GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS 
Doug Rothwell
In last month's newsletter, we highlighted the need for strong economic development tools that support job creation and growth. Our competitor states provide them, and the benefits are obvious-more jobs, higher income, better results.  
 
Michigan legislators are now taking the next step. A new legislative package, Senate Bills 1153-55, is now under discussion and, if passed, these common-sense incentives could help make our state far more competitive. They'll help us attract and retain jobs that should be in Michigan, instead of Ohio or Indiana.
 
Senate Bills 1153, 1154, and 1155 create a tax abatement to help with the attraction and expansion of high-wage jobs in MI. Under the legislation, companies can keep a portion of the payroll taxes they would otherwise owe to the state for the jobs they create. No accounting nightmares. Companies simply keep the taxes instead of sending them to the state.
 
This is the kind of incentive employers want-and the kind of competitive tool states are using to get ahead. In fact, most states view these kinds of incentives as vital tools for creating net new jobs and revenue. They treat economic development as a non-partisan issue, the kind of public policy tool that delivers economic success.
 
So what's next? We need you! Let your state representative and senator know that you support making sure MI has the economic development tools to grow those high-paying jobs here. You can find your lawmaker by clicking here.


Reach out as soon as you can. The clock is ticking as MI gets down to the real business of attracting and keeping the jobs we need.
 
Doug's esig

Doug Rothwell
President & CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan 
OUR WORK 


Hundreds of MI's top leaders from the fields of business, policy, philanthropy, education and advocacy gathered in Detroit for the 5th Annual Michigan CEO Summit on Nov. 10 to discuss innovative ways for companies - and our state - to compete in a global economy.  


Domino's president & CEO Patrick Doyle, kicked off the event by sharing how tech solutions and a willingness to take significant risks have worked together to transform his company. Other presenters shared ways their companies have evolved to meet changing market expectations and offered strategies for embracing disruptive innovations. Best-selling author William Taylor, founding editor of Fast Company also offered insights highlighting ways businesses can deliver ordinary products and services in extraordinary ways. 


BLM president & CEO Doug Rothwell provided a preview of critical economic benchmarking data slated for release later this year that shows Michigan continuing to experience growth, but facing significant issues to becoming a Top Ten state.


Click here to download event materials, photos and video.


Read more: 


Save the date for our 2017 Michigan CEO Summit!
Thursday, November 9, 2017


EFFORTS UNDERWAY TO BUILD A NEW MICHIGAN
Talent Deficit Imperils MI, Detroit Reinvention

How can Michigan make the case to be the 21st-century hub for next-gen automotive technology, and how can it attract the kind of talent that makes its living with its brains, if it fails to shape an environment that can produce enough graduates who are prepared for, and eager to compete for, those jobs? Learn more
Bill Ford to Silicon Valley: Future of driverless cars is in Detroit
Bill Ford is tired of hearing the future of cars belongs to Silicon Valley. Yet for years, the Apple and Google crowd have been telling him that only Big Tech can make driverless vehicles. "There was this presumption that we were too dumb to get it," said the Ford Motor Co. executive chairman and great-grandson of auto pioneer Henry Ford. "The conversation has really shifted." He's not kidding. Tech giants Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google, once intent on disrupting, if not destroying, Detroit, have concluded for now that they don't want to build cars. Learn more
Looking to Work on Self-Driving Cars? These Companies Are Hiring 
General Motors and Google have the most online listings for autonomous vehicle technology jobs-nearly double their closest competitors, Ford Motor and Robert Bosch-an indication that both companies are accelerating efforts to develop driverless car technology. Learn More 
Property Purchased for Automated, Connected Vehicle Site at Willow Run

The American Center for Mobility (ACM) is taking another step toward developing a testing facility for automated and connected vehicles in Ypsilanti Township. The property previously owned by Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust was purchased for $1.2 million by Willow Run Arsenal of Democracy Landholdings Limited Partnership, which will lease the property to the ACM. Learn More 
DATA SUPPORTING THE NEW MICHIGAN PLAN
Michigan: #18 State Science & Technology Rankings
The Milken institute's bi-annual ranking of state science and technology economies places Michigan at 18 - up 4 spots from 2014.  Michigan scored above average in all five categories with the highest ranking on our research and development base and lowest on human capital investment. Learn more 
Startups Pick Michigan, Where the Engineers Are
AutoNews Logo
Automotive startups and tech companies have been beefing up their presence in the Detroit area in an attempt to attract engineering talent away from traditional automakers, because those engineers don't want to move out West. Learn more
Five States Account for Half of U.S. Business R&D in 2013
California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas, and Washington accounted for half of the research and development paid for and performed by companies in the U.S. in 2013, according to the 2013 Business R&D and Innovation Survey from the National Science Foundation's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Washington each had an R&D intensity that was at least twice as high as the United States as a whole, indicating that twice as much business R&D was performed in these states relative to the size of their economy. Learn More
SPOTLIGHT ON OUR MEMBERS
Lear Opens Innovation Center in Capitol Park Downtown Detroit
Detroit Free Press | October 20, 2016  


Downtown Detroit has landed an established automotive supplier bringing highly skilled jobs that would otherwise go to the suburbs and providing paid internships to about 20 students from Wayne State University and the College for Creative Studies.  Learn More
MSU Continues Investment in Detroit 
MSU Today | October 17, 2016 


In its latest chapter of investing in Detroit's resurgence, Michigan State University will take its Eli Broad College of Business Executive MBA program to the city. This will be the first MBA program of this kind in Detroit. As added support, MSU will provide scholarships to reduce the cost of the program by half to professionals who work in the nonprofit sector or are members of the Michigan Nonprofit Association. Learn More 
Footwear Giant Expanding Warehouse Operations in Big Rapids
MLive.com | October 26, 2016   Wolverine World Wide Logo


Wolverine World Wide Inc. is expanding warehouse operations at its longtime Big Rapids facility. The longtime footwear giant is constructing a 16,000-square-foot addition at its longtime Big Rapids facility. The new space will house a raw materials warehouse, freeing up room in the existing facility, at 1005 Baldwin St., for additional manufacturing. The expansion will add 10 new positions at the Big Rapids location. Three will be filled with warehouse employees currently working at Wolverine's Rockford headquarters, while seven will be new hires, the company said.  Learn More 
IN THE NEWS 
Bring back jobs? It's more complicated than you think
Detroit Free Press | October 27, 2016 


Manufacturing jobs haven't disappeared just because of trade deals and imports and foreign tariffs. Today's manufacturers use everything from robots to product-tracking systems to trim costs and increase efficiency and quality. That often means fewer jobs than companies needed to do the same work years ago. Learn More 
New Jobs Surge in SE Michigan During 2nd Quarter

DBusiness | October 24, 2016  dbusinesslogo


With employment expanding by 1.4 percent, or 35,000 jobs, in Q2 2016, the total number of jobs held in southeast Michigan exceeded 2.6 million, which is a new high in employment in the region dating back to 2007, says a new report from the Workforce Intelligence Network for Southeast Michigan.   According to the Second Quarter Labor 2016 Market Report, nearly 20,000 previously unemployed individuals gained jobs in the region in Q2 2016, along with more than 15,000 new workers (for a total of 35,000 new jobs), bringing the unemployment rate down to 4.5 percent, a low not experienced in southeast Michigan since 2001. Learn More 
Michigan High School Graduation Lags National Rate

Detroit News | October 18, 2016 


Michigan's high school seniors are graduating in increasing numbers but the statewide rate still is below that of the nation as a whole. The Great Lakes State's rate for the 2014-15 school year is 79.8 percent, up 1.21 percentage points from the previous year. That's 3.4 percentage points below the record national rate of 83.2, announced Monday by the federal Department of Education. This marks the fourth consecutive year that four-year graduation rates have improved, according to federal data.  Learn More 
Confidence in West Michigan housing market returning

WZZM 13 | October 17, 2016 


There is confidence in the housing market, reports the Home Builders Association of Greater Grand Rapids. Attractions like ArtPrize and numerous breweries boost builders' confidence that people will be buying homes in Grand Rapids. The association believes the city is now appealing to a wide variety of people, including millennials, families, and retired baby boomers. These are all positive signs for long term sales in West Michigan. Learn More 


Business Leaders for Michigan

600 Renaissance Center, Suite 1760

Detroit, MI, 48243-1802
Phone: 313.259.5400
Business Leaders for Michigan, the state's business roundtable, is dedicated to making Michigan a "Top Ten" state for jobs, personal income and a healthy economy. The organization is composed exclusively of the chairpersons, chief executive officers, or most senior executives of Michigan's largest companies and universities. Our members drive 32% of the state's economy, provide nearly 375,000 direct in Michigan, generate over $1 Trillion in annual revenue and serve nearly one half of all Michigan public university students. Find out more at: www.businessleadersformichigan.com. 




Business Leaders for Michigan | 600 Renaissance Center, Suite 1760 | Detroit | MI | 48243