Posted on 07/20/2013 12:46:04 PM PDT by reaganaut1
...
But while Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has capably overseen Detroit’s march to Chapter 9, neither the state nor the federal government has evinced any inclination to provide meaningful financial assistance.
That’s a mistake. No one likes bailouts or the prospect of rewarding Detroit’s historic fiscal mismanagement. But apart from voting in elections, the 700,000 remaining residents of the Motor City are no more responsible for Detroit’s problems than were the victims of Hurricane Sandy for theirs, and eventually Congress decided to help them.
America is just as much about aiding those less fortunate as it is about personal responsibility. Government does this in so many ways; why shouldn’t it help Detroit rebuild itself?
Many call for scaling back the city to fit realistic population projections. While logical, the potential for downsizing Detroit is limited because the city’s population didn’t flee from just one neighborhood; the departures were scattered, requiring Detroit to deliver services across a geographic area the size of Philadelphia, with less than half the population. Further cuts will surely come, but in some key areas, like public safety and blight removal, Detroit needs to spend more, not less.
That necessitates large-scale reductions in its liabilities, which total as much as $18 billion. By comparison, the country’s second largest municipal bankruptcy — that of Jefferson County, Ala., which is slightly smaller than Detroit in population — involves $4 billion of liabilities.
Detroit faces greater challenges than the automakers because the structure of its obligations is quite different from those of General Motors and Chrysler.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com ...
no the unions that broke the city can save it
No we don’t!
It is the epitaph of black politicians in charge of that city.
Let THEM deal with it!
“Help” Detroit and it will be like the Jonestown flood downstream.
Every (and I mean EVERY) city will decide to go the same way as Detroit.
Whee! let’s buy everythiung and not pay for it; ‘cause we are WORTH it to Unca Sam!
Somehow; this seems apt for this thread:
1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily[a] with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”
4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached[b] to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Render to her just as she rendered to you,[c] and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7 In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ 8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges[d] her.
9 “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’
11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: 12 merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. 14 The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you,[e] and you shall find them no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17 For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance 18 and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’
19 “They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’
20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles[f] and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. 22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. 23 The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”
HMMMmmm...
ants vs grasshoppers
Let me tell you about Twinkies® and IT's union here in Indianapolis...
I hear that their are many in Detroit that actually receive money from the Gummint with out having to do a lick of work for it!
Us; TOO???
We should build a wall around Detroit and turn it into a maximum security prison ala “Escape From New York.”
And point out that the one-third of the population remaining ran the other two-thirds out of town.
Or a couple of Komatsu D575As.
I don’t have to step in and save anything. The idiots voted in democRATS and they in turn ruined the city. Let it rot.
“But apart from voting in elections, the 700,000 remaining residents of the Motor City are no more responsible for Detroit’s problems than were the victims of Hurricane Sandy for theirs”
But apart from choosing to step off the roof of a tall building, the deceased’s demise is entirely gravity’s fault.
Author and voting majority are both idiots.
I think Detroit could save itself if it could only find a market for cleaned, used, brick. There must be billions of them standing around.
I have a suggestion....create a network called Detroit Reality...running twenty-four hours a day.
We hire forty camera guys to roam the city and give the public entertainment value...shootings, muggings, robberies, assaults, etc. Charge a subscription for the public to watch the channel....maybe $25 a month.
Have the camera follow the corruption trail...from the real estate guys to the city council. Have a couple of thugs do live-interviews in the evenings....giving everyone an opinion on the real world of Detroit.
Detroit must be made to serve as an example of what happens to 'Rat-run entities. Detroit must be put through the wringer!
First step is to abrogate any and all obligations to past employees ...
So, you joined the Union and paid yer dues, did you? And the Union negotiated a deal too good to be true, having bought its counter-parties via electioneering. Well, guess what? It wasn't! Now subsist on Social Security!
Detroit can only be salvaged by first letting it completely collapse like an apocalyptic movie. City and county governments need to die. Property values need to drop to near zero. Skeleton crews of employees for essential service can be retained by the state to keep some services running. The National Guard and citizen volunteer groups could keep order. Then the state and the court can come in and do an inventory of all abandoned real estate in Wayne County including former public lands and buildings. Auctions can be held to sell off property to developers. Some property can be given to developers with plans to redevelop large tracts. All proceeds would then go to the court for distribution to creditors including the state.
The residents of Detroit have been more than willing to live off the graft provided by crooked politicians, crooked unions and a totally corrupt public infrastructure. The "makers" left and the ones remaining are the "takers".
"Saving" Detroit is impossible, and people should admit that. Any money given to Detroit would just go into the same bottomless pit as it has for the last 50 years.
Any "city" that cannot sustain itself without money from other people deserves to fail. Pull the plug, demolish the ruins, and return the land to productivity.
I'd suggest growing sugar beets...
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