But when Oakland County did it to Detroit for 50 years, it was OK, right?

[ABetterDetroit]

Sigh.

Meanwhile the whole state loses while we continue fighting a stupid civil war that has been going on for decades that both sides have already lost.

It's not complicated, OTHER states are competing for GROWTH by updating their tax codes and making everthing across their state more inviting for new businesses or the ones they can entice from Michigan because it's as easy as taking candy from a baby especially when we are preoccupied with trying to screw over part of our own region just a few miles down the road.

You would think with everything and everyone who has already left that the lesson would have been learned by now but it appears not.

The enemy is not our neighbors. It is the states that helped themselves to our tax base and the talent that we paid to educate then built a better standard of living with them than we have now with out so much as a Thank You.

[Wesley Mouch]

I agree that it is better to bring jobs from out of state.
...

I don't see the moral or economic logic that make this better, or any different that intra-county poaching.

Am glad though, that on this forum we seem to be embracing OC as part of Detroit. But clearly Ohio isn't.

[Bigdd]

It comes down to the taxes and safety. As of now,.. police response times and general crime, vandalism and violence are still too high for business to thrive. Especially when you add in the Detroit tax code.

Gilbert etc can make it work because their projects are so big in scale that they can afford to have 5,500 security cameras feeding video into The Cube were teams of people monitor the goings on. They relay info to Gilbert's own private police force.

Get outside of that immediate area and it's a different ballgame. The small and medium sized businesses still need to operate like they're in Beirut. Not attractive to people wanting to start a business, or to suburbanite visitors.

[iheartthed]

Does he still call Oakland County the economic center of Metro Detroit? Because during the time Oakland County became a business hub of the region, Metro Detroit became an undesirable backwater that was not competitive with other large metropolitan areas economically or in quality of life.

[mwilbert]

I don't see the moral or economic logic that make this better, or any different that intra-county poaching.

Am glad though, that on this forum we seem to be embracing OC as part of Detroit. But clearly Ohio isn't.

Better for the area. The metro area is economically coupled in a way that the metro area and [[say) Ohio are not. I wasn't addressing moral issues, nor was I specifically referencing poaching.

[mwilbert]

Also agree. You could do a decade or two of development just by repurposing surface parking.

[Bham1982]

Does he still call Oakland County the economic center of Metro Detroit? Because during the time Oakland County became a business hub of the region, Metro Detroit became an undesirable backwater that was not competitive with other large metropolitan areas economically or in quality of life.

While true, correlation isn't causation. It was obviously the auto industry.

No one seriously thinks that the region suffered an economic downturn because Oakland County grew most of the new jobs. Relative sprawl vs. centralization has zero to do with regional economic health.

[iheartthed]

While true, correlation isn't causation. It was obviously the auto industry.

No one seriously thinks that the region suffered an economic downturn because Oakland County grew most of the new jobs. Relative sprawl vs. centralization has zero to do with regional economic health.

The next question would be why didn't Oakland County lead the region to transition to another major industry? There are few [[if any other) large metropolitan areas where the primary industry today is the same as it was 50 years ago, let alone 100 years ago. The downturn of the auto industry may not be OC's fault, but ability to attract/create new industry is something that OC clearly isn't capable of doing.

[Pat001]

What's with all the resentment toward Oakland County and Brooks Patterson? In addition to Oakland County, Detroit businesses [[the ones that didn't go bankrupt) also moved to Macomb, Livingston, St. Clair and Washtenaw County. They also moved out of state to the south & southwest and to foreign countries. The reasons why are well-documented.

[Johnnny5]

What's with all the resentment toward Oakland County and Brooks Patterson? In addition to Oakland County, Detroit businesses [[the ones that didn't go bankrupt) also moved to Macomb, Livingston, St. Clair and Washtenaw County. They also moved out of state to the south & southwest and to foreign countries. The reasons why are well-documented.

You haven't been here very long, have you?

There's a group of long time posters here that think LBP is the devil incarnate. It's kind of an unwritten forum rule that any thread with "Oakland County" in the title is considered incomplete unless a least 3 posts disparage Patterson.

[erikd]

What's with all the resentment toward Oakland County and Brooks Patterson? In addition to Oakland County, Detroit businesses [[the ones that didn't go bankrupt) also moved to Macomb, Livingston, St. Clair and Washtenaw County. They also moved out of state to the south & southwest and to foreign countries. The reasons why are well-documented.

If you want to know why LBP is viewed unfavorably by many Detroiters, take a look at this interview from 2014. This is just a small sample of the anti-Detroit sentiment that LBP has been promoting since the 1970s.

In 2014, the New Yorker came to metro Detroit to interview L Brooks Patterson for an article.

This is a sample of his direct quotes for a national article about our region:

“Anytime I talk about Detroit, it will not be positive. Therefore, I’m called a Detroit basher. The truth hurts, you know? Tough shit.”

“I used to say to my kids, ‘First of all, there’s no reason for you to go to Detroit. We’ve got restaurants out here.’ They don’t even have movie theatres in Detroit—not one.” He went on, “I can’t imagine finding something in Detroit that we don’t have in spades here. Except for live sports. We don’t have baseball, football. For that, fine—get in and get out. But park right next to the venue—spend the extra twenty or thirty bucks. And, before you go to Detroit, you get your gas out here. You do not, do not, __under any circumstances, stop in Detroit at a gas station! That’s just a call for a carjacking.”

“I made a prediction a long time ago, and it’s come to pass. I said, ‘What we’re gonna do is turn Detroit into an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, and then throw in the blankets and corn.’ ”

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/01/27/drop-dead-detroit

[DetroitNightLights]

If you want to know why LBP is viewed unfavorably by many Detroiters, take a look at this interview from 2014. This is just a small sample of the anti-Detroit sentiment that LBP has been promoting since the 1970s.

In 2014, the New Yorker came to metro Detroit to interview L Brooks Patterson for an article.

This is a sample of his direct quotes for a national article about our region:

“Anytime I talk about Detroit, it will not be positive. Therefore, I’m called a Detroit basher. The truth hurts, you know? Tough shit.”

“I used to say to my kids, ‘First of all, there’s no reason for you to go to Detroit. We’ve got restaurants out here.’ They don’t even have movie theatres in Detroit—not one.” He went on, “I can’t imagine finding something in Detroit that we don’t have in spades here. Except for live sports. We don’t have baseball, football. For that, fine—get in and get out. But park right next to the venue—spend the extra twenty or thirty bucks. And, before you go to Detroit, you get your gas out here. You do not, do not, __under any circumstances, stop in Detroit at a gas station! That’s just a call for a carjacking.”

“I made a prediction a long time ago, and it’s come to pass. I said, ‘What we’re gonna do is turn Detroit into an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, and then throw in the blankets and corn.’ ”

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/01/27/drop-dead-detroit

I wonder why he hates Metro Detroit so much.

[Honky Tonk]

I wonder why he hates Metro Detroit so much.

As a small child he was bitten by Metro Detroit.

[Zacha341]

Seems he's not feeling the city of Detroit specifically. He'd probably be ok with the broader 'metro' Detroit area!

[Meddle]

He didn't get the nickname L. Crooks Patterson by being honest or above board. He's been a lowlife dirtbag for as long as I can remember.

[SammyS]

LBP is just part of the same suburban crowd who's been ingrained from birth that Detroit is a shithole. It's a perception that may take a generation to reverse/correct.

I challenge you to survey random people anywhere in the suburbs about Detroits recent developments and gauge thier impressions. 90% have no idea what's going on. I do this on a regular basis so I'm pretty confident about my conclusions. In fact, I'm getting pushback from my own fiancée who was born and bred in the suburbs. Refuses to visit let alone live DT. It's a real shame.

[401don]

"I made a prediction a long time ago, and it’s come to pass. I said, ‘What we’re gonna do is turn Detroit into an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, and then throw in the blankets and corn.’ ”

I can believe he said this. I can't believe he was allowed to get away with it and not required to issue a public apology or resign.

[Meddle]

I grew up in the city. I'd NEVER move back under any circumstances. It will never again be the place it was in the early 60s. Now, a lot of people would say that's good, but I'm talking about the thriving local retail areas I've mentioned before ... along Grand River; Oakman, Greenfield, Fenkell/Southfield, Lahser, 7 Mile Rd., etc., and the ability to walk to and from them at any time of day or evening without fear of trouble.

[Johnnny5]

LBP is just part of the same suburban crowd who's been ingrained from birth that Detroit is a shithole. It's a perception that may take a generation to reverse/correct.

I challenge you to survey random people anywhere in the suburbs about Detroits recent developments and gauge thier impressions. 90% have no idea what's going on. I do this on a regular basis so I'm pretty confident about my conclusions. In fact, I'm getting pushback from my own fiancée who was born and bred in the suburbs. Refuses to visit let alone live DT. It's a real shame.

Sorry Sammy, but for almost two generations Detroit was [[And much of it still is) "A shithole". Thankfully perceptions are slowly changing, but that's only because Detroit is slowly improving. For most people it's going to take more than just the rebirth in and around downtown to make up for the insane crime rates and abandonment that still plague the rest of the city.

[DetroitNightLights]

Seems he's not feeling the city of Detroit specifically. He'd probably be ok with the broader 'metro' Detroit area!

He also has shown disdain for Pontiac.

'The day’s high had reached a freakish ninety-seven degrees, and I mentioned something that I’d heard on the news: a Michigan man had been charged with killing a child by leaving him in a hot car. The man lived in Pontiac, one of the county’s few blue-collar towns. Pocketing his phone, Patterson said, “I hate to sound class-conscious, but this was a trailer park, where it happened. So I’m thinking, You know what? Little bit of trailer-trash mentality kicked in.”'

[...]

'He asked me where I was staying. When I mentioned a hotel in Pontiac, he frowned, and said, “You should have stayed at the Townsend,” referring to an upscale hotel in Birmingham, with fireplaces and turndown service. Professional athletes and rock stars book there when they come to Oakland County, to play the Palace.'

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2...p-dead-detroit

[Bham1982]

LBP is just part of the same suburban crowd who's been ingrained from birth that Detroit is a shithole. It's a perception that may take a generation to reverse/correct.

90% of the city proper is a "shithole" by objective middle class American standards. If your neighborhood has high crime, bad schools, crap retail, near-worthless homes, vacant buildings and general disorder, most people would consider it pretty crappy.

I challenge you to survey random people anywhere in the suburbs about Detroits recent developments and gauge thier impressions. 90% have no idea what's going on.

I think, anecdotally, the opposite is true. Almost all suburbanites know about the downtown-midtown revitalization hype, and they grossly overestimate the city's progress, given they don't go anywhere in the city but downtown-midtown. The rest of the city has never looked worse, overall.

And the local fakenews cheerleader media don't help. If you didn't know better you would think Detroit looks like Brooklyn or San Francisco these days. You would think there are 50-60 floor condos going up on every other block, mass gentrification, packed pedestrian corridors and the like.

[Meddle]

In my time there was an awful lot of productive mid-range manufacturing along streets like Lyndon, Fullerton, Meyers, Wyoming, Schaefer, etc. I don't see that ever coming back and until or unless it does, the surrounding neighborhoods won't either.

[313WX]

I wonder why he hates Metro Detroit so much.

Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder.

LBP was born and raised in Detroit proper back during the city's prime [[40s and 50s), but I bet he'd never tell anyone that now.

[313WX]

While true, correlation isn't causation. It was obviously the auto industry.

It was both.

From a cultural standpoint, Detroit has nothing exceptional to offer new industries that they can't find in other metro areas since the city has been allowed to crumble.

[Meddle]

I think the city missed a huge opportunity with FoxConn. They could have given them enough vacant land to build on and offered more than enough new employees.