Detroit should have gone "cold turkey"

[hortonz]

Whenever I read articles like this one I ask myself: does the author understand how climate change and declining oil and natural gas production can have more of an impact on a city's economy than government policy, free-market economics and ideology? Here's an important fact for all the Detroit-haters to consider: when American gas and oil peaked in the late 60's, Detroit and the American auto industry found itself at the mercy of nations and events halfway across the world. Nobody living back in the 50's ever believed that America would wind up being the world's biggest importer of oil by 1975. We were the largest oil producer in the world and government and business was confident that there was a lot more oil to be discovered in the lower 48 states. Unlike the Europe, where gas was expensive and supply often limited, America could afford to drive big gas guzzling cars and it's auto industry operated free from the problems that plagued their overseas counterparts. American government and free enterprise built a civilization around cheap oil and gas and an ignorance of climate change.

[Willi]

I believe the author is acutely aware of how ignorant some in Detroit were,
basically fat, dumb and happy, apathetic to evolution and got steamrolled by progress.
Executives in Industry were asleep at the wheel, and then wanted handouts.

[Willi]

Can Detroit borrow its way to revival , with loans, bonds etc. and not default , again ?

[313WX]

Can Detroit borrow its way to revival , with loans, bonds etc. and not default , again ?

Only time will tell.

There are municipalities that have filed for bankruptcy more than once.

[Willi]

So us ordinary taxpayers flip the bill - because there is no such thing as free money -

The Fed can’t force money into the economy, nor can it increase “money supply.”
Money supply is demand determined, and with the economy still relatively weak,
there’s very little demand for the dollar.

The Fed’s allocation of $4 trillion of credit borrowed from banks,
isn’t “money printing” - it’s the Fed spending $4 trillion to prop up investments.
The Fed is financing hardship through its expanded borrowing of bank reserves.

The country is in trouble and Detroit is a blip on the radar screen

[Dumpling]

http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/10/01...ater-takeover/

I am posting the above opinion piece because it mentions Bankston Construction, the
former WWTP sludge hauler before and after the Synagro contract was in place. The CBS
Local Detroit piece I mentioned earlier cited Stansley Industries from Sylvania, Ohio as the owner of the truck that had the I-94 spillage problems. If you have been reading about the DWSD water shutoffs you will notice that Homrich, mostly based in Carleton, Michigan, is the paid contractor for doing water shutoffs, rather than having water department employees
[[at one time Detroit-required residents overcompensated with pensions and benefits) do them. I can't get it to link, but the November 3, 2014 TIME issue has an article on campaign inflation on page 11, wherein the increase in campaign spending is shown as +555% from 1984 through 2012.

[Dumpling]

So IF this "Entrepreneur" article is based on public contracting firm wisdom, where
their tax base shifts from Detroit city proper and their required campaign donation
costs increase also, and this is all funded by the public in the form of bond offerings,
wouldn't you say they are being really unethical going for all of this business and
then, if Detroit metro is truly failing, leaving a large debt for all of us elderly and
underemployed to cope with? [[Or for there to be another water department
bankruptcy?)

[Dumpling]

Since they can't be unethical, therefore Detroit can't be failing, so now there needs
to be a puff piece in Entrepreneur saying that previous article is no longer valid and
honoring all of the contributions of the public contracting firms in assuring the future
success of Detroit.

[[Yah, that was just a bit tongue in cheek.)

[Willi]

Hey Dumpling - Did you look at the article and maybe the author - ?

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/raymond-hennessey/2/511/60

http://www.entrepreneur.com/author/ray-hennessey

[tfrodent]

[QUOTE=Lowell;455706]Simplistic indeed. The author muddles Detroit [synonym for the American auto industry] and Detroit [Metro Detroit] and throws their problems on Detroit [the City of].

Absolutely! The author of this actually extremely lame article simply set up a straw man and then set forth his simplistic agenda. It's just about 100% devoid of actual substance. "Detroit Journalism" is especially afflicted with this kind of setup, to justify/rationalize what's generally an extreme Republican agenda.