For the past five decades, Michigan has been losing ground. It has fallen behind other
states in population growth, jobs, earnings, health, educational achievement, and the quality of public services at the state and local levels. Too few interstate immigrants target Michigan as a destination, international immigration has fallen, and too many young Michigan residents are leaving.

Michigan’s challenges are not insurmountable but call for bold and broad action. To retake its place as one of the best states to live and work, government, philanthropy, and the private sector must come together to invest in Michiganders, invest in the services and natural resources of our state, and work to attract new people from around the country and the world.