Quote Originally Posted by frostbyter View Post
...Also, what are some of the obstacles to employment confronting a lot of the unemployed in Detroit? This is a huge, complex problem, I know. But one way to solve it is to eliminate the obstacles that prevent people from working. Before you can eliminate the obstacles, you have to first identify them. From what I've been reading regarding Detroit, here are the obstacles that I know of:

Illiteracy
lack of personal transportation
auto insurance too expensive
unreliable public transportation
lack of jobs for unskilled labor

But I'm curious if other obstacles exist? Like, a lot of people are having problems with water shutoffs, so I was wondering if lack of access to bathing and laundry facilities is also a significant obstacle to employment for many in Detroit.

What about access to affordable child care? Is it cheap or super expensive to have your kid in daycare? Are there enough daycare centers around?

Or, what about training opportunities? If people are motivated, are there enough resources available for them to improve their skills? Or get an education?

Please share your insight. Thanks.
I'd add to your list...
-poor public school system
-reverse racism attitude
-populist politicians who prefer to chase unicorns like residency requirements rather than school reform
-rigid skilled labor market with high degree of control by unions against the low-skilled

And no, water shut-offs is not a widespread problem. It was just a political football being tossed around. Water is quite cheap in Detroit and high quality, as you might expect when you realize that we probably have the highest flow of [[nearly) drinkable freshwater passing Detroit in the river of any major city in North America except perhaps Montreal. The big problem was that the water system was delinquent in doing turnoffs for non-payment in the past, and radical anti-corporate nuts used a minor issue to generate mistrust.