Commentary
Column: New policy makes Michigan a more welcoming — and healthy — place for immigrants
Almost 30 years ago, my mom was overjoyed that she was approved to work in the United States. Though it was difficult to move halfway across the world and be apart from her parents, her siblings and her friends, she was grateful for this new chapter. Her story echoes the experiences of many immigrants: she […]
Rick Haglund: Decline of wages, jobs and Detroit Three market share fuel UAW strike
As President Barack Obama’s “car czar” in 2009, Steven Rattner played a crucial role in saving the collapsing domestic auto industry. Rattner, a former journalist and investment banker, engineered the sale of a flat-broke Chrysler to Italian automaker Fiat and fired General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, who resisted putting GM into bankruptcy. Those moves, combined […]
Column: Local communities know what’s best for their residents
For the last 30 years, I have spent my days in the classroom helping children learn reading, math and other critical skills. Educators strive to understand all the factors — in and out of the classroom — that impact our students, because we want every child to have a healthy, full life. I will never […]
Column: White Christian nationalism threatens U.S. democracy
You may be among the 35% of Americans who have never heard the term “white Christian nationalism.” But of those citizens who are knowledgeable of the concept, it carries a decidedly negative view. The belief is becoming more and more important to understand as cultural diversity, racism, immigration issues, political divisiveness and political candidate pandering […]
Column: Breaking down barriers to voting for people with disabilities
There is much excitement that comes with an Election Day in Michigan. It’s an opportunity for all of us – no matter our background or political affiliation – to decide as an electorate on the important issues of the day and on who will represent us at the various levels of government. And it’s a […]
Column: After a century, states are loosening child labor laws. Where’s the outrage?
When Jacob Riis came to Emporia in 1902 to give a lecture, audiences knew what they could expect. Twelve years earlier, he had published “How the Other Half Lives,” which exposed through candid photographs the living conditions of the poor in the slums of New York City. The Danish-American muckraker’s subject for his Kansas audience […]
Column: Autoworkers may wage a historic strike against the Detroit 3
The United Auto Workers union, which represents nearly 150,000 employees of companies that manufacture U.S.-made vehicles, has been engaged since July 2023 in the labor negotiations it undergoes every four years with the three main unionized automakers. By late August, it still wasn’t clear that the UAW would agree to a new contract with Ford, […]
Column: Mich. pipeline standoff could affect water protection and Indigenous rights across the U.S.
Should states and Indigenous nations be able to influence energy projects they view as harmful or contrary to their laws and values? This question lies at the center of a heated debate over Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipeline, which carries oil and natural gas across Wisconsin and Michigan. Courts, regulatory agencies and political leaders are […]
Column: It’s time for paid family leave to be a priority in Michigan
Raise your hand if you have ever been sick or needed to take care of someone who is? Keep your hand up if this happened when you were supposed to go into work. Thanks for participating in this ridiculous exercise to demonstrate how universal this scenario is. We all get sick but not everyone has […]
You’re on your own, kid: What it’s like being an early-career journalist in 2023
If you were to ask most Americans what their relationship to the news is in this day and age, you probably wouldn’t get overwhelmingly positive responses. News is stressful, negative or too political. It makes people scared, or it makes them feel a sense of animosity towards the people around them. It feels like panic […]
Column: To improve kids’ lives, look at the evidence
This week, the Michigan League for Public Policy released its biennial Kids Count in Michigan Data Book, providing a deep dive into child well-being along four metrics: economic security, education, health and safety, and family and community. For the first time, we also included a feature on Michigan’s young adults, who have their own challenges […]
Column: Each of us has to stand for something. Will you stand for democracy?
Amid all the political dysfunction occurring at every level of our government, and historic indictments of a former president, what really hangs in the balance is the very survival and future of our democracy. We each have a defining decision to make in the coming months. What are we willing to do to save democracy, […]