Can anyone tell me why Detroit has deteriorated so much in recent years? It's not the money. When I was a kid , my family didn't have that much money, yet we maintained a nice home and neighborhood. What's different now? Black people have had control of city government for some 35-40 yrs. now. You can't blame the current state of things on people who left. That's lame. And absolutely false. Yet, all we hear is how people who "abandonded" the city are to blame. Complete bullshit.