Canada's Mark Carney is stepping up to lead the free world and protect the liberal rules-based order. Should other democratic nations join Canada in closer economic collaboration with the EU, the bloc would outpunch authoritarians. Read: heartlandstransformationnetwork.substack.com/p/new-leader...

US Presidency carries the title: "Leader of the free world". In what can only be called geopolitical poetic justice, despite #Trump's efforts to dominate other leaders, he just gave that title away to Canada's Mark Carney. Read my latest heartlandstransformationnetwork.substack.com/p/new-leader...

New Leader of the Free World?

In what can only be viewed as geopolitical poetic justice, President Trump’s relentless effort to assert America’s dominance over other countries—including belittling neighbor Canada and its leader, P...

heartlandstransformationnetwork.substack.com

Only two days until the Michigan Blue Economy Summit in Flint, Michigan convenes. Symbolically important as we flip the script from Michigan being the place with water "problems" to being the home of global water solutions! Not too late to join us. Sign up here: us.aquaaction.org/.../michigan...

Looking forward to getting back to Flint, Michigan where I will give the keynote talk next Wednesday Sept. 23rd at the Michigan Blue Economy Summit. Join us to talk through how to accelerate the growth of our Blue Economy. Sign up here: us.aquaaction.org/events/michi...

Michigan Blue Economy Summit

Join AquaAction on September 23, 2026, to learn about Michigan's Blue Economy and the launch of AquaEntrepreneur Michigan

us.aquaaction.org

Wednesday September 23 join us at Univ. of Michigan-Flint to talk through how we keep growing our Michigan #Blueeconomy. Michigan and the Great Lakes region can be the world's leader in smart water technology businesses and solving the world's water challenges!

In our latest work learn what leaders who want to deliver better lives for their constituents and strengthen our democracies must do to turn out authoritarians and those who seek to mimic them. @gettysburg2024.bsky.social @aia-nrw.bsky.social jespublications.substack.com/p/new-report...

New Report Examines ‘How Democracy Can Be Reclaimed’

Jefferson Educational Society + The Eisenhower Institute

jespublications.substack.com

Proud of Canada & Mark Carney for not kow-towing to Trump. Prices for US consumers will only increase further--all as the result of Trump's actions--making him & his Republican enablers in Congress even more unpopular. Easier to drive from office. Thanks Canada! www.nytimes.com/2026/08/24/o...

Opinion | Mark Carney Did What Canadians Elected Him to Do

Mark Carney has chosen suffering, but he did what Canadians elected him to do.

nytimes.com

In recent years Poland & Hungary took back their democracies from illiberal autocrats working to tear them down. Americans are working furiously to take back Congress to check our own authoritarian. Learn how to reclaim democracy in our new report! jespublications.substack.com/p/new-report...

New Report Examines ‘How Democracy Can Be Reclaimed’

Jefferson Educational Society + The Eisenhower Institute

jespublications.substack.com

In the US, and across Europe leaders who want to improve the lives of their people battle for political power against anti-democratic ethnonationalist movements. Read our distillation of insights shared by democracy defenders--how the good guys win! jespublications.substack.com/p/new-report...

New Report Examines ‘How Democracy Can Be Reclaimed’

Jefferson Educational Society + The Eisenhower Institute

jespublications.substack.com

After years dismantling democracy & enriching himself, his family, and his friends Hungary's Viktor Orbán was run out of office. Our new article details how the Hungarian people were able to reclaim their democracy. @gettysburg2024.bsky.social jespublications.substack.com/p/new-report...

New Report Examines ‘How Democracy Can Be Reclaimed’

Jefferson Educational Society + The Eisenhower Institute

jespublications.substack.com

Leading practitioners of democratic resilience in Hungary, Poland, the US & the UK— offer practical guidance on how to reclaim democracies, even after they are hijacked by authoritarians! Catch our latest work! jespublications.substack.com/p/new-report...

New Report Examines ‘How Democracy Can Be Reclaimed’

Jefferson Educational Society + The Eisenhower Institute

jespublications.substack.com

Obscured by the chaos in Iran, #Trump's tariffs and economic policy chaos at home are doing damage to what was a thriving domestic US manufacturing industry. Read how and why in my new piece out via Home of the Brave. newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/trumps-man...

Trump’s Manufacturing Policy is All Smoke and Mirrors

America didn’t “lose” manufacturing. We’re actually just doing it better and smarter.

newsletter.ofthebrave.org

Contrary to popular wisdom, US manufacturing is not "dead" or "dying". It was not even sick. Until Trump's tariffs came along. Read what is really going on with American manufacturing in this Home of the Brave Substack. open.substack.com/pub/ofthebra...

Trump’s Manufacturing Policy is All Smoke and Mirrors

America didn’t “lose” manufacturing. We’re actually just doing it better and smarter.

open.substack.com

If democracies don't make the investments needed to create economic opportunity-- particularly for the next generation--we risk continued destruction of our societies from anti-liberal authoritarians. Read my latest @aia-nrw.bsky.social heartlandstransformationnetwork.substack.com/p/what-is-de...

What is Democracy Worth?

A recent study from the Centre for the Future of Democracy at the University of Cambridge found that among young people—the generations billed as Millennials and Gen Z—faith in democracy is at its low...

heartlandstransformationnetwork.substack.com

It has been 15 years since federal dollars started flowing in Great Lakes clean-up efforts--powered by the fact that this is a terrific investment in building our #blueeconomy. Join me in at this Wednesday's celebration of our Great Lakes and #Blueeconomy

The survival of democracy demands a political overhaul and relentless focus on improving livelihoods of people. Otherwise, history shows when citizens struggle they welcome the strongman who promises to fix things. Read my latest heartlandstransformationnetwork.substack.com/p/what-is-de...

20+ years ago with The Brookings Institution I created the Great Lakes Economic Initiative. 15 years ago we began to clean up the Great Lakes, and build out a new, #Blueeconomy. Macomb County, Michigan has been a leader. Looking forward to this celebration August 12th.

Is it worth bargaining away some freedoms democracy for better living standards and quality of life? Very disturbing as economies fail, people are willing to answer, yes! Read my new piece on what history teaches us about this bargain. heartlandstransformationnetwork.substack.com/p/what-is-de...

Just when our Midwest #manufacturing industry, challenged for decades by new foreign competition, finds its legs and is wildly successful globally, #Trump & tariffs come along to pull manufacturing down. Read my new article: heartlandstransformationnetwork.substack.com/p/american-m...

Looking forward next week to joining all my friends in Macomb County & deliver the keynote talk at this Great Lakes Conference. I will tell how we began to build out our blue economy and how we can lead the world in this work into the future! Join us!

Like so many promises #Trump's pledge to support manufacturing in Michigan & across the industrial heartland rings hollow. Use of #tariffs for political game-playing is damaging this wildly competitive sector of the American economy. heartlandstransformationnetwork.substack.com/p/american-m...

Trump's latest round of tariffs actually will do more damage to the manufacturing sector and the manufacturing-reliant communities like in my home state of Michigan he promised he would help. Read the real story of how manufacturing "works" in my article out from @milkeninstitute.org

The US manufacturing worker is the most productive on the planet at $140,000 value-added per worker, 7 times the Chinese worker-- and $100,000 more per person than second-place South Korea. Get the real story in @milkeninstitute.org Review www.milkenreview.org/articles/ame...

American Manufacturing

milkenreview.org

President Trump's latest efforts to tariff other countries, mainly so he can try and push them around, only tends to hurt our wildly competitive US manufacturing industry more! Read my latest "Manufacturing: The Real Story" out from Milken Institute. www.milkenreview.org/articles/ame...

American Manufacturing

milkenreview.org

A strong economy is not helped by tariffs, nor picking industry "winners and losers". Government can help by investing in the “public goods” that in turn fuel innovation and economic growth. Read Manufacturing the Real Story! heartlandstransformationnetwork.substack.com/p/american-m...

American Manufacturing

The Real Story

heartlandstransformationnetwork.substack.com

A conventional wisdom is that American manufacturing has been laid low by globalization, indifference to the plight of workers and unfair foreign competition. In fact, US manufacturing has never been more productive or output higher. Via @milkeninstitute.org www.milkenreview.org/articles/ame...

American Manufacturing

milkenreview.org

Manufacturing in US is not "dead" or even "dying". It's wildly competitive, high-tech, & producing more wealth and economic value than ever before. Tariffs don't help manufacturing, but help destroy it. Read my mfg. primer in @milkeninstitute.org www.milkenreview.org/articles/ame...

American Manufacturing

milkenreview.org

Catch my essay "American Manufacturing: The Real Story" Contrary to popular wisdom, US' Michigan & Midwest-centric manufacturing industry does not need "saving". It's wildly productive, high-tech & globally competitive. Until you do things like impose tariffs.... www.milkenreview.org/articles/ame...

American Manufacturing

milkenreview.org

Catch a number of good articles and examples around how transatlantic collaboration can keep paying dividends in terms of economic development and democratic resilience, including my own in @aia-nrw.bsky.social Magazine www.aia-nrw.org/en/publicati...

@andyburnham.bsky.social taking small steps important to bring hope & economic opportunity back to people and places so long ignored. Read my piece in @washingtonmonthly.bsky.social why this task is important across all democracies. @andywestwood.bsky.social washingtonmonthly.com/2026/07/20/a...

Andy Burnham’s Challenge

Andy Burnham has built his politics around Britain’s neglected industrial communities. His premiership depends on if he can deliver for them.

washingtonmonthly.com