Kurt on Michigan Moving Data

If you enjoyed Rob’s analysis of Michigan moving data, be sure to check out Kurt’s article on that data in Bridge Magazine. Kurt fact-checks statements that Governor Snyder made during his 2012 State of the State Address.  Snyder claimed that Michigan’s net migration had become balanced last year, but Kurt’s examination of the data leads to a different conclusion:

The only true turnaround that I can find in the data is the fact that Michigan had 249 fewer outbound moves than during the previous year. These results are consistent with IRS data that I reported on previously, in that Michigan continues to send more folks away than it pulls in, but the differential is getting smaller… [These] are positive trends. But they don’t exactly conform with what the governor was saying on Jan. 18 at the State Capitol.

The movers have spoken: While we are still packing up more households than we are unpacking, we are moving in the right direction. If the domestic auto industry continues to prosper; if we can continue to attract foreign research and development facilities;… if Global Michigan gets legs and we figure out how to attract and retain our young college graduates, we may have several indices to truly tout in the next few years.

Read more at Bridge Magazine.