New research explores Michigan's path to a prosperous future

What are the keys to a prosperous Michigan? Eric Lupher, president and secretary of The Citizens Research Council of Michigan, sits down with MichMash host Cheyna Roth to discuss the major issues affecting the state’s future.

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In this episode:

The state of Michigan’s population in comparison with the rest of the country
What Michigan can do to attract people to the state
What Michiganders should make a priority in 2024

Michigan’s Path to a Prosperous Future is a five-part series of research papers from nonprofit Altarum and the Citizens Research Council of Michigan looking at different elements in Michigan that are central to the state’s success. The purpose of the papers is to provide a data-informed vision of where the state is currently and where it could be. The series started with taking a closer look at the state’s population, of which Lupher says “only West Virginia is growing at a slower pace than Michigan.” He also specified that the state isn’t actually losing people, rather, the state’s population growth is declining. “We haven’t been growing at nearly the rate the rest of the country is collectively,” he said. “When you dig into the numbers, it is the 20 to 35-year-olds, 20 to 40-year-olds [who we are focused on]. It’s thinking about the workers of the future.” Lupher says many jobs will not be filled and our services might start to decline if we do not have people to fill these jobs, because the population directly affects the workforce and consumers. The papers also cover infrastructure, demographics, workforce, environment, public services and other important topics. More from MichMash:

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Author

Hernz Laguerre
Hernz Laguerre Jr. is a Multimedia Journalist at 101.9 WDET. He is one of the co-host for "Detroit Evening Report," one of the weekend anchors for "Weekend Edition," the producer for our political podcast, "MichMash," and reports on arts, culture and politics.
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Tags: Altarum, Citizens Research Council of Michigan, Michigan Population, MichMash