In the 70's with much hand wringing Gerald Ford pushed to keep NYC solvent.
I think we as a nation should get behind Detroit.
What say you?????
In the 70's with much hand wringing Gerald Ford pushed to keep NYC solvent.
I think we as a nation should get behind Detroit.
What say you?????
Until people move back to Detroit its hopeless. Not sure how to make it attractive again but they are less than 50% occupancy in the city from what I read.
let it go bankrupt. it's so liberal/union/corrupt that we might as well just set our money on fire.
Not as smart as Meta, but way smarter than Zito.
Without money coming in, its throwing good money after bad.
Ivermectin Man
Let it tank. Eventually hipsters will go there and gentrify the **** out of that place. Look at Brooklyn. 20 years ago place was a ****hole, now it's one of the richer areas out there.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
...and the people living there? How do they live, who collects the trash -patrols the streets - keeps the lights on?
or do we leave them the way New Orleans was left during Katrina:
Are we Americans? Are we a United States or every man for himself?
Basic local services should continue during the bankruptcy. At least one would hope so.
thank you weso1!
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
When all the property is cheap enough, someone will buy. Always happens and they aren't making more land last I checked.
Ivermectin Man
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
and this:
By focusing the blame for Detroit’s bankruptcy solely on workers’ pensions, rather than having a more comprehensive discussion that includes both pension benefits and corporate giveaways, the right can engineer the political environment for the truly immoral reality mentioned at the beginning of this article — the one highlighted this week by the Associated Press story headlined “Arena Likely Still On Track, Business As Usual For Sports Teams Despite Bankruptcy Filing.” Yes, that’s correct: at the same time government officials are talking about slashing the meager $19,000-a-year pensions of workers who don’t get Social Security, those officials are promising that they will still go forward with a plan to spend a whopping $283 million of taxpayer money on a new stadium for the Red Wings.
http://www.salon.com/2013/07/23/dont...about_detroit/
50PoundHead (07-24-2013), jpx7 (07-23-2013)
This is great
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
Well Obama said he wasn't going to let it go bankrupt during the election campaign, so we should be good, right? Right?
I think the problem in a lot of American cities is that changing patterns of work and development have robbed cities of a ton of tax base and left them with a dwindling tax base to maintain the necessary funding structure. I can't remark about other states, but in Minnesota, public workers have long contributed to their own pension and health benefits which is different than in many other states/cities experiencing problems. But police and fire are necessary expenditures and pension costs are a legitimate part of that. That doesn't mean contribution rates and benefit structures shouldn't be explored, but I'm willing to provide incentives for those folks who want to put their lives on the line in service of the community.
The other side of the coin though (and here is where a ton of cities make a ton of mistakes) is the give-aways to corporations to re-locate into a city. With increasing competition for corporate presence, those deals rarely pay off as there is always someone willing to under-bid for a company or corporate reorganizations move a corporate presence before the incentives have paid for themselves. And stadiums, arenas, and other entertainment centers don't provide stable economic development past the construction of said facilities. What has saved us in the Twin Cities is that the "money" has stayed in town. There are strong middle class communities within the Twin Cities (and more than a smattering of rich folks) that are willing to pay for a certain basket of public goods. It appears to me (and I could easily be wrong) that all the "money" has left Detroit. The big bucks to the Gross Pointe family of suburbs and the middle class to places like Livonia, Novi, Taylor and other mid-priced venues. And when income leaves, property values dwindle. That hasn't left much in Detroit.
I don't know what to do, but the solution is going to have to go beyond the simplistic which both sides tend to employ.
jpx7 (07-24-2013)
If you bail out Detroit, don't you risk setting the precedence of bailing out any big city that manages their money poorly? I'm guessing those in California will be eagerly watching how this is handled. I hope we don't bail out Detroit but with the current President and Congress, I just know it's coming.