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.
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