WSJ Suggestion for Detroit

**erikd** · January-12-14, 06:09 AM

Originally Posted by Novine

"The proposal is not feasible in the world we actually live in, and it is hard to know exactly how it would work out if it were somehow carried out, but to compare it to NEZs as they were actually implemented in Detroit is like comparing an elephant gun to a peashooter."

Why? The NEZs were implemented in the areas of the city that were considered viable. If they didn't lead to significant development in those areas, what makes anyone think they'll work elsewhere?

The assertion that tax reduction could lead to the revitalization of the city is, at the very least, ignorant, and in reality completely moronic.

Taxes are not the problem in Detroit. The lack of basic city services in Detroit is the problem.

Even if it were possible to change federal and state tax laws to exempt Detroiters from paying taxes, it wouldn't change a fucking thing.

There are plenty of people investing in the viable areas of Detroit. The problem is that there are huge swaths of Detroit that are not viable for investment, and this has nothing to do with taxes.

The property taxes on a $500 house in the hood are not a deterrent to investment. The fact that the police don't show up when a scrapper rips out all the new wiring in your $500 house is the deterrent for investment in the city.

Detroit doesn't need any kind of special exemptions and treatment, we need the same basic city services that are taken for granted everywhere else in the developed world.

The solution is not difficult, radical, or innovative. Provide the same basic city services in Detroit that are common in the rest of the first world, and many of the other problems will take care of themselves.