economic growth.
… moreMichigan’s chief growth officer said taxes don’t have much to do with state population growth during a MIRS Monday Podcast episode yesterday.
… moreLike President Joe Biden, Governor Gretchen Whitmer thinks she has a messaging problem. Just as Biden believes that Americans who are struggling financially need to better understand his achievements, Whitmer wants to reverse Michigan’s decline with slick advertising in other states.
… moreA draft of the state population growth council’s recommendations report contains little that has a demonstrated effect of increasing state population.
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