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The collapse of Detroit. De-industrialization, racism, stagnation — is the Motor City our future?
Los Angeles Times ^ | 03/28/2011 | Scott Martelle

Posted on 03/28/2011 7:06:20 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Imagine for a moment that every single person living in the city of San Jose, plus another 150,000 or so, just up and left. Vanished. Poof. Gone. Leaving their homes, business buildings and factories behind.

That is, in effect, what has happened to the city of Detroit, according to 2010 U.S. Census data released this week. The city that boasted 1.8 million residents in 1950, and was the nation's economic engine for most of the 20th century, now is home to 714,000 people, a population loss of some 1.1 million — with a 25% drop in the last decade alone.

It's an unprecedented collapse of a major American city. It's not as if the population was dropping nationwide; it's going up. Just not in Detroit. It's closest "outmigration" rival is Chicago, a five-hour drive to the west, which has lost about 964,000 people since 1950 but still holds about 2.7 million people, down 25% from its peak of 3.62 million in 1950.

In Detroit, the loss amounts to a staggering 60% of the city's peak population. It is now smaller than Charlotte, N.C., and Fort Worth. More people have left Detroit than live in San Francisco; more people have left in the last decade than live in St. Petersburg, Fla.

There are all sorts of implications here, both for Detroit and for the nation. The 2010 census counts for Detroit (and Chicago) were much lower than local officials, and earlier census estimates, had predicted. That raises the question of whether there were problems with the count last year or in 2000, setting false benchmarks. Detroit officials say they plan to challenge the numbers, and Mayor David Bing announced he wants to find 40,000 Detroiters who were missed to try to push the count above the 750,000 mark,

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: Michigan
KEYWORDS: bluezones; corruption; deindustrialization; democrats; detroit; economy; fraud; la; liberals; obamavoters; progressives; unemployment; unions
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To: Sacajaweau

Did bullet holes in the houses make them age quicker?


21 posted on 03/28/2011 7:31:11 AM PDT by gr8eman (People who have no souls never "Soul Search"!)
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To: GeronL
does this article say anything about the cause of it? Probably not, because the LA Times probably wouldn’t print it if it did

Yep they sure did...right here

Racism plays a significant role too.

The White man is responsible for it at least a significant part of it. According to this hack, most liberals/Marxist and most Blacks themselves, Blacks are NEVER responsible for anything they do nor for what happens to them.

22 posted on 03/28/2011 7:32:26 AM PDT by Altura Ct.
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To: SeekAndFind

It would make my day if Ford would move their headquarters away from Detroit and out of Michigan and away from the unionize Democrat controlled rust belt, and give the area, and Government Motors and Chrysler the middle finger, but I know that won’t happen because the Democrats on the state and federal would pay them to stay put if they arn’t already.


23 posted on 03/28/2011 7:33:39 AM PDT by ReformedBeckite ( post 1 of 3 I'm only allowing my self each day)
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To: Altura Ct.

I noticed that, leftists politics never got mentioned.


24 posted on 03/28/2011 7:34:05 AM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Happiness)
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To: joe fonebone

Of course if he had written about the real cause of the decline, it’d never gotten printed in the LA Times.


25 posted on 03/28/2011 7:35:17 AM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Happiness)
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To: SeekAndFind

Detroit is the “Crown Jewel” of progressive policies.


26 posted on 03/28/2011 7:42:07 AM PDT by 30Moves
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To: GeronL

The moron author calls everyone racist that fled the city. And yet he fled too.


27 posted on 03/28/2011 7:43:46 AM PDT by Sir Gawain
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To: Hacklehead
Anyone else annoyed at the “Motor city” commercials touting the greatness of Detroit?

YES - I pointed out, to my wife, the socialist "art" (clenched fist statue) also featured in the ad.

28 posted on 03/28/2011 7:49:28 AM PDT by Damifino (The true measure of a man is found in what he would do if he knew no one would ever find out.)
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To: Hacklehead
Anyone else annoyed at the “Motor city” commercials touting the greatness of Detroit?

YES - I pointed out, to my wife, the socialist "art" (clenched fist statue) also featured in the ad.

29 posted on 03/28/2011 7:49:37 AM PDT by Damifino (The true measure of a man is found in what he would do if he knew no one would ever find out.)
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To: circlecity
So, wanting a safe neighborhood and good schools for your family is racist?

What, you didn't get the memo? Jeeze, there's always somebody that didn't get memo...

30 posted on 03/28/2011 7:51:47 AM PDT by GATOR NAVY ("The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen." -Dennis Prager)
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To: SeekAndFind

California, you are doomed.

Need proof?

The Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail.
A coyote jumps out and attacks the Governor’s dog, then bites the Governor.
1. The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie “Bambi” and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is only doing what is natural.
2. He calls animal control . Animal Control captures the coyote and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.
3. He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases.
4. The Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting his bite wound bandaged.
5. The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while Fish & Game conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now free of dangerous animals.
6. The Governor spends $50,000 in state funds implementing a “coyote awareness program” for residents of the area.
7. The State Legislature spends $2 million to study how to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease throughout the world.
8. The Governor’s security agent is fired for not stopping the attack. The State spends $150,000 to hire and train a new agent with additional special training re: the nature of coyotes.
9. PETA protests the coyote’s relocation and files a $5 million suit against the State.

Wyoming:
The Governor of Wyoming is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A Coyote jumps out and attacks his dog.
1. The Governor shoots the coyote with his State-issued pistol and keeps jogging. The Governor has spent $0.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge.
2. The Buzzards eat the dead coyote.
And that, my friends, is why California is broke and Wyoming is not


31 posted on 03/28/2011 7:52:30 AM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: SeekAndFind

Detroit turning into a turd world Shiithole. Perfect for the squatters in Dearbornistan.


32 posted on 03/28/2011 7:56:27 AM PDT by crosshairs (You can say what you want about the South, but you never hear of anyone retiring and moving north.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Now we know what happened to the Mayans, Aztecs, Incas.


33 posted on 03/28/2011 7:58:13 AM PDT by Diggity
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To: SeekAndFind
Michigan has a law which allows cities of more than 1 million residents to charge an income tax. The law was created years ago by leftists to "help Detroit" (no other cities in Michigan me the threshold) raise revenue. Of course, this made it more expensive (2% for residents and 1% for non-residents) to reside or work in Detroit than the suburbs which also had the benefit of newer and larger homes.

Today, Detroit no longer meets the threshold and is trying to get the law changed to permit them to continue to charge the tax.

What logic! People moving out in droves and city wants to continue a tax making it more expensive to live there.

34 posted on 03/28/2011 7:59:30 AM PDT by CharacterCounts (November 4, 2008 - the day America drank the Kool-Aid)
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To: Hacklehead
Anyone else annoyed at the “Motor city” commercials touting the greatness of Detroit?

Not me!! I'm sick of all the people in the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia buying Korean made cars. Let's suuport our own industry!

35 posted on 03/28/2011 8:06:46 AM PDT by Moleman
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To: GeronL

Well, as a mater of fact it does.

Big Auto, Republican Policies and racist whites.

The author does mention 18 months on a union picket line in Detroit as one of his claims of good memories.


36 posted on 03/28/2011 8:07:18 AM PDT by PeteB570 (Islam is the sea in which the terrorist shark swims. It aids & comforts the shark on it's journey.)
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To: PeteB570; Sir Gawain

Good point SG, I guess he called himself a moron too.

The Black Separatists and Union Radicals run Detroit, what they have left is the remains after the looting.


37 posted on 03/28/2011 8:12:14 AM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Happiness)
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To: SeekAndFind

38 posted on 03/28/2011 8:17:25 AM PDT by Last Dakotan
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To: PeteB570

I think the 18 months on the picket line fried his brain and permanently.

I think after about 15 minutes of being out of my job I would have started looking for another job instead of standing around with a sign.

Their signs probably said “Idiots on Strike”


39 posted on 03/28/2011 8:19:15 AM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Happiness)
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To: Sacajaweau

Why has Detroit “changed” more than any other city?

Congressman Conyers Detroit City Councilwoman-wife is in prison for breaking laws involving her office, isn’t she?


40 posted on 03/28/2011 8:19:35 AM PDT by lonestar (It takes a village of idiots to elect a village idiot.)
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