Count me in the "pay your bills or lose your shit" category, however:
DWSD badly bungled this shutoff parade.
In late spring, they essentially unilaterally declared they were going to go after these unpaid accounts, no holds barred. This was essentially ignoring the political consequences of the most impoverished, bankrupt, blighted city in the Western world having its citizens losing water. Pretty amateurish.
When as a municipality you invoke the wrath of the UN, you're doing it wrong. This initiative had all the finesse of prison rape. Introduce the fucking assistance and payment programs BEFORE you cut off peoples' water, not after, you idiots.
As I've stated before, I'm in the military. I'm gone for periods of time without internet. Having my account set on autopay, something completely standard in the civilized world, was a nightmare flurry of e-mails and phone calls. Can you imagine someone without means and less-educated having to deal with someone equally less-educated with the DWSD, both trying to figure out payment arrangements? God help us.
It was sophomoric. It's a travesty. Firstly, yes, you must pay your bill. However the infrastructure must be in place first to allow you to do so in a reasonable manner. Both efforts, which have been managed in the Western world effortlessly for decade upon decade, are beyond the ability of Detroit.
This is why we will never succeed. We will never come back. We cannot manage basic infrastructure. This city and this state do not deserve to exist.
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