cm-life
Can Michigan’s economy be salvaged?
By Paul Hanna
Staff Reporter
October 26, 2005
Students interested in Michigan’s economy will have the chance to voice their opinions in an open forum tonight.
The forum, “Michigan’s Economy: Can it be Saved?” will kick off with a public reception with free food and beverages available at 6 p.m. in the Charles V. Park Library’s Baber Room.
The forum will take place immediately following the reception at 7:30 p.m. Topics include globalization, outsourcing, unemployment, interstate economic competition, the decline of Michigan’s manufacturing industry and whether or not Michigan’s government is able to fix its economic problems.
“This is by far the best panel I’ve seen in the three years I’ve been with the Griffin Forum,” said Bill Ballenger, CMU’s Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government.
Ballenger, editor and publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, will serve as moderator for Wednesday’s forum.
The forum will include five panelists. They are: Alan Gilmour, retired vice chairman of Ford Motor Co.; David Hollister, director of the Department of Labor and Economic Growth; Daniel Howes, business columnist and associated business editor of the Detroit News; Sharon Miller, president of Immediate Temporary Help Inc.; and Tom Walsh, chief business columnist of the Detroit Free Press.
“The early parts of the forum will be used to let the experts get their messages out and then I’ll be calling on anybody and everybody,” Ballenger said.
Those attending the forum can expect to receive a thorough analysis of Michigan’s bleak economic future.
“Hopefully we can hear some ideas for solutions and not just a list of all the problems,” said