An eye opening jaw dropping trip through Detroit

[mwilbert]

I just find it very hard to believe that Detroit has even an 85% property tax collection rate, when property taxes are now only making up 14% of the General Fund.

I don't see why that is hard to believe. Property values are very low. City tax rates haven't gone up. You have to remember that the the properties that aren't going to pay their taxes aren't the valuable ones, but they are the ones that are going to owe almost all the taxes. You could probably have the least-valuable 60% of the city tax-delinquent and still get an 85% collection rate, because the least-valuable 60% is probably less than 15% of assessed value.

Now in reality, some higher-end properties are surely tax-delinquent because of the bad market and economy, but neither are the bottom 60% all delinquent. That said, if it was 87% in 2008, it is surely lower now. So maybe it is less than 85%, but probably not dramatically.

[Wheels]

How many "JoAnn Watson's" only paid their fair share $30.00?

[Danny]

Detroittdave, You just seen the real live American ghetto called Detroit, MI. Vacant houses, abandon buildings, loss of mom and pop retail strip malls. Crackheads walking like zombies, schizos street preaching, people dressed like their about to rob someone. Your home hood is long gone. This city became the victim of segregation, xenophobia, suburban development, union corruption, the 1967 riots, white flight, the election of Coleman Young, loss of Downtown Detroit shopping infrastructure, poor Detroit Public Schools, loss of police security, growth of urban gangs, the crack epidemic, city government corruption, theives, murders, con-artists, arson fires, illegal dumping into ghettohoods, lack of working streetlights, Kwame Kilpatrick's Manoogian Parties and more rediculous city service cuts to avoid recievership.

Times have since after you left for California. It's kind of like out the movie Planet of the Apes. An human astronaut returning back for a star system 100 million light years to a world dominating by intelligent dogmatic great apes and humans treated as brutal pets and target practice games. Later when the human astronaut find out the mystery of the ape world, He was back home on Earth all along 1300 years in the future where mankind was wiped out by some apocalyptic event. The human astronaut saw the last significance of freedom, the ruin of "THE STATUE OF LIBERTY!"

[Detroitdave]

Danny I guess a lot has changed .I knew and have heard times have changed , but I guess once I drove by the neighborhood my grandparents[[ dad's parents) lived in and the far east side , I got an eye full.
I'm sure my story isn't that uncommon, but it wasn't really that long ago ,but I guess a lot can happen in 30 years !, maybe 30 years is a long time ! LOL .

I remember going to the corner store owned by a really nice Italian family that knew my grandparents were we had an account. My grandmother would send me to the store and I would pick up things for her and tell the owners wife " my grandmother said to put it on our account " , I would always sneak in candy my grandmothers list , but i'm sure she knew LOL :-), His name was Frank and hers was I think rose, even their kids worked there, no bullet proof glass, low counter . I even remember he would cut the meat in the back ,wrap it in paper and write the price on it ! and I'm only in my mid 40's. I remember the Rexall store across the street also , with the little old lady with the neck problem :-) she was so sweet, everyone knew my family back them , my granddad was well known and own lots of houses in the area so everyone knew my uncles , and family.
Once my grandmother died[[1980's) he moved , by then the area was getting pretty bad, he sold all the homes and moved out near 7 mile and telegraph.
My moms side of the family lived, and some still live in Northwest/Bagley/7 mile outer dr. area so that's my point of reference , that's way I was so moved by what has happen on the east and far east side .
Sometimes I wonder , "How long can our area hold out until that happens to us", When does that happen to our area ? :-[[
This has happen to some very beautiful areas of Detroit ,what is going to keep this from happening to my other Grandmothers area? as of now it's still very nice , pretty quiet, folks keep their grass cut, but most of the folks have been here since the early 60's like us , but what happen when they die or move out ?
A young couple has moved in across the street and are doing a wonderful job on their house ! new windows , new roof, new porch, new awning . I even see the wife out planting :-) They have two kids and two big dogs ! LOL ;-).
I think it will take more folks like them to support the last few areas like this , but i think folks like this are few and far between :-[[

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

I don't know how to go about doing it, but how about trying to make Detroit a center for immigration? Free houses for immigrants!

[Wheels]

I don't know how to go about doing it, but how about trying to make Detroit a center for immigration? Free houses for immigrants!

And that will solve what?

[313WX]

I don't know how to go about doing it, but how about trying to make Detroit a center for immigration? Free houses for immigrants!

Immigrants need jobs.

They also need people who have money to support whatever businesses they start.