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B I R M I N G H A M

Member FDIC

MARCH 10 • 2022 | 29

commitments is his chair-
manship of Business Leaders 
for Michigan, an economic 
leadership council consisting 
of CEOs and other top execu-
tives of the state’s largest and 
most influential corporations. 
Business Leaders advocates 
for improving the state’s eco-
nomic climate and prosperity 
by way of more effective tax 
policy, enhanced education-
al initiatives, infrastructure 
investments and employment 
opportunities.
“We look at Michigan’s busi-
ness and economic climate in 
comparison to the other states, 
measuring important char-
acteristics such as the growth 
of our population, income 
and per capita gross domestic 
product (GDP),” he explained. 
“Coming out of the Great 

Financial Crisis, we were 
a bottom 10 state. And the 
good news is Business Leaders 
working together with state 
government and our commu-
nities, we were able to get us 
from a bottom 10 to where we 
are now. Depending on the 
metric that you look at, in the 
middle of the pack.”
“Top 10” states in terms of 
jobs, productivity, personal 
income and population indi-
cators, according to Business 
Leaders, include California, 
Colorado, Minnesota, 
Pennsylvania and New York.
 Ungerleider and other CEOs 
aren’t satisfied with Michigan’s 
rise from the bottom. He 
is optimistic that “working 
together we have a legitimate 
shot at becoming a top 10 
state.” 

To get there, Business 
Leaders is pursuing what he 
calls four key “pillars” or pri-
orities: growth via state-spon-
sored economic development 
efforts; talent development, 
meaning secondary education 
and technical training to boost 
qualifications for good-paying 
jobs; more dollars to class-
rooms for K-12 education; 
and improved “business cli-
mate” so more companies find 
it easier and more efficient to 
locate or expand operations 
here rather than in competing 
states.
Senior members of 
Michigan’s Jewish commu-
nity can remember the glory 
days of the 1950s and 1960s, 
when Detroit and its environs 
were among the most pros-
perous economies on earth. 

The state’s relative economic 
decline from those days — 
pockmarked by the bankrupt-
cies of General Motors and the 
city of Detroit — has hit the 
Jewish community as well, as 
families have left Michigan in 
search of better opportunities 
and an exodus of college grad-
uates has relocated to New 
York, Chicago and the West 
Coast to pursue their careers.
To cite just one dismay-
ing statistic that bears on 
Michigan’s economic status 
today, less than half — 49% 
to be exact — of the state’s 
working age population has a 
degree or credential needed 
to qualify for a particular job 
or skill.
“Michigan is addressing 
this educational attainment 

continued on page 30

