Detroit's Problem is a Lack of Job, Not Too Much Gentrification

[masterblaster]

Combine that with the inability to pass a drug test and you're even more marginalized from the ability to work [[what few jobs there are)!

So true, a cousin of mine wouldn't even apply for a job that I informed him about because he knew he wouldn't pass the drug test [[he likes to smoke weed).

Commuting to and from my jobs and church, I routinely go through Detroit, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, Royal Oak, Ferndale, and Southfield, and I see ALOT of help wanted signs.

[SammyS]

In high tech, we mainly lack Electronics Engineers, both software and hardware. I have had open requisitions for months without a bite. Even accomplished Mechanical Engineers are hard to find.

We do have plenty of middle managers. This is becoming a real problem in Automotive where the only promotional path in the technical field barely exceeds that of a manager. Very few Chief Engineers but plenty of Directors and VP's.

IMO, we lack leadership and especially leadership that fosters and encourages entrepreneurialship. Instead, we [[well the entire world since industrialization), have adopted an educational system that focusses on "getting a job" rather than creating value. So long as Michigan remains tethered to the past, the competitive technology gap will only expand.

[Wesley Mouch]

Combine that with the inability to pass a drug test and you're even more marginalized from the ability to work [[what few jobs there are)!

A possible strategy to get a job might be to avoid drugs.

[Cliffy]

This is one of the few countries in the world where jobs are everywhere. Yeah, you're not going to make $25 hour if you can't read or write but there are plentiful jobs to make $10 hour at and use it as a stepping stone to something better hopefully.

[Jimaz]

...
We do have plenty of middle managers. This is becoming a real problem in Automotive where the only promotional path in the technical field barely exceeds that of a manager. Very few Chief Engineers but plenty of Directors and VP's.
...

I recall in the 80s reading that too many students were going for MBAs simply because that's where the money was going to be.

I guess this situation was foreseeable.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

I recall in the 80s reading that too many students were going for MBAs simply because that's where the money was going to be.

I guess this situation was foreseeable.

I also read that a Bachelors Degree is looked at as a High School Diploma in many companies now. You basically need a MBA or higher, in a lot of major companies, whatever they are.

[SammyS]

I recall in the 80s reading that too many students were going for MBAs simply because that's where the money was going to be.

I guess this situation was foreseeable.

Right on but this is the old way which must be replaced quickly if manufacturing is to survive.

MBA's bring little value to a manufacturing company where competition lies strictly within the realm of technology. MBA does not provide the talent required nor the foresight to anticipate future trends. A top heavy company will always consume itself by these beaurocrats seeking self preservation and promotion at the expense of innnovation and productivity.

Here are some solutions:

Reward innovation through profit sharing. US companies rarely pay Inventors >$1,000 for submitting Patents. Even rarer to provide proceeds from successful Patents

Reward based on results rather than seniority. This will eliminate the notion of job security and continue to flush out non performers whilst attracting accountable innovators with ambition

Foster and empower individuality. The "Team work" philosophy is over rated and only reduces the team to the lowest common denominator

BTW, this is not a new way of thinking. It was the way to go only a few generations ago.

[EGrant]

Even the most basic, minimum wage job is almost impossible to attain for someone without rudimentary reading and math skills. It's easy for a bunch of us to sit around and type into a computer how easy it is to find a job, but when you can't even read? Good luck.

And then we have people robbing non-profits of thier equipment to train people in the city. https://drmm.org/donate/robbery-upda...ery0460-email1

[Shai_Hulud]

The working age people in Detroit without jobs, by and large, are not unemployed for lack of jobs. Many can't or won't get hired even when lots of places are looking for help. There is a large pool of people in Detroit who fall into one or more of the following three categories:
1) No functional high school education
2) No work history whatsoever
3) Unreadiness to work [[this can be substance abuse, inability/unwillingness to arrive at work on time consistently, act professionally, etc)

I agree with all of this, but would add that not all the available jobs are worth having, which is part of the reason why they go unfilled. That fact is not always mentioned when we talk about unskilled workers.

No, I'm not in any of the situations you named, but I've been casually looking for a weekend job. Most part time jobs I see are flex schedule meaning, you have no schedule and should be glad to come to work at the drop of a hat. To a person with skills, this is unacceptable. To a person without skills, it's unworkable. You can't schedule child care the day of or depend on the bus or a friend to get you to work at odd hours.

This scheduling is common because so many places are running with absolute skeleton crews because the decree from on high is to do without rather than have five minutes of overlap. If you want to see this in action, pop into a chain grocery store the day before a cooking holiday. There are 20 cashier's stations and five cashiers, up from the normal three.

Those are the jobs that a person with average skills should be able to get, hold, and eke out a living on, but even they seem to be harder to come by than they used to be.

I fully agree there are issues with the workforce, but there are also structural issues that don't get mentioned.

[p69rrh51]

It's not a lack of jobs,.. it's a lack of anyone that can DO a job.

I'm a business owner in Detroit,.. and I tried for 11 years to find anyone that could mow lawn. Finally had to hire a company from the burbs to do it.

I'm not making that up.

In 35 years of working in Detroit and Highland Park,.. I haven't met any local that could use/read a tape measure.

This is somewhat funny and very behind the times. I live in the burbs but gentleman who has cut my lawn for the last 3 years lives in Detroit. On my routes around the city in the last 3-4 years I have observed a tremendous increase in landscaping companies based in Detroit. They are not quite on the level size wise compared to the very competitive eastside companies but they are getting very close.
On the tape measure side in the 55 years I have lived in the metro area I have barely met any residents of the burbs who can deal with a tape measure. Tape measure use/read are taught not innate. Instead of grousing about "knowing" how to use a tape measure, why not teach how to use one and create a better employee!

[Zacha341]

Yes, companies can require the master level education where the bachelors [[depending what studied) was formally sufficient because there are so many unemployed with Master degrees!

I also read that a Bachelors Degree is looked at as a High School Diploma in many companies now. You basically need a MBA or higher, in a lot of major companies, whatever they are.

[ABetterDetroit]

This is somewhat funny and very behind the times. I live in the burbs but gentleman who has cut my lawn for the last 3 years lives in Detroit. On my routes around the city in the last 3-4 years I have observed a tremendous increase in landscaping companies based in Detroit. They are not quite on the level size wise compared to the very competitive eastside companies but they are getting very close.
On the tape measure side in the 55 years I have lived in the metro area I have barely met any residents of the burbs who can deal with a tape measure. Tape measure use/read are taught not innate. Instead of grousing about "knowing" how to use a tape measure, why not teach how to use one and create a better employee!

I concur.

In the north and west burbs during the currant expansion there has been a surge in subcontracting to Detroit based contractors in the non union fields. I have had more than one professional associate explain how well it is working out in the quality of the work and especially the ability of these contractors to get the work finished on schedule. They may not be big companies but in the end that is the least important issue.

[Richard]

When reading her entire column in context, it makes sense to me.

What about it exactly "worries" you?

An economist should understand that it is all a bunch of pieces in a puzzle and to make the big picture it all connects.

5 people buy and renovate a house it adds residents,tax base,at least $100k in the local economy and jobs.

Somebody walking by sees a house painter at work and hires on as a apprentice,the people renovating the house may open a local business adding more jobs.

Maybe an economist can break it down and say .. this is the impact of verses writing it off.

Common sense says renovation in its self is not a determining factor but it shure does drive and impact the local economy directly as in cash in pocket.

It is supply and demand,if the demand for electricians is there but not filled then the training centers will ramp up.

Look what happened with computers back in the late 80s and early 90s ,they said that computer techs were going to be needed and everybody and their brothers cat were going to IT school. Of course now they get replaced by cheaper foreign labor and thrown to the curb like a used tire,but most schools at that time dumped their skills classes and trained everybody to be computer oriented.

[archfan]

An economist should understand that it is all a bunch of pieces in a puzzle and to make the big picture it all connects.

5 people buy and renovate a house it adds residents,tax base,at least $100k in the local economy and jobs.
...

The point of the article was that people are moving into the nice areas that are already fixed up, and not actually fixing up new areas:

What is occurring in Detroit is not true gentrification; white suburbanites are moving into existing middle-class and affluent neighborhoods such as Midtown, Lafayette Park, Boston-Edison, Corktown, Indian Village, Palmer Woods, North Rosedale, Fitzgerald, Grandmont and East English Village. Some of these neighborhoods qualify for a rent or mortgage subsidy by large employers. Before the 2008 recession, some homes in Indian Village and Palmer Woods rose to nearly 2 million dollars in value. These homes and apartments have already been renovated and polished.

Sounds like she'd be thrilled if more people were buying and renovating in other areas.

[Shai_Hulud]

The point of the article was that people are moving into the nice areas that are already fixed up, and not actually fixing up new areas:

But is that true? Detroit might be unique in that even the better areas had distressed homes and fair to large amounts of inventory. It only makes sense that those fill up first.

And there is definitely spillover, especially now that the best areas are filling up or pricing out. Virginia Park, Glynn and LaSalle have activity around Boston-Edison. North End and Milwaukee Junction are also getting attention as Midtown fills in.

[Hypestyles]

I still want to see the following in Detroit proper: Wal-Mart, Target.
General Electric. Tesla. Google.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

But is that true? Detroit might be unique in that even the better areas had distressed homes and fair to large amounts of inventory. It only makes sense that those fill up first.

And there is definitely spillover, especially now that the best areas are filling up or pricing out. Virginia Park, Glynn and LaSalle have activity around Boston-Edison. North End and Milwaukee Junction are also getting attention as Midtown fills in.

You are so right. The "better areas" she refers to pretty much all had significant problems quite recently [[maybe not Palmer Woods). There were distressed/vacant/foreclosed homes in them all. There clearly is spillover into the areas you mentioned; I'd add Islandview to the list. I'm curious: is there anything good going on where Morningside abuts EEV?

[archfan]

But is that true? Detroit might be unique in that even the better areas had distressed homes and fair to large amounts of inventory. It only makes sense that those fill up first.

And there is definitely spillover, especially now that the best areas are filling up or pricing out. Virginia Park, Glynn and LaSalle have activity around Boston-Edison. North End and Milwaukee Junction are also getting attention as Midtown fills in.

I mostly wanted to clarify what the article was saying. I tend to agree with you. Even if folks from out of town grabbed all the rehabbed houses, there would still be demand to continue rehabbing in adjacent areas.

[Hermod]

Somebody walking by sees a house painter at work and hires on as a apprentice,the people renovating the house may open a local business adding more jobs.

Somebody walking by sees a house painter at work and steals the tools out of his truck while he is busy.

[Honky Tonk]

Somebody walking by sees a house painter at work and steals the tools out of his truck while he is busy.

+5 .......

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Somebody walking by sees a house painter at work and steals the tools out of his truck while he is busy.

That's about the size of it. Same thing for landscapers. It's why most of them invest in covered trailers now, and keep them locked until the job is done. Damn shame it has to be that way, but it's the world we live in.

[Richard]

Somebody walking by sees a house painter at work and steals the tools out of his truck while he is busy.

Lol In Tampa I had $15,000 in contractor tools stolen,while I was in the house up on the second story,in less then 15 minutes,the PD detective called me two weeks later and said he was on vacation and it was probably to late to pull fingerprints.

Disfunction knows no state lines.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Like a joke that was told to me....I was in Florida and saw a bumper sticker on a parked car that read " I miss Detroit" So I broke the window, stole the radio and left a note that said, "I hope this helps"

[takascar]

You are so right. The "better areas" she refers to pretty much all had significant problems quite recently [[maybe not Palmer Woods). There were distressed/vacant/foreclosed homes in them all. There clearly is spillover into the areas you mentioned; I'd add Islandview to the list. I'm curious: is there anything good going on where Morningside abuts EEV?

My question as well re: EEV/Morningside. Grew up on Bedford - neighborhood is a bit rough now, and am hoping that the new interest in Detroit starts to find this place - nice houses - brick and not at all cookie-cutter.

[[By the way - pet peeve of mine - where did "Morningside" come from? The whole area whose streets are named after English shires is called East English Village - was as far back as I can remember, for instance, Bedford, Devonshire, Haverhill, Buckingham, Balfour, Chatsworth, etc - all the way over by Clark School - thats EEV - someone just invented "Morningside". Kinda annoys me - like them changing the name of Sears Tower for money...)

[Jimaz]

...By the way - pet peeve of mine - where did "Morningside" come from?...

Just a wild-ass, Google-inspired, guess: Morningside, Edinburgh.

That could be completely wrong.