As March draws to a close, we want to thank everyone who came to the 2025 #mlppforum earlier this month!
A special thanks to our panelists:
Dr. Michael Shepherd @mshepruralpolitics.bsky.social
Gabe Gonzales @economicsecurityproject.org
Donna Price, President of Detroit Action Commonwealth
And that's a wrap on the 2025 Public Policy Forum!
In her closing statement, League President/CEO @monique-stanton.bsky.social reminds audiences to tell Senators Peter and Slotkin to say "NO" on the continuing resolution (CR): secure.everyaction.com/xXcBTH82wEOJ...
#mlppforum #mileg
Thank you for joining us in building power together today. Stay connected to @michleague.bsky.social to continue the fight ahead! #mlppforum
@mshepruralpolitics.bsky.social: A lot of my research focuses on this. One study found that about half of residents in counties where there was an expansion of medicaid didn't know that there was an expansion.
So while I believe media is partially to blame, it is also a real solution. #mlppforum
Q: If you could have one policy wish for families, what would it be? Donna Price: Sustainable housing and more care for families. Families don't belong in a box. Children need space and a whole community to care for them. Trauma shouldn't be normalized for children. #mlppforum
Families do not belong in a box. Children and family need space.
Donna Price
#MLPPforum
Dr. Michael Shepherd: The people with the loudest voices are not necessarily representative of the whole community, but they can shape perceptions. We have to provide a trusted local face to counter this influence. #mlppforum
Gabe Gonzales: Citizens United says that money is speech, so those in our society with the most money get to have the most political speech. It's infected our country. Need to continue creating a drum beat around wanting to see this decision reversed. #mlppforum
"You must be willing to do good at fail, if you are a politician you must be willing to do good and not be rewarded at the ballot box."
Dr. Michael Shepherd
#MLPPforum
@mshepruralpolitics.bsky.social: What we need from local leaders is to tap into those times of pain and work across issue lines [...] Dare to make a difference for them, even if those folks have not been supporters in the past. #mlppforum
Gabe Gonzales: Building coalitions, finding likely and unlikely allies and working together. I think on a philisophical level what is needed is courage. Courage is not the absense of fear. It's what you do when you are scared. #mlppforum
Donna Price: we have to get out of the individual mindset and focus on collective power. We forget that WE are the ones who run our communities. #mlppforum
Our COO Colleen Graber and Project Manager Anna Fischer Colby are attending 2025 #MLPPForum by @michleague.bsky.social. Pics are of Monique Stanton and panel hosted by Kyle Caldwell of CMF.
Dr. Michael Shepherd: There's a lot of energy without a lot of direction right now. It's up to local leaders to tap into shared pain points and activate people around that. #mlppforum
"Courage is very much required in this moment. Courage is not the absence of fear it is what you do when you're scared."
Gabe Gonzalez
#MLPPforum
Gabe Gonzales: Building coalitions and finding allies couldn't be more important right now. #mlppforum
Donna Price: Defenders in the housing space must work together, not in silos. We have to have a plan and a long-term solution. #mlppforum
Panelists are talking about Medicaid. According to MLPP some 2.6 million Michigan residents utilize Medicare. That includes over 1 million children. In addition 41 of Michigan's 83 counties 20% of residence utilize Medicare. That includes over 37 counties in rural areas.
#MLPPforum
Kyle Caldwell: Michigan used to have 260 hospitals. Now, there are only 123. #mlppforum
We need to remove the veil from a robust state that provides important benefits tied to personal and community survival. #mlppforum
Dr. Michael Shepherd: Many people don't know how vital safety net programs are because the system has been designed to shield them from knowing it. We're dealing with an information and education problem- people don't understand what cuts will mean for them. #mlppforum
The panel started with a great quote from Donna Price, President of Detroit Action Commonwealth.
Price explained the lack of nuance in system reform with an anlaogy of an unhoused person having to relearn what it means to live in a home.
"A system doesn't work in survival mode." #mlppforum
Dr. Michael Shepherd: Cuts to safety net programs will hurt people, especially in rural areas. ACA/Medicaid expansion have been critical to survival of rural hospitals. #mlppforum
Gabe Gonzales: The tax policy fight is a crucial one, and "Democrats have to hold the line." #mlppforum
Who gets harm the most if we burn down all of the system instead of design to help people?
Kyle Caldwell
#MLPPforum
You cannot just tear down everything You have to build on what you have.
Donna Price
#MLPPforum
Joined by experts Gabe Gonzalez of the Economic Security Project, Donna Price of Detrot Action Commonwealth, and University of Michigan's Dr. Michael Shepherd. #mlppforum
Next up: a panel discussion moderated by Council of Michigan Foundations' Kyle Caldwell. #mlppforum
We've got to dream again we cannot settle for what we already have.
#MLPPforum
Ashleigh Gardere, President of PolicyLink, shares the cold truth about her "wins" combating poverty: "Good data and policy doesn't change our hearts".
#mlppforum
Up next: Audience questions for Ashleigh
