Here is a link to a Detroit News article
http://www.detroitnews.com/section/metro
What do you think?
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Here is a link to a Detroit News article
http://www.detroitnews.com/section/metro
What do you think?
NO.
He can stay running his micro-world the DMC...
Mike will be out of the DMC early next year. He crafted his exit strategy with the sale of the DMC to vanguard.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farnsworthfarms
Duggan, Fieger, or whoever that has the proven credentials of running a successful enterprise & has the toughness to finally eliminate all the corruption.....is Martha Reeves running?
LOL :cool:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smirnoff
For me, it would either have to be Bing or Duggan. I don't like any of the others who have announced thus far. Pugh and Fieger are both jokes. Whatever his faults may be, at leastBing is taking on the enormous debt problem and has routed out some corruption. Duggan has a very impressive resume and great connections. For me, it would be one of them.
Detroit is ready for a white Mayor, Detroit is ready for Mike Duggan.
Duggan absolutely saved DMC from its failures.
1. He regained its trauma center.
2. Supports the building of the new heart hospital in 2014.
3. Improve the its 29 minute emergency response rooms.
Duggan can save Detroit from its financial and political failures and bring regional and ecomonic development into Downtown Detroit and improve its neighborhoods, police and fire depts and pulblic transit. Duggan can negotiate better with the city unions than any other politicians.
So Vote Mike Duggan for Mayor of Detroit 2013. A great white hope.
If America can put a black man in the white house. I'm sure Detroiters can put a white man in the black house.
I really wish his race didn't matter, but for better and for worse I guess it does. Some of the Watson followers will probably bleat about a "takeover" in Detroit, even though there are tens of thousands of non-black residents in the city. The suburbs will probably automatically look more favorably on Duggan and residents will want to work more closely with him mainly due to his skin and the fact that there are some white racists in the burbs who do not want to work with any black mayor of Detroit. Stupidity in both sides from a minority of people. Like I said either Bing or Duggan for me. Each will have challenges.
Fashion alert. Trend-watchers are reporting that 2013 luggage-makers are going retro replacing vinyl and nylon with carpet. :cool:
But, hey, that bomb was be lobbed against Bing and he survived it.
What a whacky build up to 2013. I just don't get a Duggan candidacy.
Did I miss some populist ground swell of support with supporters chanting his name?
Does he have some magic bullet that we can't see that can overcome the core contradiction that the City of Detroit does not and cannot have the revenue to continue as long as it is stuck caring for almost all of the region's poor with all the high insurance, crime, homelessness, beggary, middle-class flight, blight and more that comes with it?
Fieger? Fah-get-about-it.
Oddly enough the best option might be to elect a Republican and then let the Republicans in Lansing and nationally fall over themselves to throw money at Detroit to make it succeed. Bob Blackwell pulled that ploy in Highland Park in 70's with some success. Of course, he took his 'commission' as did son later.
Does Detroit still have a lot of "Projects"? If so, it may be better to do what other big cities have done and demolish them. Give people vouchers to go towards living in other areas. It seems to have worked to reduce crime in other cities.
It's "easier" to run a successful enterprise when you are the boss and you pay the participants to be successful for you or they're fired, rather than a city where you're only the "boss" as long as the participants think you are giving them what they want. I don't think success in business necessarily prepares you for success in a non-business "enterprise". It's easier to make profit than it is to keep spending more than you take in when you know its wrong and doesn't make fiscal sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by Smirnoff
I think Martha started running a while ago but nobody seems to know where she's got too.
Yes.
Bing or Duggan? Bing has consistently demonstrated a lack of leadership especially through this financial review board fiasco. He vacillates, hides from the public, makes conflicting statements, and one day appears conciliatory and the other combative. His extended hospital visits are a problem, too. While he certainly has no appearance of corruption, he allowed it to carry over from the Kwame years under his watch and his office, conversely, has been a revolving door for talented people because of his mismanagement.
Frankly we can't afford to have a sick old man who is a weak leader and a failed businessman in office. I can't even believe I just had to type that.
Duggan worries me only because of his electability because:
he's white
no populist credentials [[which is indeed a legitimate problem)
I believe if Bing runs again he will win by virtue of name recognition and Duggan being white. If Bing doesn't run it could actually be a competitive race between Pugh and Duggan. Remember, Pugh garnered the highest votes for Council last year and again, the two biggest factors in any Detroit election - race and name recognition ! - are in his favor. The hatred and ignorance here run deep. Everyone pointed to Bing saying it was a sign of the healing of the suburban/city divide - sure, as long as we're talking about black suburbanites and black city residents.
Would Duggan be a good mayor? I can't think of any non-governmental agencies quite as massive and complex as a medical center. It seems he would be well prepared for the complexities of city government. What about the poor folks? Well, Kwame, Bing, and Ficano certainly haven't been doing them any favors, now have they?
Good Lord... he's another MacNamara legacy.... :p
He was the Wayne County Prosecutor... for a very short time... 2001-2003... and then left public service to take over the DMC... How'd he do there?
Seriously?Quote:
Originally Posted by jpbollma
Can we stop with the businessmen already?
Do we have any others in the running that would do better than Bing or Duggan? I only know of them, Pugh and Fieger. Pugh and Fieger are both attention whores. In my opinion they would both be horrible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by poobert
I'd say if it were down to anybody white and King Kwame', KK would win by a landslide for no other reason. Remember, this is the kind of city in question: http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...Brinker-Street
You don't think running a large city is a business?Quote:
Originally Posted by antongast
No. The point of a city government is to serve the public. The point of a business is to make money. If you're running a city government to make money, you're doing it wrong.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meddle
Great plan!Quote:
Originally Posted by jpbollma
Oh wait they tried that and it killed off most neighborhoods in the city. Damm, back to the drawing board.
I don't land on either side for Duggan.
I don't think black voters siding with a white candidate is NEARLY as big an issue as some like to think it is.
What makes me suspicious is why has the Detroit News been beating this guy's drum so hard for nearly three months? Who does he know or owe/owed favors to on the staff? It was nearly an article a day some weeks back.
Exactly. Well said.Quote:
Originally Posted by antongast
You are also doing it wrong if you run a city government that continually has deficits in the hundreds of millions of dollar range. While Bing's record might be disappointing, would a classic politician really do a better job? Perhaps, but not necessarily.Quote:
Originally Posted by antongast
Regardless of whether it is a businessman, politician, or whatever, what Detroit needs most of all is a competent administrator who can do a good job of communicating with the public and deal with all the necessary egos in the city and state government so that he/she can accomplish some goals.
I don't think as many people will care if Duggan's white if he can fix some of the city's problems. I'm not a huge Duggan fan, but I'm willing to give him a shot if he runs a solid campaign. Bing hasn't shown much in his first term. Charles Pugh....I just don't trust that guy to be a leader. He's more worried about his abs than what people in the city want. Feiger's not going to run so I think he's out of this discussion.
Count Scary for Mayor!
Pugh can't even keep his own finances in order, why would anyone trust him with Detroit's?Quote:
Originally Posted by dmike76
Quote:
Originally Posted by antongast
A government can't serve the people if it can't manage the money. A business can't succeed if it doesn't take care of the customers. If governments were run more like businesses instead of good ole boy networks, we wouldn't have so many money problems.
There were already comments about that in the comment section of this article on the News website.Quote:
Originally Posted by jpbollma
Correct me if I'm mistaken, which I know folks will do, but I thought Duggan was on the board when the schools were under State control, & he did alot to get many of the school buildings into better shape.
so we're probably looking at what, circa november 2012 for an announcement?
It appears Archer is still smoking that stuff that led to his decision to put the casinos on the riverfront.Quote:
A source close to Duggan said the former mayor [[Archer) made it clear to the potential candidate that he supports Bing if he runs.
"If Dave Bing solves the problems everybody wants [[to solve) together … if Dave Bing decides he wants to run again, nobody can beat him. Period," Archer said.
In my wacky fantasy world, I've harbored this wish that Edsel Ford II would run for mayor. He could run the city with a take-no-prisoners approach, would appeal to black and white alike, has a strong financial background and a genuine interest in civic affairs [[Chair of the Detroit 300 Conservancy, among others).
He's already got money and power, so he could focus on getting the job done. He would be able to attract a team of leaders second to none. He's young enough to have the energy that Bing seems to lack and a sensitivity to labor that might get him endorsements from some unions [[talk about strange bedfellows).
Of course, residency would be a problem, but I've got a solution for that, too. His first official act would be to annex the Pointes. Voila, residency! [[and a stronger tax base, too!)
That's all from the Outer Limits. I now return control of your television set to you.
=======Quote:
Originally Posted by Motor City Sam
Many would argue that the principal role of a business is to make money for those who have invested in it, and as a result, many corporate decisions are often made with the sole goal of increasing profits. However, according to the late Peter F. Drucker, the forefather of modern management, this view is erroneous.The purpose of a business is to serve a customer.
Essentially, Drucker believed that the consumer should be the focus of, and purpose for, the organization. He explained, "A company's primary responsibility is to serve its customers, to provide the goods or services which the company exists to produce. Profit is not the primary goal but rather an essential condition for the company's continued existence. Other responsibilities, e.g., to employees and society, exist to support the company's continued ability to carry out its primary purpose."
==============
Making money is a byproduct of serving the customer.
Detroit does the first one poorly.
Therefore the second one suffers.
Detroit doesn't need to make money. But it needs to have money in order to survive. In order to to have money, it needs to serve a customer.
We, the citizens of Detroit, are that customer..
In spite of what the venerable Peter Drucker said, the primary goal of business in this capitalist society is to make money [[profit) - serving the customer is a means to making money, not the other way around. And it had better be ever increasing profits, otherwise your stock will be downgraded by Wall Street.
If it was just a matter of serving the customer, then businesses would be non-profit. They would only charge what is necessary to pay employees and produce what the customer needs, perhaps reserving some also for new products or product improvement. Because if your primary goal is to serve the customers, and you find that you are making a lot of profit doing so, you would use that profit to either lower costs or improve employee pay/benefits. But that's not what they do is it? Of course not, they look for increasing profits every quarter.
The goal of government is to "secure the general welfare" of the people. Money, in the form of revenue, is the means by which government can do this.
Government can borrow some good practices from business, but government is not business. Many a good businessman has found himself overwhelmed by the responsibilities of managing a sector of government.
I agree with the totality of your analysis. My point was more to counter the idea some of have implied that businesses exist to take advantage of their customers and employees in a never-ending quest to take more for themselves. That may be the plan for some businesses, but it is a short-sighted strategy at best.Quote:
Originally Posted by Locke09
One thing you say is that Government can borrow some good practices from businesss. When I [[and most people on this board, I would bet) say that government needs to be run like a business, I believe that the words you used are a better way to articulate that meaning.
Detroit doesn't need to be run like a business for profit. But it absolutely needs to take the best practices from business and apply them. It's literally like we are still using out-dated practices from 1955 and wondering why our services suck.
Lastly, yes, many a good businessman will be overwhelmed in government because of the bottom-up nature of government operations. I'd love to see how well any businessman does if all of his or her decisions are subject to a majority vote of its employees and customers.
Well, first of all, business & government need to stop operating on buzz words & phrases like best practices, proactive, strategic planning, pushback, etc. These "ideas" don't generate positive operational stability in the long run.Quote:
Originally Posted by corktownyuppie
I don't think Detroit is using outdated practices from 1955 or even 1975 because if they were, everything there would be done manually without computers. But yes, they are operating on old processes & procedures. The big problem with City government needing to change is that they employ far too many people needed to do the job the old way. Updating their procedures would probably improve services, but cut staff as not that many would be needed. Nobody over there is brave enough to lay off the number of people needed to see significant expenditure reduction. This is why they choose to stay mired in the past.
I've ”heard” that Mike Duggan went to school with both the Governor & the Treasurer and that they have all been friends for some time. I would be very interested to know if there is any truth to that. If true it could provide some context for Duggan's interest in being Detroit's next mayor. For the life of me I can't understand why any credible candidate would want to be the next mayor with the cloud of the State hovering over every decision. But if they were hand-picked by the Governor that would make more sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by brizee
I can't see Detroit putting a white man in office, not in my life time,
That would sure make for an interesting conspiracy theory, but I don't think it's true.Quote:
Originally Posted by mam2009
Rick Snyder from Battle Creek, then went to University of Michigan.
Andy Dillon went to Detroit Catholic Central [[now in Novi) before going to Detroit College of Law and then University of Notre Dame.
So they definitely did not all go to school together.
Rick Snyder and Mike Duggan were both at the University of Michigan at the same time. But that would be like saying that me and Tom Brady were at school at the same time.
Are they all friends? That's much more believable. It actually makes sense to me that someone qualified would want the jointly appointed board overseeing all the decisions. If I were Mayor I'd finally feel like I have some political cover to do what everyone knows need to have been done for decades.
The common is Spark , elimate MEDC diverting those funds into VC to pick the winners ,almost everybody is in place.Quote:
Originally Posted by corktownyuppie
I said the same thing for decades about the US electing a Black president.Quote:
Originally Posted by GUSHI
Enough with the Democrats! How about electing a Republican mayor. Now THAT would be a REAL change.
I don't think Pugh has a chance. When he was first elected, most black Detroit people didn't know that he is Gay. It is more well known now and would become more of an issue if he runs for mayor. The black people in Detroit who vote are bible thumping and very, very anti-gay. That said, I don't think he is the right guy for the job anyway. I'm gay and I'm not going to vote for someone just because they are gay. I want someone who is going to get S**t done.
I believe Mr. Duggan can win. Detroit has a history of putting whites on the council with huge vote totals. The whites who have run for mayor since CAY were fringe types. Duggan is a legit candidate who will be formitable.Quote:
Originally Posted by GUSHI
Yeah, that will have a remote chance of happening when taking cheap pot shots at Detroit stops being part of the Michigan Republican platform.Quote:
Originally Posted by hortonz
Oh, he's formiDable, alright.Quote:
Originally Posted by firstandten
Thanks, dictionary.com:
Quote:
for·mi·da·ble [fawr-mi-duh-buhl] adjective
1. causing fear, apprehension, or dread: a formidable opponent.
2. of discouraging or awesome strength, size, difficulty, etc.; intimidating: a formidable problem.
3. arousing feelings of awe or admiration because of grandeur, strength, etc.
4. of great strength; forceful; powerful: formidable opposition to the proposal.
He has been described as McNamara's "Hatchet Man" who has an odd teflon coating so all that shit doesn't stick.
I don't trust the guy, and cannot find any reason why anyone else should do so...especially with the city's future.
Most certainly, he would continue old McNamara schemes and tendencies.
No Mike Duggan in government any longer, in any way, shape, or form.
Mike Duggan for janitor, maybe. Even then, somebody'd have to keep a close eye on him!
Sincerely,
John
Could you or someone else interpret that post for me?Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
Ann Arbor Spark is an entity which has received much credit for help accelerate Ann Arbor's relevancy into an incubator for start-ups, a hub for advancing new technologies into economic engines, and into attracting the talented in knowledge-based industries to Ann Arbor.Quote:
Originally Posted by mam2009
from http://www.annarbor.com/business-rev...onomic-health/
Quote:
As Krutko looks ahead to 2012, he said SPARK plans to develop a more aggressive program to assist second-stage companies — or already-established companies with 10 to 100 employees.“How can we unlock their growth and accelerate their growth?” he said. “We think we’re good at early-stage startup and at mature companies…but there’s this place in between of what we call driving industries.”He said members of SPARK are meeting with leading technology companies in other states, many of which are based in California, and he believes there’s opportunity in the Ann Arbor area to attract some of that talent.“My sense is we have a real competitive advantage, from a cost perspective, quality of life; I think we have a lot to offer.”Among the "success" stories SPARK cited in its 2011 report: University of Michigan spin-offArbor Networks, which has invested millions to upgrade its Ann Arbor-based research-and-development operation; ex-Borders employee David Altheon who landed an executive position with Ann Arbor-based Forest Health Services thanks to SPARK's Joint Adjustment Committee; and DeNovo Sciences, whose CEO and founders went through SPARK'sEntrepreneuer Boot Camp and then won the Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest Business Plan Competition.
They've done a great job of that. And one thing that Snyder, Dillon, and Duggan have is experience or association with Spark. I don't know to what extent; I will leave that to someone more informed.
Skeptics believe that Spark unfairly uses its influence to help "pick winners and losers", which it does. But if that's the worst thing it does, I don't care. They help guide investment toward those ideas which have the potential to be money makers, and they do a good job of it. The really cynical claim they funnel taxpayer money to private accounts in some conspiracy corruption scheme.
Some compare them to the MEGC, but the comparison is not truly apples to apples. MEGC works more toward attracting big-splash investment. Spark works more toward mentoring startups that will become big-splash investments later.
http://www.annarbor.com/business-rev...onomic-health/
http://www.annarborusa.org/about-us
=====
IMHO, we need to continue shifting away from a labor-based economic engine to an entrepreneurial and knowledge-based engine. This, of course, is not taken too well by those who advocate toward a labor-based economic engine.
So that's where Snyder, Dillon, and Duggan all are cut from the same cloth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mam2009
Mr. Snyder was the ceo of Spark,Mr. Dillion was a Spark ceo Mr Duggin was originally put in place by Mr. Snyder not applied for , appointed.Quote:
Originally Posted by mam2009
Everybody being put in place by the state has either been in charge of a VC fund or connected with.
So basically what is happening is Mr Snyder has said we do not want outside investment we want to invest in companies within the state.
Those companies need funding so underfund MEDC divert those funds in the VC companies which is easier to do if you are in control of the bank.
But is it working ,well you just had a large solar panel company go under in Detroit when it was well known that Japan was going to restart incentives. Which has happened and now solar stocks are trading back on top. But not the US owned Detroit solar company but the companies that are now owned by the Chinese,if they wanted to keep those jobs in Detroit they would have done what any other city would have done and said hey what does it take?
Look at all of the companies that have left the state in the last 6 month's ,they were established companies that employed residents but unfortunately they were owned by out of state enterprises,they could not have been retained? It is touted that the state now has the lowest tax rate of any other state if that is the case why the sudden exodus?
Why would you give GE 40 million in Ann Arbor to employ 200 making solar panels when there is no way they have the production capability to pay?
This all goes back to the whole bridge thing and AREO ,
Look at anything tech,manufacturing,transportation,shipping and trucking related in Detroit and picture it gone.
All those warehouses and old factories will become obsolete as there will be no funds available and no support from the state to make employment centers out of them.
Why would anybody want to purchase say for instance Fisher when they can have a greenfield brand new building with funding already in place with the VC?
Detroit as in the city in essence becomes a bedroom community reliant on service sector jobs.
So it is all well and good that VC are going to fund all of this but look at what VC companies do , They fund short term and bail to the highest bidder leaving hedge funds etc. to piece everything out and work by the numbers.They do not build communities they profit from them at their expense and move on.
What has this have to do with Detroit as a city? Well if you can control the city you can control Areo because of the mounds of paperwork required and free rein to do what you wish to do.With no accountability.
Friends and family ,if your going to go that route why mess with the millions when you can control billions.
Good for the state yes,good for the city no.
It is not what is happening but the way it is happening.
Personally I feel it is wrong to hold public office for personal gain and to further personal agendas at the cost of a city.
Free Enterprise needs a level playing field but if you control the field and say you need to play by my rules is that free enterprise.
If you look at the big picture you can kinda see why everything is going down as it is there is a reason and as usual it is about money .But like I said it is all not bad if your concern is not the city itself .
The reason I asked about pushing for the wolverine run at MCS is because they already have a design for the station to terminate in AREO if you live downtown Detroit you will then have to figure out how to get to the other side of the airport to catch the train to Chicago.Now would be the time to move on the Fed level to countermeasure that.
I guess it all boils down to what you want as a city,service related or diversified you can kinda picture AREO as a casino it will pump funds tax wise into the city and jobs which are good but what is a city with no identity?
Hm. Some of the stuff you say has me concerned but others I have a hard time getting on board with.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
First, for some reason, people around here equate "service sector" jobs to pushing fries at McDonalds. And I take issue with that. If that's not what you mean, then I'm sorry in advance for setting up a straw man argument.
The service sector is the primary engine of the USA GDP. It makes up over 2/3 of our production. While some people think of Burger King when they hear "service sector", I hear information technology, consultancy services, retail, technical, and professional services. This is the heart of the modern day economy. This is why cities with highly educated workforces have so much money...the people high levels of education do this stuff. You add financial and insurance services, you get New York and Chicago.
If this is the future of Detroit, that's the future I wanna sign up for.
Warehouses and factories will eventually become more obsolete. They won't [[and shouldn't) disappear completely, but the future of this country's economy is not going to be based on making and shipping stuff. Other [[lesser paid) countries are going to make the things. Higher paid countries are going to invent and improve the things.
So when I hear about warehouses disappearing, I don't think about "losing our soul", I think about "shedding the past". When I think about NYC or Chicago or San Francisco or Dallas, I don't imagine shipyards and factories and giant plants. I imagine centers of finance, creativity, innovation, invention.
By the way, this is how Detroit became one of the wealthiest cities in the world in 1950. We were the hub and center for innovations in engineering and finance. If we want to escape the identity of one of the poorest American cities, we need to embrace that creative spirit again.
I'll give you engineering, but what are the innovations in finance that you say occurred here?Quote:
Originally Posted by corktownyuppie
Outstanding, thought-provoking and informative exchange Richard, Corktownyuppie and mam2009! [Returning to my lurker popcorn bowl]
The mechanism which allows banks to make loans is the relationship between the loan amount and the value of whatever collateral is held against. If I want to borrow $1,000, then the collateral needs to be worth a minimum of $1,000 to protect the bank in case I stop making payments. If the bank wants to be really safe, they might only lend me $800 against the $1,000 collateral. That way if they have to repossess, they can quickly turnaround and sell the $1,000 asset to someone else for $800 and have the loan paid back in an instant.Quote:
Originally Posted by downtownguy
The bigger the difference between the two numbers, the easier it is for the bank to sell the repossessed asset...and makes the loan less risky.
Historically speaking, when banks made loans, they did so against collateral which was appreciating in value. The problem with car loans, however, is that the value of the automobile is depreciating every day. I don't know if Detroit invented it, but Detroit certainly *mastered* the business of lending money against depreciating assets without adding undue risk to the lenders.
This innovation also multiplied the number of existing buyers in the market. I might not have $5,000 to buy the car. But I do have $200/mo. I can afford. All of a sudden a willing lender appears...more cars get sold...more consumers get what they want.
Then Detroit went further and determined that if you could accurately pinpoint the amount of depreciation, then you could make it easier to move cars. Why?
Because if a $25,000 car will depreciate to exactly $20,000 over the next 2 years, then you can set up an agreement for the consumer to pay only the $5,000 difference in the two values. $5,000 is much easier to borrow than $25,000. And, voila, the concept of leasing was invented.
At one point, Detroit Bank and Trust [[now Comerica) was such a powerhouse in the financial industry college students from all over the country competed for their internship programs and entry-level hiring after graduation. Only the brightest and best minds in banking were even considered. To this day, some of the senior analysts in my firm [[based in another state) will talk about how they cut their teeth at Detroit Bank and Trust back in the 60s and 70s.
Mid-Century Detroit is a like a history book of corporate America. The Guardian Building was nicknamed the "Cathedral of Finance". Kresge's empire [[eventually K-Mart) was headquartered on Grand Circus Park in what is now the Kales Building. Northwest Airlines was also based here as well.
============
While Detroit is best known for the engineering innovation that came with manufacturing, what was just as crucial was the financial industry's ability to finance those innovations.
When you think about the timeline from initial design to final completion of an automobile or an airplane...that process can take 5+ years of work and effort without a single dollar to show for it until the first car is sold. What made that process possible was the 20th century innovations in banking that were practically unheard of in the past. Thanks to their creativity, bankers were able to invent systems which made these types of loans --once unthinkable in the past -- much less risky for the lenders.
This increased the amount of capital available for the captains of industry to work with. It resulted in extremely profitable banks. And it made everyone in the process extremely wealthy...from the owners who exploded their profits, the bankers whose loans were safer and more lucrative, and even labor -- whose powerful union leadership acted as a check and balance against new industries whose wealth was exploding faster than ever in American history. A new middle class emerged with second homes, boats, unheard of health care plans, and a generous pension after 30 years of work.
When the money was overflowing, the hardest battles were about how to make sure it was divided fairly. But generally everyone was happy.
But you're not going to get wealthy in manufacturing anymore. Unfortunately, the new frontiers of economic growth are in bio-technology, health care, genetics. Manufacturing will still be a part of everything, but it will be hard to continue creating wealth because the industry is mature and growth is hard to come by. And there are no money-making machines anymore. We have to invent new ones, just as our forefathers did 100 years ago.
What SPARK is trying to do is attract and create new upstarts in these types of fields because doing so will benefit everyone. More wealth to go around, more taxes to municipalities, etc.
There is a tale that is told about how you go from Rags to Riches in 3 generations and back to Rags in the 4th generation. The first generation, many times immigrants, with hunger and work ethic, builds the wealth. The second generation inherits it, but witnessed the hunger and work ethic and expands the family fortune. The 3rd generation, too young to witness any of the wealth building, knows more about spending it than creating it. And then the first generation is dead and gone long before the 4th generation is old enough to remember. The economy -- always shifting as the world changes -- continues to move, but this generation knows only about how to spend and not how to create. Ambition and hunger are all but gone, and all that remains is entitlement and incompetence.
As the economies continues to shift away from the family's once formidable wealth creation, this generation desperately tries to cling to a past which no longer exists. It uses whatever remaining power and influence it has to try to slow the pace of change rather than create the next big thing. Eventually those efforts are in vain, and much if not all of the fortune is eventually gone.
We are the 4th generation :)
======
Long answer. TL;DR, I know. Financial innovation is kinda hard to describe and I wanted to make sure it all made sense.
Mike Duggan is an interesting person. He has stayed away from controversy and kept his nose clean throughout all the McNamara scandal's. Some have said he's been shielded from any connection to Big Eddie.
Yet he gave up a prominent position as Wayne County Prosecutor to go into the private sector.
On one hand, I think he is worth a second look, on the other, Big Eddy gave us Bernard and Kwame...
White mayor + Michigan Democrats=same old crap. White Mayor + Republican party= real change for the city and state.
So tell us what kind of change would a Republican mayor bring to Detroit ?Quote:
Originally Posted by hortonz
Service sector jobs: There are three categories of service sector jobs,the one I was referring to was the original one which is the sector that produces non consumable goods ,so yes it includes hospitality.landscaping, general the barely above minimum wage.Quote:
Originally Posted by corktownyuppie
When you say that there are no manufacturing or that is a dead industry once again you have to look at the big picture of what is happening globally,
jobs went to Mexico, now Mexico is returning with the next elections back to the old guard, bombings and kidnappings are occurring at US owned corporations because they pay so those business leaders are coming back across the border.
China , the workers are working at the factories and wondering why they cannot afford the products they are producing, weekly there are demonstrations demanding better pay and working conditions .
Remember history and developing nations and the cycles ,china is reaching the top of the cycle as are other countries where it will become a point that it is cheaper to produce here verses overseas,it is already happening with call centers.
There are a lot of powerful political people on the fed level that have had enough and know no boundaries in realizing that this country needs to start producing again,every gov contract states made in America using US labor and made in US products.There are also other bills that are added at to last second to ensure that this country begins to stand on their own two feet again.
RE: AREO
Lindsay said the biggest possible negative of the aerotropolis is that it could attract companies that might otherwise locate in a revitalizing downtown Detroit.
“The larger question is whether building a whole new business district around those airports is the best thing to do,” he said.
This is the guy that wrote the floor plan for Areo telling you hey this is what to expect.
I find it hard to believe that 8000 hotel rooms ,20,000 homes ,10,000,000 sqft of warehousing,etc. etc. will not have an adverse affect on Detroit.
RE Spark and VC. I cannot say that Spark and VC is all bad and have not done good but the bottom line is VC is hard money,the exit plan is within two years most cases and more geared towards apps and such like let me invest 20 mill to build the app so we can sell it for 50 mill ,fast money and you have already explained and most know what happens with fast money.
Detroit has everything already in place to be a major player in this country,just no leadership or direction,every city large or small has a future growth plan,not Detroit, so you have to see what everybody is doing and what their plans are in order to figure out where the city is going,nobody is going to invest in me without a plan the city needs a plan for those to invest in and not speculate, which is what is happening now.
Did you know that Detroit is a EB-5 regional center? There are cities crying to become one of these right now and hers is sitting in the drawer.
EB-5 is foreign investment visa where it takes a min $500,000 investment employing X amount of workers at a livable or higher wage ,so someone else in another country gets their buddies and puts together a few million and you have investment capital.
The tools are there so I guess it really does not matter who gets elected as long as they can show a plan, both the newly elected mayor and city council needs to show a plan first of where they are going to take the city and neighborhoods from this point on.
I am not sure about Mr Bing ,maybe with a more involved city council he can do better but his lack of connection with the people hurts him not to even mention the constant flip flopping shows instability in government..
A state run city I have my doubts as to the real reason and a puppet city has no identity.
Mr Duggin I cannot say yet I guess I can try and speak with him and see if he is for the state or for the city and then make my decision.He certainly has the background to maneuver the politics and if channeled right could maybe a good thing for Detroit but me personally I have to give him the benefit of the doubt and not judge him for the past just as I cannot judge the city for what has happened in the past . Just look forward.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hortonz
Yeah, the white mayor in Troy has done a real bang-up job.
The problem with the modern republican party is that it is totally disconnected from reality.
I'm not sure why anybody would want to be mayor of Detroit. I guess it's just another challenge,just like Romney wants to be president. I mean,who would want to deal with Joann Watson?
That^ gets to the nub of the challenges facing whoever will be mayor [and if he/she actually gets to be mayor after being elected]. Detroit has tremendous assets and its downtown core has been gathering momentum even through the economic downturn. Coherent planning and skillful leadership that will have to juggle many constituencies will be required to make our assets work for us.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
However long term lack of revenue will still dog any efforts. Unless Detroit's burden of having to service so many of the metro's and states poor and all the problems that come with them are lifted, whether by state aid, de-annexations, or some other miracle all will come to naught and any bandaids will be temporary.
A better scenario in my eyes would see someone like Duggin [or even some enlightened Republican] run for and win the Oakland County Executive seat to open the door for the regional cooperation required to ease Detroit's plight. Patterson has been a thorn in the side of regionalism and I believe he is vulnerable to strong challenger as the politics of the county have steady moved blue over the past decade. Ficano should likewise step aside and 'spend more time with his family' as he is unfortunately so discredited now.
Imagine - all these years it was that simple! We're saved!Quote:
Originally Posted by hortonz
Now...let's see which of these champions we could recruit...I know, Thaddeus McCotter! It is tough with such a deep talent pool. I mean, look at the Republican Presidential candidate.
And the president is the right choice?? Both candidates are lousy leaders and very bad choices.Quote:
Originally Posted by poobert
Total sarcasm to illustrate how stupid such a simplistic world view is. For someone like that the R after someone's name is like sainthood and the D is the scarlet letter. Yet you'd be hard pressed to find a bigger bunch of sociopaths than the current crop of Republican politicians.Quote:
Originally Posted by p69rrh51
With the Demcrats in step with them ! By the way I am NOT a republican nor can I afford to be a democrat!Quote:
Originally Posted by poobert
D or R, it doesn't matter. Whoever gets elected mayor will have a hazmat job of clean up to do for Detroit.
All good points. I appreciate your informed commentary. Detroit's identity is definitely going to shift. To what? For better? For worse? Still TBD. Is a really bad identity better than no identity? I don't know.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard
As for Aero. All I can say is that you've given some good points to mull over. I'm still unsure where I stand. Cheers - CY
I think the biggest part of a regional aspect is the negativeness of Detroit as a city's past,you hear it in conversations and see it in posts. Me personally I think the best thing the city can do is put a strong city government in place without the aid of the state and show everybody else that she is serious,I have seen a lot of positive changes in the last two years and it does seem that there are enough now in the city that do care and are taking action.
I think or hope once that happens the rest of the region will be a bit more receptive to the city.Because there will be so much positive energy created that it will be a pleasure doing business with.
Ficano is a mess or has created one, I give him a little bit of credit for passing the currant economic reductions which in turn does put the brakes on Areo and he was one the the heaviest supporters of the project. Hopefully now he realizes that if you put the same effort and diverting of funds into the existing city and county you can build both as a strong healthy place to live work play and visit. But the message is clear,the times of not acting in the best interests of the city or county by diverting for personal gain are over.
Let's say Mike Duggan has won the Mayoral Election for the City of Detroit. What to do about his ideals to save the cash strapped city:
Detroit 2014
population 756,988
77.4% black, 14.2% white, 8.9% hispanic, 4.1% Asian
First year as mayor, Duggan will proposed to close down certian Detroit neighborhood streets that are blighted and have few homes standing. Neighbors who lived in that area
will be located into occupied Detroit neighborhoods. Detroit neighorhoods that are closed down will be reserved for future development.
Mike Duggan will make fewer cuts to its payroll of city employees by next fiscal year. This comes when the financial review team claims that the city will be low on cash by July 1, 2014. City unions will protest and file lawsuits to counteract Duggan's cuts.
To save the city up to 50 million dollars annually Duggan will plan to hand over its payroll division of Detroit Department of Transportation to Regional Authorities.
Duggan will recieve 100 million dollars of federal grants to hire 200 Detroit police officers and 500 firefighters. He will open 5 firehouses in certian occupied Detroit neighborhoods.