Age of political leaders and speed of regional progress

[maverick1]

How much of a role do you think the age of the politicians and voters in the Metro-Detroit affects the progress of Metro-Detroit? It seems things change and progress much faster in other Midwestern cities I've visited [[Indianapolis, Cincinnati, etc.)

[313WX]

How much of a role do you think the age of the politicians and voters in the Metro-Detroit affects the progress of Metro-Detroit? It seems things change and progress much faster in other Midwestern cities I've visited [[Indianapolis, Cincinnati, etc.)

Age is probably a part of it.

But their own personal life experiences is likely a bigger factor.

[ndavies]

I think Age is completely irrelevant. Kwame was the youngest mayor ever elected in Detroit's history. Look where that got us. We've had some great old leaders, Some great new leaders and a whole bunch of completely useless leaders of all ages.

[Jimaz]

I'm guessing that the amount of infighting in Metro Detroit slows progress far more than any age factor. Dammit!

[Oddz313]

I think 40's and 50's is the ideal ages for leaders in the area. A major problem is that the people making decisions for future generations sometimes won't even be around for those decisions so they kick the can down the road. This can be found in corporations as well.

[Honky Tonk]

I'm guessing that the amount of infighting in Metro Detroit slows progress far more than any age factor. Dammit!

Does NOT!!!!!

[313WX]

I'm guessing that the amount of infighting in Metro Detroit slows progress far more than any age factor. Dammit!

I'm thinking the OP's question is does all of the infighting come from the age of the leaders here?

As far as the age aspect, keep in mind many of our leaders grew up in an era where 1 of 2 things were the case:

1. They were absolutely forbidden to do any sort of dealing with the city of Detroit or "Detroiters" out of fear for their safety and embitterment over what happened to their childhood homes/businesses.

2. They were taught to not trust and hold disdain for anyone who was white and/or from the suburbs because of racial injustices in the past committed by their parents/grandparents/great grandparents.

As humans, I would naturally expect the aforementioned things to factor, at least sub-consciously, into a lot of the decisions they make.

[corktownyuppie]

I'm thinking the OP's question is does all of the infighting come from the age of the leaders here?

As far as the age aspect, keep in mind many of our leaders grew up in an era where 1 of 2 things were the case:

1. They were absolutely forbidden to do any sort of dealing with the city of Detroit or "Detroiters" out of fear for their safety and embitterment over what happened to their childhood homes/businesses.

2. They were taught to not trust and hold disdain for anyone who was white and/or from the suburbs because of racial injustices in the past committed by their parents/grandparents/great grandparents.

As humans, I would naturally expect the aforementioned things to factor, at least sub-consciously, into a lot of the decisions they make.

Agreed. And as 313 says, while it's not necessarily part of the "decision-making" flowchart, these beliefs create a worldview which plays a major role in how perceived risks are calculated in every interpersonal interaction.

Of course, how does one change a worldview and belief system? First, you need new and different experiences to negate some of the older experiences. Second, you need to have at least somewhat of an open mind.

Those things are certainly changing, but it's a process that takes generations, not years.

[Hypestyles]

feh. I don't have time for the Korean-war generation and the baby-boomers to finally get it together. I want tactile progress now. But around here, when it happens in sub-baby steps, we're supposed to be cheering. Bah.

[EastsideAl]

Another huge factor is that both Cincinnati and Indianapolis have had reasonably decent economies and largely stable, or even growing, tax bases. And, at least in Indy's case, a very high degree of regional integration of government and funding, and significant population growth.

None of which can be said about Detroit or the Detroit area. For Detroit [[and increasingly many of the suburbs), a lot of the ability to change, or even to maintain, is stymied by an extreme lack of resources and a shrinking resource pool. For the region, much of this has to do with our historical reliance on a single huge, but highly cyclical, industry. One that has declined in job production over time, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

I don't think you can lay much of these factors off on the age of our local political leadership.

[Chicago48]

How much of a role do you think the age of the politicians and voters in the Metro-Detroit affects the progress of Metro-Detroit? It seems things change and progress much faster in other Midwestern cities I've visited [[Indianapolis, Cincinnati, etc.)

Age is a big part of it, but that's a problem nationally. Look at the leaders in Congress. How many are under 50 years old? Most of them keep getting re-elected by the same [[old) constituency. No one is progressive in thought and I doubt most of them know anything technologically besides their cell phone.They are dinosaurs and therefore see the world/nation through dark colored eye glasses.
I love it when there's a young mayor and young governor because they're more in tune with what's happening.
I for one am sick of the old politicians like Conyers, et al, who can't keep awake through meetings and who are just in Congress because they're bored. But blame the younger gen for not voting and leaving it to the oldsters to vote their interest.

[Novine]

L Brooks Patterson was busy trying to stop black kids from coming to the suburbs before many of us were born. If you don't think that contributes to the lack of regional cooperation, you're delusional.

[ABetterDetroit]

Does NOT!!!!!

Does TOOOO!!!

Cool, due to the Internet we are just like polititians and something else... No polititians it is.