Detroit Declares Bankruptcy
In 1950 the population of Detroit was about 1,850,000, in 2010 it had shrunk to 710,000. While the United States as a whole has grown in population, Michigan lost about 54,000 residents from 2000-2010. Ignominiously the country's biggest loser for the period.
While the government did what it did to help bail out the automobile industry, the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan have not been able reverse a larger trend of people leaving the Motor City for other parts of the country in search of jobs..
Major League sports franchises like the Red Wings, Tigers, Lions, and Pistons still call the Detroit area home and General Motors and Ford still are major employers, but they are unable to generate population growth in the area in a very meaningful way.
Roger and Me, the movie by Michael Moore is almost 25 years old and it did a pretty good job of explaining and foreshadowing the problems Detroit faced then and now.
Detroit had poor political leadership, and corruption in the recent past seemed to be the rule rather than the exception.
Bankruptcy has probably been inevitable for too long. When the police take 58 minutes to respond to major crimes and ignore other cases because of a lack of staff to respond something needs to be done. 710,000 people who still live in Detroit deserve better.
Reorganization to reflect a smaller population, tax base, and a lot of old and deteriorating housing is needed. The political stalemate that delayed it has been a disaster and only delayed doing something to stop the bleeding.
While the government did what it did to help bail out the automobile industry, the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan have not been able reverse a larger trend of people leaving the Motor City for other parts of the country in search of jobs..
Major League sports franchises like the Red Wings, Tigers, Lions, and Pistons still call the Detroit area home and General Motors and Ford still are major employers, but they are unable to generate population growth in the area in a very meaningful way.
Roger and Me, the movie by Michael Moore is almost 25 years old and it did a pretty good job of explaining and foreshadowing the problems Detroit faced then and now.
Detroit had poor political leadership, and corruption in the recent past seemed to be the rule rather than the exception.
Bankruptcy has probably been inevitable for too long. When the police take 58 minutes to respond to major crimes and ignore other cases because of a lack of staff to respond something needs to be done. 710,000 people who still live in Detroit deserve better.
Reorganization to reflect a smaller population, tax base, and a lot of old and deteriorating housing is needed. The political stalemate that delayed it has been a disaster and only delayed doing something to stop the bleeding.
Comments
Post a Comment