Every year, when Michigan faces its budget realities, people constantly ask, why don’t we spend more money on this, or this, or this? We all want money to be invested in the things we care about, but the reality is, we are now a poor state—among the poorest states in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1999, Michigan was ranked 15th in per capita income. By 2009, it had fallen to 34th, which is in direct proportion to our percent of college graduates in the state.

In English: Michigan is finally earning what the rest of the world has deemed is the proportionate pay for our education levels.

And poor states don’t have enough money. Low per capita income means less income tax paid, less sales tax paid, fewer cars and houses bought and more. Instead of fighting over what’s left, Michigan needs a plan to lead us back to prosperity.

There is no easy short-term solution. A plan is necessary unless we want to stay poor forever. All signs point to education as a critical component of prosperous regions—and regions are where it’s at.

There is a fight to be fought here in Greater Lansing and it isn’t up to elected officials alone to fight it. As a community, we must choose to stop asking for a quick fix to our problems and own up to the culture we have created here. It has served us well, but now we must change that culture to embrace lifelong learning.

Our plan for prosperity needs to address how we can create a highly educated population, and how we can retain the college graduates we have. And it needs to address how we can simultaneously grow and support the companies that will employ our talent, as well as give young, smart and global people avenues to start their own ventures in the absence of jobs.

We’ve never had to embrace these ideals to be successful before. Changing our culture will take a mighty effort. But it must be done, and it will take years.

Change can start with simple steps. It can start with businesses supporting education through efforts like the Keep Learning coalition. By taking the pledge at www.learnforourfuture.org, local businesses can take into their own hands the importance this community places on education.

And, it can start with looking differently at our colleges and universities, bringing students into your business to learn and infusing them into the local economy. It can start by supporting local businesses and celebrating their successes … and it can start by stopping our complaining and taking action.

We are not preordained to be a wealthy state. The marketplace sets what an education is worth and the types of jobs that will make the money. We are losing in the wealth game because we aren’t competitive. If we want to be wealthy again, we cannot just turn the clocks back to yesterday. We must forge a new path with a focus on education.

		Douglas E. Stites is the chief executive officer of Capital Area Michigan Works!, a network of resources that partners with businesses to develop recruiting and retention strategies and partners with job seekers to enhance education and career opportunities. On the Web at www.camw.org. He is also a board member and passionate advocate for Keep Learning… Our Future Depends On It.