The bankruptcy of Detroit

[Flaxen Hegemony]

I figured I'd spin this topic off the other thread, since the news became official this morning - Detroit will be filing the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

I am not sure what is laughable. That city council has been filled with idiots for a very long time. And GM's washing its hands of the situation in the late 80's wasn't funny. I would allow that not many are innocent in this tragedy. But the idea to turn detroit into the "convention center" of the US and try to compete with Las Vegas... without gambling, and with 30 below winters... stupid seems to be a tight fit.

My use of the term "laughable" is meant to imply absurdity, not comedy.  A lot of us locals poke fun, maybe so that we forget the tragedy (for clarification, I no longer live in Detroit proper, but in one of the many suburbs).  Isn't there another Coastgabber from the Detroit or Michigan area?  I want to say stevesh or coaster, but am probably misremembering.  Whoever you are, send me a PM if you want to talk shop, as it were. 

In the case of Detroit's problems, the causes and fixes are hard to tease out, because there are so many issues tangled together, and the knots have had decades to tighten - poor management by the auto companies (or blissful ignorance in good times), terrible political leadership, and a long history of tense race dynamics sprinkled on top.  I wasn't born yet when the infamous Detroit riots occurred, but remember the suspicious stares that my grandfather gave to black people.  He was a good man at heart, and wouldn't have harmed any human being, but certainly was a racist in attitude.  The riots "changed him", as my mother used to say.

In any event, the first domino to topple always falls the hardest - it will be interesting to see the national reaction to the Detroit bankruptcy, and how the citizens and policy-makers in other big cities react..

Consider the financial "books" in your closest major city.  Can you see issues down the road, and why?

[Flaxen Hegemony]

No idea how old this is, but looking at Clarkson's hair colour, I'd say at least ten years. Sadly, part one isn't available..but I'm sure you can join it up. The mayor seemed upbeat...Hmmmm.




Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld Detroit 2/3



Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld Detroit 3/3

Could be anywhere from 12-20 years old.  Archer was, by orders of magnitude, the best mayor Detroit has had in the last 40 years.  His focus on fiscal discipline wasn't popular with voters, and he was subject to a recall election (I think 2, actually).  Finally, I think he considered the state of the city and his own credentials and said "I'm a former justice on the state Supreme Court, so you know, uhm, fuck it", and never looked back.  I was lucky enough to meet him on a few occasions.  They were only brief moments, but he was clearly both a brilliant and very nice man.

I did a quick Wikipedia run on Archer to refresh my memory on a few dates, and was stunned to see no mention of one of his more notable accomplishments - he was the first African American president of the American Bar Association.

[Flaxen Hegemony]

Reassuring news from Michigan's governor.  And here I was worried.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130719/METRO01/307190076/Snyder-Michigan-municipalities-likely-won-t-face-higher-lending-costs-Detroit-bankruptcy

Of course they won't.  I mean, why on earth would a lender look for an excuse to raise interest or lower credit rating?  To make a larger profit?  Preposterous!

[onan]

I figured I'd spin this topic off the other thread, since the news became official this morning - Detroit will be filing the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

My use of the term "laughable" is meant to imply absurdity, not comedy.  A lot of us locals poke fun, maybe so that we forget the tragedy (for clarification, I no longer live in Detroit proper, but in one of the many suburbs).  Isn't there another Coastgabber from the Detroit or Michigan area?  I want to say stevesh or coaster, but am probably misremembering.  Whoever you are, send me a PM if you want to talk shop, as it were. 

In the case of Detroit's problems, the causes and fixes are hard to tease out, because there are so many issues tangled together, and the knots have had decades to tighten - poor management by the auto companies (or blissful ignorance in good times), terrible political leadership, and a long history of tense race dynamics sprinkled on top.  I wasn't born yet when the infamous Detroit riots occurred, but remember the suspicious stares that my grandfather gave to black people.  He was a good man at heart, and wouldn't have harmed any human being, but certainly was a racist in attitude.  The riots "changed him", as my mother used to say.

In any event, the first domino to topple always falls the hardest - it will be interesting to see the national reaction to the Detroit bankruptcy, and how the citizens and policy-makers in other big cities react..

Consider the financial "books" in your closest major city.  Can you see issues down the road, and why?

And it did that... I have a very tough time using any rational thought when discussing Detroit. There is so much that went so wrong. So I apologize for my tone.


This is where corporations had other options but chose to let a city die. I have a very close friend from Detroit. We have had a friendship for close to 40 years. He has told me of the pride his father and uncles had working and providing for their families.


This is a city that when trouble started to appear the local government let the city burn.


And now it is refuse. GM with Roger Smith at the helm...


However the ever financially responsible GM was glad to get the financial bailout... In Dec of 2008 GM too a total of 19.3 billion, in April GM took a total of 4.5 billion, in May of 2008 they took 11.8 billion, in June of 2009 they took 30 billion and another 3.8 billion in Dec of 2009 another 3.8 billion. And all of that from US citizens. Not a dime from taxpayers in other countries. I wonder where Detroit was in the mind of those share holders.


I wouldn't buy another GM vehicle if it came with clowns and a piñata.

[RealCool Daddio]

Charlie LeDuffs recent book Detroit: An American Autopsy is excellent.  A must read.


http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1594205345[/size]

[bateman]

Much as I dislike his condescending nannying, he's right about this:

Pension benefits for city retirees have risen to $8 billion a year from $1.4 billion in 2002, when he first took office, Bloomberg said. Health insurance, free to most municipal workers, has almost doubled to $6.3 billion, he added.

Gains from a rising stock market won’t increase pension assets enough to offset higher taxpayer costs, the mayor said.

“Just as the financial collapse had only a small impact on our pension bill, as the market improves, it will not solve the problem,” he said. “The idea that our costs can be substantially reduced through increased market returns is a fantasy.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-06/nyc-s-good-times-may-sour-like-detroit-s-bloomberg-warns.html

[Flaxen Hegemony]

A white write-in candidate actually received the most votes in the Detroit mayoral primary:

http://www.detroitnews.com/section/politics0106/

This was after he was: 1) bounced off the ballot by a legal challenge, and 2) another candidate drafted a similarly named barber ("Mike Dugeon") in the hopes of confusing write-in voters. 

This is refreshing news.  Not that Mike Duggan's "whiteness" would make him a better mayor, but that the decades of race-baiting Detroit's 80% black population to fear white politicians as suburban invaders might be nearing its end.  That may be optimistic.

[Bunny Boy]

I am so glad I left there in 2002.  One of the better decisions I've made in my life.

[The General]

I am so glad I left there in 2002.  One of the better decisions I've made in my life.

good call.  where'd you end up?

[Eddie Coyle]

good call.  where'd you end up?

      Be awesome if the answer was Baghdad or Kabul.

[Bunny Boy]

      Be awesome if the answer was Baghdad or Kabul.

Funny... General, in gorgeous Ponte Vedra, Florida.  11 years in September.  The Players Championship is here every year at Sawgrass.  St. Augustine up the road.  Fantastic weather.  Good economy and growing.  I've done we'll here.

[McPhallus]

Charlie LeDuffs recent book Detroit: An American Autopsy is excellent.  A must read.


http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1594205345[/size]

The Detropia documentary is also excellent.