Rural people are aware of the health care crisis affecting their communities. Hospital closures are concentrated in the south, but even here in Michigan the issues of health care access, cost, and quality are the top concern of rural residents. I know because I went out and talked to them.
On Sept. 13, IPPSR hosted a forum on early childhood education at the state capital. As evidence mounts showing the importance of education and socialization at the youngest ages for success later in life, policymakers and educators alike have struggled to find and implement best practices education at the local, state and federal level. In Michigan, these efforts have had mixed results.
The Urban Institute, a non-partisan research institute and think-tank out of Washington D.C. recently released a report titled “The Future of the Great Lakes Region”. The report is timely, with intense interest in the postindustrial Midwest from both an electoral and policy perspective, and it contains findings that should be of great interest to policy makers and citizens in Michigan particularly.
Looking Back: Manufacturing Decline and Demographic Change
