At least someone is trying to grow
BYLINE: Daniel Howes
It might be considered progress that the state House and Senate have each passed business tax reform plans in notoriously anti-business Michigan and moved the versions to conference committee.
Except that getting it done took more than two years, an intervening election, the prospect of a financial cataclysm in Lansing and the exhausted patience of a business community unable to plan for the future -- if it hadn't already decided to bolt.
The embarrassment is surpassed only by the irony: The logjam was broken by business-minded Democrats, not Gov. Jennifer Granholm or the allegedly business-friendly Republicans who controlled both sides of the Legislature until this year.
Yes, there are signs of life issuing from the state capitol, though I'm still waiting for same from the governor's office. Much more encouraging is that the most influential group of CEOs in southeast Michigan, Detroit Renaissance, isn't waiting for much of anything, least of all Lansing.
'Roadmap' sets course
"If we came up with a strategy that was state government dependent, we'd just be running in circles," Renaissance President Doug Rothwell said Thursday. "They've got bigger fish to fry."
The group's "Road to Renaissance" plan for economic development is taking shape faster than a nonbinding resolution to cheer cherry farmers outside Traverse City. In less than five months, the group has moved from detailing six regional objectives into an 11-part strategy powered by partnership and accountability.
Imagine that.
Never mind that this is just one tiny example of why government should run more like business, especially business that sees how inefficiency, infighting and uncompetitive policy make bad economic times worse. And then it does something about it.
It's leadership, action and ditching denial. It's acknowledging what's broken and needs fixed and recognizing assets to be enhanced. No, government isn't business -- but those whose taxes pay the bills can still hope it acts like one.
Don't look now, but the model Renaissance has cobbled together for its roadmap works because it makes sense. It spans industries, includes leaders from higher education and, yes, reaches out to politicians to make the case for cooperation across municipal lines.
Most of all, it seeks common interests that don't recognize political labels. Imagine that.
Delivering the doable
The roadmap wants to establish a creative corridor on Woodward to attract and retain talent, boost Detroit's image and position the city as a global center for music, design and innovation. That's doable.
And it wants to lay the groundwork for an "aerotropolis" along I-94, joining the assets of Detroit Metropolitan and Willow Run airports. It would need private money to study the project and, most likely, creation of a regional authority to own the 20,000 acres held by multiple jurisdictions and to set common building codes and permit processes.
That's doable, too.
Just last month, a delegation of Renaissance officials, Detroit Regional Chamber President Dick Blouse and Wayne County Executive Bob Ficano flew to Amsterdam to visit Schiopol Airport, a vast transportation hub that employs 60,000.
They move people, ship cargo, host pan-European meetings and training sessions. Schiopol is, in short, a template for what refurbished airports west of downtown could be with their ample land, excellent infrastructure, excess capacity and the beauty of not being clogged Chicago O'Hare.
They got it done. Can't we?