Posted on 07/24/2013 7:22:46 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
I’m sad. Detroit is my native city. It’s decline from being arguably the world’s richest city to being America’s “first Third Word city” is tragic, politically criminal, and a warning to other Americans.
The official declaration of Detroit’s bankruptcy last week could not have come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the Motor City’s atrocious financial condition. The city had no hope of ever recovering from its colossal over-indebtedness, and without a central bank standing by to create fiat credit to augment its insufficient revenue—the scheme that is the only thing keeping the even more colossally over-indebted national government solvent—the only question was when someone would pull the plug.
Fiscally speaking, Detroit had been in the “walking dead” category for years. Last Thursday’s announcement by Detroit’s emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, finally acknowledged the inescapable facts.
Clearly, some Michiganders are still in denial and refuse to face those facts. Last Friday, Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina insisted that the Chapter 9 bankruptcy declaration be withdrawn, stating the Michigan constitution forbids any action that would decrease the pension benefits of public employees. In the first place, Judge Aquilina should read my article about will and abandon the delusion that a constitution can alter reality by making nonexistent funds magically appear; in the second, it is an unjust constitution that confers a protection on public employees that private-sector employees don’t have. A sounder constitution would have prohibited the city government from gaining control of employees’ retirement funds contributions and instead have mandated that those contributions all go into a private fund in the workers’ names where the city couldn’t touch them.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
This is a great article. Thanks for posting it.
On the other hand, 100% of those reading the article on Free Republic know both that Detroit is a hell-hole and that the judge is an idiot, and none of us can do anything about these things. A good number of those reading could improve in their apostrophe use, so perhaps the tangent is not so bad.
My favourite hijacked thread was one a few years ago that devolved into a discussion on lost socks and washing machines.
“He might be a smart guy, but he has no business whatsoever writing newspaper articles! If you don’t understand elementary English grammar, don’t write for publication!”
Blame the editors.
Well, this was a total waste of a thread, lol...
You are doing the forum a FAVOR, correcting grammatical errors.
Being able to take correction is a sign of intelligence and humility, qualities which used to be highly valued.
I don’t totally disagree but I don’t like it when the spelling and grammar nazis overreach and call the author a “complete idiot” because of a typo. Get real. It happens to everyone, usually in their haste to type something on their increasingly smaller and smaller keyboards and hit post before spell checking or proof reading.
If this is to be a lesson in the correct use of apostrophes then give a lesson in it and leave all the name calling out of it. I went to school when spelling, grammar and sentence structure were considered very important in English class, including the two semesters of English I took in college. Given the slow failure of the public school education system over the last several decades, it is understandable that some younger folks than myself just never were taught the rules or don’t know the difference. I accept that but don’t make a big deal about mistakes every time I read them in print.
On the contrary. If we did this on every thread, posters (at least) would soon tighten up their English skills. Nothing we can do about errors in published articles, of course.
I'd say that most people posting here, know the rules.
The rules of apostrophe usage are simple enough that most kids learned them with little effort in my day. If you attended liberal controlled public schools, you likely didn't learn those simple rules, but it only takes a bit of help from friendly posters to nail them down.
Here's a little graphic that will help.
RE: Agreed—and that the error is in an article by someone who is Harvard and Oxford educated (literature at Oxford no less!) is alarming,
Guys, guys, guys, you talk as if a Harvard or Oxford Professor is PERFECT in every way and never make mistakes at all.
Why is it alarming? Can’t a little oversight be made sometimes?
Don’t even grammar professors make mistakes sometimes?
Don’t FReepers make spelling mistakes? (Yes, even those English college professors...)
Here are several instances in the article where Prof. Hendrickson used the same word “its”, in the article:
#1:
“It’s decline from being arguably the world’s richest city to being America’s “first Third Word city” is tragic,”
And here:
#2:
“The city had no hope of ever recovering from its colossal over-indebtedness”
And here:
#3:
“without a central bank standing by to create fiat credit to augment its insufficient revenue”
and here:
#4:
“... the demise of Detroit may not be in vain if we learn its grim lesson and reform city, state, and the federal government from their destructive predatory policies.”
Now with the above examples, you tell me if he’s an idiot who does not know how to use apostrophes
Of course the Editor should have caught it, but I blame the author as well. The Editor is not supposed to have to translate moron-speak into intelligible English.
Frankly, I'd settle for being left alone.
Wouldn't know what to do with "respect". And "Gratitude"? HA. haha.
#1 is wrong, wrong, WRONG. It is also in the third sentence in the article! I hope you are not suggesting that it was correct!
Written communications skills matter, and especially if one is writing articles for Forbes. I am shocked at the pass that so many on this site are willing to give the author. No damn wonder American culture is in decline!
:punkchewation is the cornerstone Of good grammaticalness.
their aiN’t no eckskoose For bad punkchewation:
I giuess we shud just not worry to much about grammers! Who cares if u cannt read wut he rote.
I think Detroit’s downfall began in 1968, if not earlier. I had some relatives living in Detroit until the riots that year; they got the Hell out.
>>#1 is wrong, wrong, WRONG.<<
Did you start a sentence with a #?? Please correct to: Number 1 is wrong.... For shame!
This is a hit-and-run post. hehehehehehe
Good article derailed by an apostrophe catastrophe.
Post #37: Awesome.
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