A day after a group of MSU professors and state representatives met to discuss urban issues in Michigan, a group of MSU professors and East Lansing residents will broaden the issue and ask how to turn around the U.S. economy.
The Citizens for a Peaceful Lansing will host the discussion at 7 p.m. today at the East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbott Road. The meeting follows Wednesday’s discussion sponsored by MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research.
The discussion will focus on unconventional methods of stimulating the economy, said Shrikumar Poddar, publisher of Seva International and one of the speakers at the discussion.
“What needs to happen is for people to save cash and decrease expenditure instead of increasing it,” he said. “Common sense says that what is good for each individual ultimately is good for the nation as a whole.”
The discussion also will address the issue of employment, but, Poddar said, the hope is that through the discussion, ideas will be generated.
“We want to build up ideas that can work at a local level but could possibly be applied to national policy,” he said.
In contrast, the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research gathered a crowd Wednesday in the Library of Michigan, 717 W. Allegan St. in Lansing, that focused on the revitalization of Michigan urban centers.
The forum took much of its discussion from the latest round of the State of the State Survey, conducted by the institute and released at the meeting.
The survey focused on urban issues, but rural areas were not excluded, said state Rep. Alexander Lipsey, D-Kalamazoo.
“We’ve compartmentalized issues like urban issues,” he said. “I think that one of the things that this forum did is to show that issues involving Detroit really have an effect on communities as far away as Leroy.”
As such, Lipsey said the issues deserve attention, even in poor economic conditions such as these.
“Some of these issues are in fact dollar issues like infrastructure and paying for schools,” he said. “But a lot of them are really attitude adjustments. We need to recognize that.”
Issues such as the role of local and state governments and the quality of Michigan cities can be addressed with a minimum amount of money, but urban sprawl and brownfield redevelopment can be parts of an economic redevelopment plan, said Rex LaMore, state director of the Community and Economic Development Program at MSU’s Center for Urban Affairs.
“To the extent that we’re successful in the wise use of land we can maximize the use of our natural resources and public investment,” he said. “Particularly in a state that’s looking at a budget deficit.”
Much of the survey dealt with Michigan residents’ feelings about Detroit compared to Michigan cities in general.
But LaMore said Lansing stands out in its own right.
“We have a unique economic base with the state government and the university and the large industry of GM,” he said. “Lansing is unique, and in that regard it is able to do some different things.”
