Freep: It's time for Gov. Snyder to appoint an emergency manager for Detroit

[Wesley Mouch]

...And what the hell is the Dequindre cutoff?

Dequnindre Cut

Rail line that ran east of downtown to the Milwaukee Junction [[near 94&75), parallel to Woodward, but about a mile east.

Served the waterfront years ago. Later also ran commuter rail to downtown, near RenCen.

Abandoned and overgrown for years. Reworked into an urban park for walking/cycling. Sure you can find great website out there. Its quite cool and trendy now. Rather like the High Line [[NYC) in reverse.

[Richard]

Remember Pan Am airlines ? They have been out of flying for years but still have a fully funded pension system, they still have income because they own all of the internationial flight paths , so why do they have no problems ? But yet every other pension system is crying loses in between court cases for fraud .

[Wesley Mouch]

Remember Pan Am airlines ? They have been out of flying for years but still have a fully funded pension system, they still have income because they own all of the internationial flight paths , so why do they have no problems ? But yet every other pension system is crying loses in between court cases for fraud .

A well-run private defined-benefit pension is a wonderful thing.

Why do they have no problems, you ask? Well, I don't know. Probably because:

1) The company fully-funded the pension [[or near enough to it). Some public pensions operate with lower funding mandates,

2) The pension trustees invested wisely. Didn't chase absurd returns, and probably didn't worry about whether their money was invested in South Africa, tobacco, or guns.

It certainly can be done right. But it certainly can be done wrong.

[kenp]

Dequnindre Cut

.

Duh, but what about the cutoff

[Honky Tonk]

Duh, but what about the cutoff

It's the name of a new line of summer shorts from "Made In Detroit".....

[Packman41]

From today’s Detroit Free Press:
http://www.freep.com/article/2013022...text|FRONTPAGE

“Think about it: 83 cents of every Detroit police and fire payroll dollar spent on pensions, leaving the city with 17 cents, at current budgeted amounts, to staff departments that are already understaffed and overworked.

That's the worst-case scenario outlined in a city-commissioned report by Seattle-based actuarial firm Milliman that found that the city's two pension funds -- one for regular employees and another for police officers and firefighters -- are in deeper trouble than previously believed, and that Detroit could soon be spending nearly all its payroll dollars just to make required pension payments.

So a city that already struggles to provide basic services, in part because liabilities consume 35 cents to 42 cents of every general fund dollar, could see that imbalance become completely unmanageable. …snip…
Imagine a Detroit that pays pension obligations, then has little or nothing left over for cops on the streets, firefighters and garbage collectors.”

[Wesley Mouch]

I never really understood what the bribes had to do with the city's budget problems. Is it shameful? Yes. But name me one governmental agency that doesn't overpay on contracts! Detroit is hardly unique in that regard. We pretty much accept that the politicians in Washington get constant kickbacks. You think big cities are any different?

I don't agree, but if your bribe requirements are matched by excellent financial management and good city services, you are getting a value.

Its also a matter of degree. Washington keeps it under control. Detroit didn't. KK just about broadcast his corruption. You might call Obama on his corruption [[I don't), but it sure isn't anything as flagrant as Detroit's.

[Novine]

Are the reports available to read or is only the Free Press privy to the contents?

[coracle]

The blame for Detroit's demise will be pinned on Gov. Snyder. Either because he elected an EFM or because he didn't. Bankruptcy won't work because it leaves the current Council "in charge" and they are proven incompetents; and Pugh's suggestion of an "expanded Consent Agreement" is laughable [[no surprise there). Let's hope the Gov. doesn't buckle and pour our money into the bottomless money pit which has been the objective from the onset. I'm all for helping if it will solve the problem but we know it won't; it will only delay it for another day. And all the new potential Mayors have a solution only because they don't have the job. It just has to be allowed to run its course and if you can't take it you get out.
THE only long term solution is to attract working families to move to Detroit.

[Honky Tonk]

The blame for Detroit's demise will be pinned on Gov. Snyder. Either because he elected an EFM or because he didn't. Bankruptcy won't work because it leaves the current Council "in charge" and they are proven incompetents; and Pugh's suggestion of an "expanded Consent Agreement" is laughable [[no surprise there). Let's hope the Gov. doesn't buckle and pour our money into the bottomless money pit which has been the objective from the onset. I'm all for helping if it will solve the problem but we know it won't; it will only delay it for another day. And all the new potential Mayors have a solution only because they don't have the job. It just has to be allowed to run its course and if you can't take it you get out.
THE only long term solution is to attract working families to move to Detroit.

VERY true and realistic post.

[313WX]

The blame for Detroit's demise will be pinned on Gov. Snyder. Either because he elected an EFM or because he didn't. Bankruptcy won't work because it leaves the current Council "in charge" and they are proven incompetents; and Pugh's suggestion of an "expanded Consent Agreement" is laughable [[no surprise there). Let's hope the Gov. doesn't buckle and pour our money into the bottomless money pit which has been the objective from the onset. I'm all for helping if it will solve the problem but we know it won't; it will only delay it for another day. And all the new potential Mayors have a solution only because they don't have the job. It just has to be allowed to run its course and if you can't take it you get out.
THE only long term solution is to attract working families to move to Detroit.

Catch-22.

No one wants to live in Detroit [[aside from the yuppies) as long as services continue to get cut.

And for the record, I feel just awful about the seniors who have to endure much of this pain while having nowhere to go. If I had the money I'd move them all out today.

[Honky Tonk]

Catch-22.

No one wants to live in Detroit [[aside from the yuppies) as long as services continue to get cut.

And for the record, I feel just awful about the seniors who have to endure much of this pain while having nowhere to go. If I had the money I'd move them all out today.

Thanx, dude.

[Bham1982]

Catch-22.

No one wants to live in Detroit [[aside from the yuppies) as long as services continue to get cut.

And 99% of the yuppies won't live in Detroit either.

There's a small, very committed group that will put up with Detroit-style governance and services, but most people aren't going to bother with this nonsense.

"Yuppies" who want something vaguely urban and quasi-walkable will move to Birmingham or Royal Oak, or maybe Grosse Pointe. Folks with real cash will be in Bloomfield. People who want new construction will be in Novi, Northville, and Rochester Hills.

Those that want real city living will move to Brooklyn. That leaves a few hard-core idealists who can brave the challenges of a sinking Detroit.

[Wesley Mouch]

...snip...
THE only long term solution is to attract working families to move to Detroit.

Well, sure -- but how?

[Honky Tonk]

Well, sure -- but how?

Less crime, safer streets, better public services. Lower housing cost is already baked in, but people aren't willing to take risks to take advantage of it. Read the "squatter" post. How many people are reading that thinking "not me!"?

[Wesley Mouch]

Less crime, safer streets, better public services. Lower housing cost is already baked in but people aren't willing to take risks to take advantage of it. Read the "squatter" post. How many people are reading that thinking "not me"?

And to get those lofty goals accomplished, you need MONEY!

To get money, you need to have a plan.

A lot of people seem to be focused on the pain part of the equation. There needn't be any undue pain. A good plan puts the pain on those who deserve it.

I think the plan can and should include fair wages and benefits, especially for those in the front lines. That can be included in the plan -- because it will deliver safety and public services. But to get the money to do that, you'll have to share control over a wider area than just Detroit. And frankly there's nothing wrong with this. A lot of the people who created the problem are now out-state.