THE PuLSE INSTITUTE | MICHIGAN POVERTY FORUM SERIES
The 2026 Governor’s Race and the Poverty Question We Cannot Ignore
EDITOR’S NOTE | Bankole Thompson, Editor-in-Chief, PuLSE Ideas & Commentary
Cynthia J. Pasky, CEO of Strategic Staffing Solutions and one of Michigan’s prominent business leaders, brings a consequential private-sector voice to The PuLSE Institute’s Michigan Poverty Forum Series. Her challenge to Michigan’s next governor is clear: creating jobs is not enough. Michigan must remove the barriers that keep people from reaching opportunity, participating in economic growth and building lasting financial security.
By Cynthia J. Pasky
CEO, Strategic Staffing Solutions
Michigan’s next governor should confront a basic economic reality: Opportunity means little if people cannot reach it.
Michigan can attract investment. We can create jobs, build infrastructure, and prepare workers for the economy of tomorrow.
But if transportation, childcare, healthcare costs, inadequate training, or other barriers prevent people from taking advantage of those opportunities, economic growth will still leave too many people behind.
That is where Michigan’s poverty challenge and its economic future meet.
According to the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics, Michigan’s poverty rate in 2024 was 13.4%, compared with 12.1% nationally. That represents roughly 1.33 million Michigan residents living below the official poverty line. The state’s average labor force participation rate was 61.2% in 2025.
Behind those numbers are people who want what most people want: meaningful work, the ability to provide for their families and a genuine chance to get ahead.
Our responsibility is to remove the barriers standing in the way of success and create the conditions that make opportunity attainable.
Connect Training to Opportunity
Workforce development starts with opportunity.
Michigan must strengthen the connection between education, training and the jobs employers need to fill. That means investing in career and technical education, apprenticeships, community colleges and skilled-trades programs that prepare people for careers with long-term potential.
The skilled-trades shortage is a clear example of where opportunity and need intersect.
Employers need electricians, construction workers, technicians and other skilled professionals, while many Michigan residents are looking for pathways to stable, well-paying careers.
Detroit’s workforce training centers and other community-based programs demonstrate how we can begin bridging that gap by connecting people with needed skills and available opportunities.
Training must also reflect the realities of today’s economy and anticipate the jobs of tomorrow. Employers should have a meaningful role in shaping these programs so graduates are prepared to contribute from day one.
A training program should not simply produce a certificate.
It should lead somewhere.
Opportunity Requires Infrastructure
People cannot take advantage of opportunities they cannot reach.
Reliable transportation, affordable childcare, accessible broadband and dependable energy infrastructure all influence whether someone can secure and maintain employment.
These investments are often discussed as economic-development priorities. But they are equally important to reducing poverty.
A reliable way to get to work, access to childcare and the ability to participate in the digital economy can mean the difference between an opportunity realized and an opportunity lost.
Michigan should approach infrastructure with a broader question:
Does it help people participate in the economy?
Make Michigan a Place Where Businesses Can Grow
Michigan cannot create enough opportunities for its residents without attracting new investment and helping existing businesses expand.
Our state must be competitive, business-friendly and prepared to welcome companies that bring jobs, innovation and long-term economic value.
That includes advanced manufacturing, technology, energy and data centers.
These industries require significant investment and infrastructure, but they can also generate construction jobs, ongoing employment and opportunities for businesses throughout the supply chain.
Data centers, in particular, should be part of Michigan’s economic conversation, supported by responsible planning for energy, water and community impacts.
But attracting investment is only part of the equation.
Michigan must connect that growth to its workforce through training partnerships, apprenticeships and pathways into skilled careers.
When businesses can grow and residents can access the jobs they create, economic development becomes a practical strategy for reducing poverty.
Remove the Barriers to Stability
Even when jobs are available, other challenges can prevent people from taking advantage of them.
Healthcare is one of those barriers.
The Commonwealth Fund ranked Michigan 23rd overall in its 2025 state health system scorecard, including 30th in avoidable hospital use and cost and 31st in healthy lives.
Rising healthcare costs put pressure on individuals and families while increasing the cost of doing business for employers. Michigan must work toward a more affordable healthcare system that supports families’ financial stability while allowing businesses to invest in their people and remain competitive.
Michigan’s human-services system must also work effectively for those who need it most.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services plays a critical role in connecting eligible residents with essential assistance and support. Access should be timely, understandable and effective, without unnecessary administrative barriers making an already difficult situation harder.
Even the strongest economy will fall short if the people most in need are the least supported.
Removing barriers also means recognizing the practical challenges that can make employment difficult to sustain, including housing costs, childcare expenses and the loss of essential benefits as earnings increase.
Work should provide a pathway toward greater security—not leave families fearing that moving forward will put the stability they already have at risk.
Make Opportunity Michigan’s Measure of Success
Reducing poverty is not separate from building a stronger Michigan.
It is foundational.
Education, infrastructure, business investment and effective support systems must work together so economic growth reaches more people and creates opportunities that last.
America’s promise is that hard work and ambition should open doors.
Michigan’s next governor should remove barriers to opportunity, encourage businesses to invest and grow, strengthen the connection between training and employment, and ensure that those most in need have the support necessary to participate in the state’s economic future.
The goal is not simply to help people get by.
It is to give people a genuine chance to get ahead.
That should be one of Michigan’s clearest measures of economic success.
