Michigan’s future is being decided in moments most people never see.
Every day, a parent questions if their kids will have the best shot at success. A small business owner asks why they need a lawyer and a lobbyist just to open their doors and serve a customer. A growing business weighs creating jobs in Michigan or Ohio — searching for the state that makes it easier to grow and worth the risk.
Moment by moment, decision by decision, across every corner of this state, Michigan grows or falls behind. And the answers to those questions — whether families stay, businesses invest or workers see opportunity — are shaped by the policies, systems and leadership choices Michigan makes.
The urgency to get this right is real. Michiganians feel the pressure every day. Concerns about rising costs, jobs and economic opportunity top every public survey in this state. The numbers show why. While high-wage professional jobs grew 35% across America, they were flat here. Fourth-grade reading scores collapsed from 16th to 44th. Michigan ranks 50th in household income growth over the last 25 years — dead last. This didn’t happen overnight, and changing our trajectory will take more than just easy solutions.
Thankfully, there’s a lot for us to be proud of and build on. The nation’s highest concentration of engineers. Twenty-five billion dollars in annual private research and development. World-class research universities, dedicated teachers and educators. A manufacturing legacy reinventing itself.
What’s the fix?
Michigan, in a new era, is Business Leaders For Michigan’s long-term roadmap — and it starts with a different approach. Not just better priorities, but a commitment to building common ground and strategies durable enough to outlast any election, transition and shift in the news cycle. That means governor-driven leadership, independent accountability, stable funding and comprehensive coalitions that don’t reverse progress when political winds shift.
But a new approach alone isn’t enough. Paired with the right priorities, Michigan can change its long-term trajectory — transforming education, making it easier to build and grow, and fully activating Michigan’s economic potential. Together, they can change outcomes for workers, families, students and businesses across this state.
Other states are showing us the way.
Mississippi climbed from 49th to 9th in fourth grade reading in a single decade through evidence-based instruction, teacher support and sustained, accountable leadership.
Arizona cut permit processing times by 60% and reduced license waits from eight weeks to two days — reforms that outlasted any single leader or party because they were embedded in governing culture.
Ohio built an economic development system with clear goals, support for businesses of all sizes and sustainable, independent funding that has delivered $103 billion in capital investment and just extended that commitment another 25 years.
The lesson is clear: results that hold come from durable structures and disciplined execution, not strategies that rise and fall with any single election, leader or news cycle.
Here’s the plan
We must transform education as Michigan’s defining mission. Strong schools benefit everyone. With strong leadership focused on evidence-based literacy solutions, this means expanded opportunities for all our kids.
Michigan has to become the easiest state to build and grow. This isn’t about lowering standards —environmental protections and worker safety rules exist for good reason. It’s about timely decisions, clear rules and a shift from gatekeeping to problem-solving. When projects are relocated elsewhere because the path forward is clearer there, everyone loses.
Michigan’s full economic potential must be activated. Every region — from the Great Lakes Bay to the Upper Peninsula, from Southwest Michigan to the Southeast — has distinct strengths. Michigan needs a modern economic development system with stable funding, empowered regional partners and a shared vision that transcends any single administration.
The conversations this week on Mackinac matter. We’d all rather not be standing on this island next year having the same conversations, but the future will be determined by whether we commit to building something that holds long after the ferry ride home.
Jeff Donofrio is president and Chief Executive Officer of Business Leaders For Michigan.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan needs a new plan for long-term growth | Opinion
Reporting by Jeff Donofrio / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
