What is American is cultural, and culture is a shared thing; it’s not something that divides us. Businesses of all stripes operate according to standards and norms. They also must obey applicable laws. Things such as customer demands, product and service specifications, as well as public policy, set the rules for business behavior. The proper …
Let’s protect Michigan’s democracy and free markets. Free markets, which can be thought of as the systems within which entrepreneurs are free to start businesses, have their roots in principles of democracy, or “rule by the people.” If one starts a business, and it flourishes because people are free to buy the business’s products or …
Without democracy, we’ll not find the answers we need. One way to think of sustainability, whether in business or more broadly, is as collective human behavior that does not destroy the Earth system. The Brundtland definition of sustainable development reflects this notion: “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations …
Why can’t we stop urban sprawl? Why does the problem of urban sprawl in Southeast Michigan seem intractable? Though the issue pops up now and again, the most recent example is the impasse we seem to continually confront when it comes to a regional mass transit plan – we simply do not seem to have …
Why do we have a problem? The answer is absurd. I found a report, published in 2018 by the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE), Michigan Section that’s quite revealing. In the report, the ASCE gave Michigan’s stormwater infrastructure a grade of D-. Somehow, a grade of D- seems like a veiled attempt at saving …
Have you ever wondered which is more sustainable, suburban or city living? For those living in Metro Detroit – a place that necessitates driving just about everywhere, all the time – it seems almost intuitive that city living would be more sustainable. After all, reducing or eliminating the use of an automobile would have a …
Government that fails to act is the problem. Does our government create more problems than it solves? Famously skeptical of a large federal government and in favor of privatization, President Reagan campaigned on this very message–that “government is the problem” –enacting countless deregulatory measures throughout his presidency to reduce the powers of the federal government. …
What do the Matrix and labor have in common? The corporate state. The Spanish philosopher George Santayana is credited with the statement, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Santayana’s quote has been stated in various ways, but the meaning remains the same: Without knowing the past, or history, we run …
American workers deserve better and it starts with treating them as persons. We recently passed the one-year mark since the onset of the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns in America, and still much about the future of work in our country remains uncertain. Shifting work culture and questions about the future of workers’ rights and workers’ …
Citizens’ Climate Lobby knows “We, the people” can bring about change. Susan McCabe and I are volunteers with Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL), and we look forward to joining you on February 25 for Let’s Talk Public Policy and Carbon Dioxide, a conversation about what is happening in Washington and how your voice can be heard. …
