A tax free Detroit

[English]

For the record, I didn't pull the race card. I pulled the race, gender, class, religion, AND sexuality cards. It's not just about black vs. white -- poor people, women, non-WASPs, and non-straights had little to NO access to most entitlements throughout American history. Right now, I'd argue that anti-gay and anti-Muslim prejudice are, on a daily basis, the most significant civil rights issues.

Yes, I was raised in this hyper-racialized, crazy region like most people here. Yes, I have my own stuff I have to work through -- I own that. But geez, how on earth is trying to give Detroit a fair shake any kind of "free lunch" when for the past 40 years, Detroit has contained most of the social challenges so that the O.C. could become what it is today? Oakland County wouldn't even be possible without what is, in effect, a tax break -- fewer people needing social services, and more taxpayers. This means that services go further than they might have if those who are neediest had been equally distributed across the region.