Originally Posted by
nain rouge
Lived at 12 & Ryan and 10 & Gratiot for most of my life, so I think I can comment on this. I made a post about this very subject in a recent thread, but it was ignored. Anyway, it's my belief that the new wave of industrial jobs in Metro Detroit generally don't pay enough to support middle class neighborhoods, in terms of properly maintaining homes and infrastructure. Really, the pay scale is more appropriate for trailer parks or Brightmoor-style developments.
You have a unique situation right now where union workers are living in Macomb Township and newer, nonunion workers are in Warren, Eastpointe, Roseville, and etc [[yet some still work side by side in the same factory). And while the people in southern Macomb County are good people that work hard to maintain their neighborhoods, the truth is more than a few just don't have the money. Upticks in crime, a side effect of persistently high unemployment [[8.9% in Warren vs. 6.4% in the US and 7.4% in Michigan as of April, not gonna dig up the up to the second stats), are also damaging neighborhoods.
Look, we've busted a lot of the unions, and in industrial, blue collar counties like Macomb, you can't hide the end result: a lower standard of living. New industrial workers in Macomb cwill work longer hours for less pay [[relative to inflation) over their lifetimes than their parents. Sorry, but it's true. There is a difference between jobs and good jobs, though few pay attention. They just hear jobs, and figure it must be good. Offshoring was the best union buster ever, better than any hired goon.