Bing To Lay Off 1000 City Workers December 5th

[MizMotown]

Not coal this year but pink slips!

Sorry kids, gonna be a shitty Christmas and a shitty New Year!!

Whatever, no good time to receive a layoff but don't you think December shows what truly uncompassionate assholes humans can be?!

[stasu1213]

Bing couldn't wait until after Christmas to do this layoff? He had spoken at the tree lighting ceremony last night. He had the nerve to ask the crowd to dig deep into their pockets to help those who are in need for Christmas. What a hypercrite! How could he expect anyone to help the needy when he is laying some people in the crowd off. He is making the needy. He is so detached from reality.

[lilpup]

better to know well enough before Xmas to avoid going out and spending a wad on presents or trips

[313WX]

better to know well enough before Xmas to avoid going out and spending a wad on presents or trips

Yeah, good point.

[tkelly1986]

Bing couldn't wait until after Christmas to do this layoff? He had spoken at the tree lighting ceremony last night. He had the nerve to ask the crowd to dig deep into their pockets to help those who are in need for Christmas. What a hypercrite! How could he expect anyone to help the needy when he is laying some people in the crowd off. He is making the needy. He is so detached from reality.

Its not like this is Dave Bing's money; its the taxpayers money and the taxpayers elected Dave Bing to run an efficient, solvent city government.

[I <3 DET]

It's very sad that people have to get laid off.
But it is not Dave Bings fault. It is the recession, city debt etc.
Dave Bing didn't singlehandedly choose to lay the people off because he felt like it.

[firstandten]

I don't blame Bing for doing it. I blame him for waiting this long to do it.

[mwilbert]

The sad part is that it probably isn't nearly enough to get the city through the fiscal year. And firstandten is right--it was obvious that layoffs would be needed from before Bing was elected. I don't want to see people losing their jobs, but the sad truth of layoff arithmetic is that the longer you wait to lay people off, the more of them who need to go.

You can be sure that when an EFM comes in [[which I assume is only a matter of time) there will be either be a bunch more people gone or some huge pay cuts.

[stasu1213]

Wait until January 1st at least so that families could have their last good Christmas for a while.

[Scottathew]

Not coal this year but pink slips!

Sorry kids, gonna be a shitty Christmas and a shitty New Year!!

Whatever, no good time to receive a layoff but don't you think December shows what truly uncompassionate assholes humans can be?!

So what do you propose to fix the budget situation?

What do you propose to do about a city the now employs more people at population 700,000 than it did at 1.8 million.

Simply put, you can't whine about layoffs when the city is about to become financially insolvent.


Rochelle Riley, of all people, suggested that the city lay off all workers and force them all to re-apply for a reduced number of jobs. [[http://www.freep.com/article/2011111...ld-take-plunge)

Laying off 1000 city workers on December 1st is still not enough according to many people, including members of council. They want larger layoffs numbers.


It's up to you folks, you can't whine. It's your city.

1) Cut Expenses\services
2) Operate more efficiently
3) Raise taxes

You must do at least one of the above options.

If you're against layoffs, then you're for raising taxes, it's that simple.

[Dexlin]

I'm confused. Don't you have to give a 60 day notice? If everyone already knows that cuts are going to have to be made come April [[right?), why does it matter when they do it? If anything, it's better to just do it now so that people have time to prepare come February when the layoffs actually happen.

There literally aren't any choices, anymore. You don't make the layoffs, and everyone possibly loses their job by April. And really, the April date is when the city goes insolvent -- something Snyder won't allow -- so Detroit really has less time than that. The crazy thing is that 1,000 lost might only delay insolvency for literally a few additional days if the pension and health care changes don't go through. For all intents and purposes, Detroit's government is being wound-down. It's a f%cking sad situation, but I much rather the employees be told very clearly exactly when they'll be hitting the iceberg instead of it just finally happening in a violent crash.

[rjk]

If these people didn't know about the possibility of being laid off they must of just awoke from a year long nap.

1000 layoffs were being talked about last spring if the union didn't make more concessions. Maybe Bing could have gotten in the Christmas spirit and just laid them off last summer? By all accounts they're lucky they kept their jobs as long as they have.

[stasu1213]

Bing had the money to give incentives to police officers if they move into East English Village instead of using that money to keep them from takingt a cut. Bing's administration sat on a 9 million dollar grant for home weatherization and it went back to Washington. Bing alledgedly wanted to use the money sent from the government for HeadStart for another purpose. He uses his group the DEGC for the development of the never going to come light rail instead of turning the project to a transit authority. I could go on. I don't think that it is the lack of money that will cause these layoffs; but it is the mismanagement of funds done by his administration and the prior administration that had cuased it.

[stasu1213]

What is being ignored is that the main problem with Detroit is that it was just a "one industry" town. Revenue was being generated from that industry[[automobile). Arrogance and pride had stopped the leaders of this city from seeking other revenue making businesses when Detroit was at it's peak. Those city leaders were very shortsighted.

[pgn421]

Should lay off some of the city council members.they do not need that many

[stasu1213]

Maybe the council should have one or two secretaries who could cater to all of them council instead of each one having his/her's own personal secretary or staff. Let it be a general staff and secretary who would serve all of the members. That would be fiscally responsible of council to operate in that fashion.

[pgn421]

And,maybe do away with their car and driver

[Scottathew]

What is being ignored is that the main problem with Detroit is that it was just a "one industry" town. Revenue was being generated from that industry[[automobile). Arrogance and pride had stopped the leaders of this city from seeking other revenue making businesses when Detroit was at it's peak. Those city leaders were very shortsighted.

I don't think that's the issue. The rest of the region has done well, while Detroit has literally crumbled and been retaken by nature.

Here are the issues I see:

1) Slavery [[white folks have been accumulating wealth longer)
2) Post-slavery racism and denial of civil rights [[this denied black families opportunities)
3) White flight [[whites making good money left for the suburbs, while blacks with less opportunities due to racism had to stay)
4) Red-lining
5) Freeways destroying successful minority communities


These main issues caused secondary issues:

1) Large differences between the haves and the have-nots
2) Imaginary political borders physically separating the poor and the rich [[example, 8 Mile Road)
3) Crime
4) Victim mentality [[which actually was appropriate, because these folks were victims)
5) Morally bankrupt culture where failure is expected, success is demonized, and those that want better are seen as traitors


Now, how do we fix the issues? Here's where I would start:

1) More efficient police force with more officers and guaranteed responses
2) Fix Detroit Public Schools, and parents must make sure that dropping out is not an option
3) Education subsidies and opportunities based on income [[NOT race)
4) Community leaders need to continue to rally with a relentlessly positive attitude about getting rid of the victim mentality, expect success, and coming forward to fight crime
5) Teach poor folks [[of any color) that having kids out of wedlock and\or at a young age will only make it more difficult to emerge from poverty


What isn't the answer?

1) Increased welfare
2) "Leaders" like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton
3) Blaming past issues like slavery and racism; that while still most certainly account for many issues, just simply must be overcome

[corktownyuppie]

I don't think that's the issue. The rest of the region has done well, while Detroit has literally crumbled and been retaken by nature.

Here are the issues I see:

1) Slavery [[white folks have been accumulating wealth longer)
2) Post-slavery racism and denial of civil rights [[this denied black families opportunities)
3) White flight [[whites making good money left for the suburbs, while blacks with less opportunities due to racism had to stay)
4) Red-lining
5) Freeways destroying successful minority communities


These main issues caused secondary issues:

1) Large differences between the haves and the have-nots
2) Imaginary political borders physically separating the poor and the rich [[example, 8 Mile Road)
3) Crime
4) Victim mentality [[which actually was appropriate, because these folks were victims)
5) Morally bankrupt culture where failure is expected, success is demonized, and those that want better are seen as traitors


Now, how do we fix the issues? Here's where I would start:

1) More efficient police force with more officers and guaranteed responses
2) Fix Detroit Public Schools, and parents must make sure that dropping out is not an option
3) Education subsidies and opportunities based on income [[NOT race)
4) Community leaders need to continue to rally with a relentlessly positive attitude about getting rid of the victim mentality, expect success, and coming forward to fight crime
5) Teach poor folks [[of any color) that having kids out of wedlock and\or at a young age will only make it more difficult to emerge from poverty


What isn't the answer?

1) Increased welfare
2) "Leaders" like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton
3) Blaming past issues like slavery and racism; that while still most certainly account for many issues, just simply must be overcome

I generally agree with what you present here. The other things I'd like to add is that there is a severe need for mental health treatment in Detroit. I'm not talking about psychiatric hospitalization for cases of schizophrenia, etc. I'm talking about how the community as a whole lacks support systems for dealing with family dysfunction and preventing that dysfunction from:

- Draining away resources
- Inducing impulsive, self-destructive decision-making
- Translating into violence and crime
- Multiplying and worsening

A cop once told me that domestic violence calls are the largest source of 911 phone calls in the city. Now obviously, domestic violence can occur in any city and at any income class. But there is an even higher correlation with poverty. Eliminating domestic violence calls essentially doubles our police force, because cops can devote all their time to handling other crimes.

The things about mental health is that when a person has never been taught the skills to deal with difficult emotions, the overwhelm can become so strong that a person can not make use of all the knowledge and resources that they DO have. Giving that person more knowledge or more resources can't help if the mental health issues are so severe that one can't make use of the knowledge they ALREADY HAVE.

Just food for thought. Good post, though. I especially like your refusal to focus on the past. While past injustices are certainly well documented, dwelling on them prevents us from moving forward. I'm sure that as Detroit climbs its way out and re-establishes itself as a functional, healthy, productive society...there will be plenty of opportunity to make the past injustices well known. It may, in fact, be even easier to do it then.

[canuck]

I don't think that's the issue. The rest of the region has done well, while Detroit has literally crumbled and been retaken by nature.

Here are the issues I see:

1) Slavery [[white folks have been accumulating wealth longer)
2) Post-slavery racism and denial of civil rights [[this denied black families opportunities)
3) White flight [[whites making good money left for the suburbs, while blacks with less opportunities due to racism had to stay)
4) Red-lining
5) Freeways destroying successful minority communities


These main issues caused secondary issues:

1) Large differences between the haves and the have-nots
2) Imaginary political borders physically separating the poor and the rich [[example, 8 Mile Road)
3) Crime
4) Victim mentality [[which actually was appropriate, because these folks were victims)
5) Morally bankrupt culture where failure is expected, success is demonized, and those that want better are seen as traitors


Now, how do we fix the issues? Here's where I would start:

1) More efficient police force with more officers and guaranteed responses
2) Fix Detroit Public Schools, and parents must make sure that dropping out is not an option
3) Education subsidies and opportunities based on income [[NOT race)
4) Community leaders need to continue to rally with a relentlessly positive attitude about getting rid of the victim mentality, expect success, and coming forward to fight crime
5) Teach poor folks [[of any color) that having kids out of wedlock and\or at a young age will only make it more difficult to emerge from poverty


What isn't the answer?

1) Increased welfare
2) "Leaders" like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton
3) Blaming past issues like slavery and racism; that while still most certainly account for many issues, just simply must be overcome

Well put 48091!

There definitely is a need to overcome by many means the negative legacy that african americans have endured. But beyond Detroit and its municipal borders, the responsibility for the future welfare of the region must be shared by the greater metro. The sad legacy is shared in this instance by the city and the suburbs; two sides of a valuable coin.

In other words, it may not be enough to wish for a better Detroit bill of health with all the good prescriptions you give, if the region doesnt somehow merge and redirect its energies to solving these problems. I think that the rest of the country and indeed the world will take notice and have more faith in Detroit when a merger starts to happen.

[stasu1213]

I generally agree with what you present here. The other things I'd like to add is that there is a severe need for mental health treatment in Detroit. I'm not talking about psychiatric hospitalization for cases of schizophrenia, etc. I'm talking about how the community as a whole lacks support systems for dealing with family dysfunction and preventing that dysfunction from:

- Draining away resources
- Inducing impulsive, self-destructive decision-making
- Translating into violence and crime
- Multiplying and worsening

A cop once told me that domestic violence calls are the largest source of 911 phone calls in the city. Now obviously, domestic violence can occur in any city and at any income class. But there is an even higher correlation with poverty. Eliminating domestic violence calls essentially doubles our police force, because cops can devote all their time to handling other crimes.

The things about mental health is that when a person has never been taught the skills to deal with difficult emotions, the overwhelm can become so strong that a person can not make use of all the knowledge and resources that they DO have. Giving that person more knowledge or more resources can't help if the mental health issues are so severe that one can't make use of the knowledge they ALREADY HAVE.

Just food for thought. Good post, though. I especially like your refusal to focus on the past. While past injustices are certainly well documented, dwelling on them prevents us from moving forward. I'm sure that as Detroit climbs its way out and re-establishes itself as a functional, healthy, productive society...there will be plenty of opportunity to make the past injustices well known. It may, in fact, be even easier to do it then.

I agree with most of the things that were stated but one; Do not forget the past or you are doomed to repeat it. Detroit, in the process of reinventing itself, should not make the mistake of being a one industry town or one man dominate all of downtown. It is true that whiteflight had contributed to the downfall of this city. Let us not forget the crack epedimic of the 1980s until now. That epidemic incuding other drug related crimes such as killings, firebombing and bullet spraying of homes had also had a part of this city's demise.Many landlords had rented their homes and apartments to the girlfriends of these drugdealers only to discover that the drugdealers had taken over their properties. Some landlords were only concern about their rent. They had stopped coming over to their properties to see about them. Everything that I and other bloggers had listed were part of the perfect storm that had came through this city and destroyed it. No, it is not all of Bing's and council's fault.

[mikeg19]

What's the point? 1000? I thought that even laying off 2300 or whatever number it is was only going to stave off bankruptcy until July? I just don't get it. I'm not very well versed in this area, but at this point, isn't it almost necessary to have an emergency manager? Bing and the council say they can fix the problems in house and balance the budget before financial ruin. Um.....THEN WHY HAVEN'T THEY DONE IT ALREADY?!?! I'm an outsider looking in on this situation very closely, as I was planning to move into downtown in the next year or two. But now I'm rethinking that plan until I see what happens.

[mwilbert]

I don't really want to hijack this thread, but it was already kind of veering off track.

I can't let this go by without comment, because it represents the exact kind of low expectations I see in the area, as people compare their little pieces of Shangri-La to Detroit and decide everything is peachy.

The rest of the region has done well

I don't think so. Population has grown far less fast than the rest of the country for decades, despite relatively low housing prices and few constraints on supply. Income has also grown more slowly. Employment has grown more slowly [[actually it has fallen over the past decade or so). Relative education levels are still bad [[not sure they are worse, they were bad for most of the 20th century). The fact is that the region has been declining relative to the rest of the country for decades.

I actually can't think of any way in which it has done well, but maybe you have something in mind?

[Scottathew]

I actually can't think of any way in which it has done well, but maybe you have something in mind?

I don't feel the same way as you. I think the suburbs have done well. There's a lot of wealth, housing, businesses, nice places to live, etc...

But perhaps I should have said, "The rest of the region has done far better than Detroit".

My point was, that reliance on a single industry that fails doesn't result in a Detroit. Detroit was cause by many factors, one of those factors being the fall of the auto industry, but the more alarming cause of issues in Detroit is that black folks got stuck in one area, weren't allowed the same opportunities as white folks, as a result, we have a region with a middle class white suburb that goes around a poor Detroit that's 80% black.

[Hypestyles]

i'm really not enthused about the next couple of years.. i'll have to find work elsewhere..