I think they already cut a lot of the power from the elected officials when emergency finanical manager was appointed back in May or so.TWX said:I wonder how bankruptcy will affect the power of elected officials in the city, especially in light of corruption allegations and past proven corruption. If the bankruptcy court appoints a manager and essentially gives that manager all power, then it could be that the elected officials may no longer have much more than just a meaningless title, at least until bankruptcy is discharged. If corruption at elected levels then sidelining those officials may actually help.
Working for a large bureaucracy, I can say that it's difficult to affect change if those in middle-management don't themselves embrace making those changes called for from the top. If those in the middle do not enforce policies of those at the top, then the those at the bottom won't see or make any changes.
Y?CJDsalespro said:![]()
I am pretty sure....this advertising campaign is dead........
I think Detroit's problems are no longer about race as they are economic freedom. Unfortuantely the sad reality for many people in Detroit, they are only there because they cannot afford to leave. I do agree with you however, that there has been a great divide perpetuated between Detroit politiicans and the rest of the state. Oakland and Macomb counties to the north of Detroit did not embrace Detroit as the anchor that helped their counties explode in growth, and Detroit leadership for many years portrayed suburbanites as the reason why the city is in decline. I think that Michigan's Emergency Financial Law have further expanded the canyon between Michigan's major cities and the rest of the state. Right now there is zero trust of state governrment within Detroit, and it is likely to cause this thing to drag on in courts for many years keeping Detroit in a negative light.ImperialCrown said:I lived in Livonia (west of Detroit) for a couple of years while attending MoTech and working part-time at a metal plating factory in the '70's. The car industry (i.e.-economy) was down then and assembly quality reflected that. I will always have a kinship with the people there. It is my second-home. It was a big part of my life and sometimes I get homesick for Detroit. It is about a 7 hour drive from here.
Lee Iacocca sparked a new hope in 1980 that was contagious. The city has a lot to offer and a lot to see.
The administration in Detroit lately has saddened me and the anger of the residents have changed the mood of the area. The city is a blend of cultures and there are good people everywhere.There are safe areas, but crime is rampant in other areas like any other big city. You don't have to live in fear and always be looking over your shoulder.
Kwame Kilpatrick was a player and a symptom of the bigger problem of the corrupt Detroit government. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwame_Kilpatrick
When we had the Allpar meet in Auburn Hills a couple of years ago, I was able the visit Alma Mater and my old landlady. We shared a lot about the good times and the current state of affairs. It is sad when it gets blamed on race, because we all work alongside eachother and depend on eachother. The finger-pointing over the collapse of Detroit is a symptom of a bigger problem. My state taxes keep the Big Apple going. Rome fell too.
Detroit has always been a roller-coaster economy depending on car sales in good times and bad. It is a resilient city, but people can only take so much. The suburbs have sprawled and are facing similar financial/social problems now.
It will always be the Motor City to me. http://detroit2020.com/2011/01/11/believe-in-detroit-campaign/
You hit the nail right on the head. The debt could be zero, but if there is not revenue to sustain the city, it will be back in bankruptcy court in five years. There is so much obsession with balancing books, but there is ZERO effort to get out there and recruit manufacturers to the city. There has been a lot of activity downtown, but what about the rest of the city? Face it, people will not aspire to live in Detroit's neighborhoods for decades- unfortuantely it is a damaged brand. However, if there are jobs there, people will travel from afar to work there.dana44 said:Well, anything is possible, it just has to be done properly. It will take a couple decades to make it happen, but no way is it going to happen if they don't get some jobs and businesses to return to the city.
Your not going to get jobs and businesses returning with this going on...dana44 said:Well, anything is possible, it just has to be done properly. It will take a couple decades to make it happen, but no way is it going to happen if they don't get some jobs and businesses to return to the city.
Drastic locations take drastic measures. I was in Iraq and was privy to how the "surge" was constructed and implemented. If that can be done, this should actually be easier because you don't have to travel to foreign countries and search for people to return. Yes, there is a lot of bad, mismanaged, neglected, pilfered stuff going on in the area, but that doesn't mean it can't be fixed. If that were the case, nuke it and keep everyone out. It still goes without saying, if business is not incentivized to return then no, it won't be saved. It is no different than a rusted hulk in a field. One has to start somewhere when restoring anything, and it takes a lot of work to make it happen. You improve what happens in the future and you fix what was done in the past.dak4x4 said:Your not going to get jobs and businesses returning with this going on...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nothing-works-here-reality-on-the-streets-of-a-broken-motor-city-8721302.html
Absolutely it will take a lot of work and dedicated people...at local, state and federal levels. Bulldozing the supposed 80K+ abandoned buildings is a start.dana44 said:Drastic locations take drastic measures. I was in Iraq and was privy to how the "surge" was constructed and implemented. If that can be done, this should actually be easier because you don't have to travel to foreign countries and search for people to return. Yes, there is a lot of bad, mismanaged, neglected, pilfered stuff going on in the area, but that doesn't mean it can't be fixed. If that were the case, nuke it and keep everyone out. It still goes without saying, if business is not incentivized to return then no, it won't be saved. It is no different than a rusted hulk in a field. One has to start somewhere when restoring anything, and it takes a lot of work to make it happen. You improve what happens in the future and you fix what was done in the past.
And who is going to pay for that? Not enough market for the salvaged materials to break even.burnout said:Absolutely it will take a lot of work and dedicated people...at local, state and federal levels. Bulldozing the supposed 80K+ abandoned buildings is a start.