In Michigan, Business + Legislature = Springtime on Mackinac!
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
It’s that time of year again. The time when the state’s leaders come together on Mackinac Island to review what’s wrong with Michigan, to chart a course for where Michigan could be in a year, and to pledge to really work together this time and get it done.
Messaging will be crucial this year when the annual Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference gets underway on Wednesday. The politicians and business leaders will need to work hard to put away the partisan bickering and the disagreements over who really gets taxed more. Nolan Finley at the Detroit News has his ideas for what should be on the agenda this year.
It’s been a rough year for many attendees, their constituents and their employees. And yet, with each spring dawns new hope for Michigan – particularly Southeast Michigan – as the smell of fudge and horses mingles in the air on a tiny island 300 miles away from Detroit.
Many wonder why the Detroit conference isn’t held in Detroit – and it’s difficult to explain to some folks how much work is actually getting done at such a grand vacation spot. Ron Dzwonkowski at the Detroit Free Press noted a key point recently – that being so far away from the office makes it that much less likely you’ll be tempted to avoid part of the conference for “just a few minutes.”
John Bailey & Associates recently partnered with the Detroit Regional Chamber to find out what’s on the mind of Michigan’s business leaders as they head north this week. The survey results aren’t all that surprising, but they’re still interesting.
The agenda is chock full of ways to ferret out what Michigan should be doing and why. Here’s hoping that this time next year there can be an agenda item for “2008’s results.”
Tags: DetroitRegionalChamber, MackinacPolicyConference, Michigan