Domestic policy

What are the ramifications of partisan drawn districts that favor one party over another? Is there a better and fairer way to do this? What are the alternatives? This presentation, hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area, will explore how legislative lines are drawn in Michigan, who draws them and why it is a critically important question for those concerned about fair representation.  

On January 19th, Governor Snyder delivers his 6th State of the State address. And, for lawmakers, lobbyists, and interest groups, the annual speech is the opportunity to create a red carpet moment for their policy goals. So, what does it take to get there? It's Just Politics co-hosts Zoe Clark (of Michigan Radio) and Rick Pluta (of the Michigan Public Radio Network) will talk about the marketing, the relationship-building, the polling, and the background research that’s needed to push some issues past the competing interests to get that rare, valuable mention as the governor sets his agenda for the year.

Universal child care has been a longstanding goal of child care advocates in both Canada and the United States since the 1960s, yet in 2016 that goal remains stubbornly elusive in both federations despite decades of activism. Responsibility for child care delivery has been shared in both countries between federal, “meso” (provincial/state), and local governments with more of that responsibility being downloaded to the state/provincial level since the 1990s. Dr. Collier will present two meso level cases (Ontario and Michigan) to understand how child care advocates have navigated these decentralized landscapes. What factors explain successful policy outcomes and what barriers persist? Are universal programs and longer term social justice advocacy claims viable in decentralized federations?  View the poster.

Join us for a Community Conversation about Restoring Public Trust in Michigan's State Government. Topics will include state government services, management of the public purse, and oversight of Michigan's political system.  We invite you to share thoughts, insights, and ideas! 

The “Michigan’s Municipal Water Infrastructure: Policy Choices and Issues” conference is being sponsored by a consortium of universities across the state, with the hope of bringing a voice of academic research and analysis to the topic of municipal water policy in the state (particularly relevant in the face of the crisis in Flint). Faculty will present on a range of issues: from water supply engineering issues to municipal funding needs to health and environmental impacts to state and federal regulation.For more information and to register, please visit http://events.anr.msu.edu/MMWI/  This conference is free, however space is limited so please register early to secure your spot.

Join the Diversity Student Coalition (DiSC) for the 2016 Diversity Summit, "About Us Without Us: Decision Making and Activism in Policy."

A presentation and Q&A on the Iran deal featuring two White House officials, including one of the Administration's negotiators.From the speakers: This presentation will lay out the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiated between six major world powers and Iran after nearly two years of highly technical and painstaking sessions. Presenters include Paul Irwin, one of the negotiators, who will detail what the deal does and how it addresses international concerns about Iran's nuclear program, and Matt Nosanchuk, Associate Director for Public Engagement and Liaison to the American Jewish Community and on International Issues, and a native Detroiter.

This one-day symposium aims to grapple with this growing controversy, and explore ways forward for patents and patent systems that maximizes the public interest and social justice. The day will end with a book talk and reception celebrating the publication of Shobita Parthasarathy’s Patent Politics: Life Forms, Markets, and the Public Interest in the United States and Europe (University of Chicago Press, 2017). 

NY Times Op-Ed columnist Charles M. Blow will present a keynote presentation on "Donald Trump, arrogance, pride, and American democracy."

Vivian Thomson will offer an insider’s account of how power is wielded in environmental policy making at the state level. Drawing on her experience as a former member of Virginia’s State Air Pollution Control Board, she narrates cases in Alexandria, Wise, and Roda that involved coal and air pollution. She identifies a “climate of capitulation” —a deeply rooted favoritism toward coal and electric utilities in state air pollution policies. Thomson links Virginia’s climate of capitulation with campaign finance patterns, a state legislature that depends on outsiders for information and bill drafting, and a political culture that tends toward inertia. She extends her analysis to fifteen other coal states and recommends reforms aimed at mitigating ingrained biases toward coal and electric utility interests.

Join us for a book talk with Hendrik Meijer about Arthur Vandenberg, a Republican Senator from Grand Rapids, MI. The event is co-sponsored by the Bentley Library, Ford Library, and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Danielle Sered will speak about her experience directing Common Justice, a program of the Vera Institute of Justice that develops and advances solutions to violence that transform the lives of those harmed and foster racial equity without relying on incarceration.

Join EPI's scholars at 27 roundtables, panels and poster sessions, and help us to celebrate Susan Dynarski's selection as the recipient of APPAM's Spencer Award for transformative work in education policy research.

Vann R. Newkirk, II, Staff Writer at The Atlantic will highlight the ways in which democracy and the ballot have been curtailed historically and in the present for people on the margins of society, including post-Jim Crow and post-Shelby County v. Holder legal developments on gerrymandering and voter ID.

The U.S. is in the midst of an energy transition. This path toward decarbonization of the energy sector promises many societal benefits such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions, technological innovation, and reduced air pollution. The costs of this transition such as price spikes or job displacement, however, are not evenly spread across the population, since some individuals and communities are more vulnerable to the adverse impacts than others. In this presentation, I will introduce a framework for conceptualizing vulnerability and then provide an illustration of its potential application using the case of the renewable portfolio standard. I will also present findings from interviews and focus groups with individuals that reside or work within more vulnerable populations. These findings provide insights about the manner in which communities perceive of the energy transition, and how they cope with changes introduced by the transition.

The United States has seen dramatic growth in energy development with much of it occurring on privately owned lands, creating a unique raft of opportunity and risk for landowners. The presentation reviews research on the nexus of property ownership rights and regulatory policy, with a focus on Shale and Wind Energy. It introduces the concept of 'Private Participation' in the planning and siting of energy projects and discusses how private property ownership will continue to influence the energy revolution. 

Through money bail systems, fees and fines, strictly enforced laws and regulations against behavior including trespassing and public urination that largely affect the homeless, and the substitution of prisons and jails for the mental hospitals that have traditionally served the impoverished, in one of the richest countries on Earth we have effectively made it a crime to be poor.

Panelists: John Gallagher, Director, Author, Writer, Detroit Free Press "Land Abandonment" Avis C. Vidal, Professor of Urban Planning, Department of Urban Studies & Planning, Wayne State University "Land Development" Moderator: Reynolds "Ren" Farley, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts University of Michigan Institute for Social Research

Free and open to the public. For more information call (734) 647-4091. Roland Fryer is the Robert M.

Free and open to the public. Panelists: Thomas Buchmueller, Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business John J. H. (Joe) Schwarz, Former U.S. Representative and Visiting Lecturer, University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Marianne Udow-Phillips, Director, Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation (CHRT), located at the University of Michigan Moderator: Matthew Davis, Associate Professor, University of Michigan Medical School and the Gerald R.

Free and open to the public. Auditorium doors will open at 3:30 PM on March 19. This event will be live web-streamed; a link to the web-stream will be posted here on the day of the event at least 30 minutes prior to the start time.

Free and open to the public. Reception to follow. About the lecture Compared with any other nation, the U.S. spends far more on medical care and seemingly gets far less in return than other nations (as measured by such things as infant mortality and longevity). We also have abundant evidence that much of our spending is wasteful, in the sense that regions within the U.S.

Richard Buery is President/CEO of The Children's Aid Society. Founded in 1853, CAS serves 80,000 children at 45 locations in New York City and Westchester, and its Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program and National Center for Community Schools serve thousands more nationally. Mr.