detroit

I have to admit it drives me crazy too, that the US isn't stepping up to handle this problem.
There should be some billionaire who decides to take on the city and make it better out of the goodness of his heart or some such thing.
Or Congress would get off it's ass and put some money into the city to help it rebuild.
But it just ain't going to happen.
At this point anybody who is willing to invest in the city is welcome, the Swiss, the Chinese, whoever.

 

Ditto what @omega said—all of this is fascinating and terrifying.

 

If the Chinese people were moving here and taking over sections of the city, that would be better than if they are just trying to be real estate speculators and hope to profit from any potential bailout and improvement.

 

after reading this thread I just have no idea, or any idea of what the Chinese are offering. or the Japanese, or the Koreans, or the.......we are the greatest nation in the world, we have an excellent President, we have the responsibility, funding, and well trained personnel to fix what ever this cancer is that's eating up the body of Detroit. Or any Major city. It's a disaster, and let's not forget that we are talking here about people, men, women, children, someones loved ones. Yes our Government, by the way, that's us the taxpayer, should step in. and never sell our problems to a foreign Nation. We the people should repair and repent from not properly representing our fellow Americans. And just a small note. Nobody and I mean Nobody pours millions much less a couple hundred into anything without an expected return. and yes @Baraka_Guru I prefer Capitalism over communism so I may not be sure what the Chinese are offering in one hand, but I got a good idea of whats in their other. Why Not just sell this city to Quicken Loans? Their probably willing to buy it.......... We the people also burned down to the ground two Great Cities...Chicago and Atlanta just of the top of my head.

 

IFthe government bailed out 2 automakers, why cant they bail out one city?

 

Business corporations are geared to make money, so a successful "bailout" pays for itself. The U.S. Treasury bought stock in GM and Chrysler and related companies, and eventually sold it, getting back about 7/8ths of the money invested.

You can't do anything like that with a city government. Any money the feds or state put in is simply gone.

 

I would think that the government could rebuild neighborhoods and sell the houses. Especially if they were newer designs and updated to modern standards. You need the infrastructure there first though, so they would need to build schools and hospitals, in addition to cleaning up the problems that make people not want to live there in the first place.

 

So if you're going to blame anyone, blame the American right and their fear of socialism. For example, in Canada, the federal government makes equalization payments. They're basically federal fund transfers to provinces and territories to help cover revenue shortfalls or cost issues. Basically, it helps have-not areas get the help they need. I don't think the U.S. federal government does such a thing. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) This means that Canada doesn't have a Detroit partly because it's prevented by our tradition of a strong central government that can help Canadians where help is needed, despite subnational government jurisdictions.
you kw a lot more than I do, this quote is what I'm saying we should do. I didn't know you lived in Canada, and obviously educated. I'm just a machine shop worker that passed high school. and by the way I do blame the American Right and that T-Party. There isn't a single system here that works good. not any form of government, health care, pharmacy, insurance, taxes, or police of any kind. we just watch our rights erode all for the greater good. your right BG it's all about the money.
--- merged: Jan 9, 2015 at 8:06 PM ---

I agree, this is crazy, it may be all about the money I just don't understand why it can't be our money. Hell @ralphie250 we can wage war on the other side of the planet and not loan a city a few billion? i dont get it.
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We don't need any more house flippers(the ones that don't fix anything), they are a major problem in a lot of big cities. I support them if they will demo whole neighborhoods and start over, which is what needs to happen in quite a few places I'm sure.

You have a problem when you can't sell a house for $600 though and it is still on the market for $370...
6453 Northfield St, Detroit, MI 48210 is For Sale - Zillow
Maybe that is too much...
12333 Maine St, Hamtramck, MI 48212 is For Sale - Zillow

I'm not even sure if breaking Detroit up into smaller subdivisions would help.

It would be interesting to see how much it would cost to modernize Detroit if you gave someone eminent domain power and could re-zone areas. Plus do some radical changes like on-line homeschooling, ultra-secure homes, free birth control, and some modern design. Have them come up with a total plan. And figure out a way to deal with the boat anchor of past debt and future obligations from the previous administrations.

Although it looks like eminent domian isn't always used correctly and the outcomes aren't always guaranteed.
THINK: Reevaluating eminent domain

 

That would only work if the people in each area were committed to making it work. Bottom-up, not top-down.

Back in the 1970s, they had the bright idea of breaking up the Detroit school district into a dozen or so regions, each one with its own school board.

Nobody cared, or really even noticed. Voter turnout was abysmal. The elected members of those "regional" school boards were all in it for themselves. It was a total failure.

 

Getting some other industries, sources of income into the city would go a long way towards fixing things too.
Honestly I have no idea what, it's not like there are tons of companies champing at the bit to move to Detroit but there must be something.

This is why I was think of some billionaire who would decide to relocate their company (or at least part of it) to the city with a whole bunch of caveats.
And instead of the usual, I'll only come if you give me millions in tax breaks like other companies, they help rebuild the city.

I know dream on.

 

I don't think big business will help this time. Why would a company relocate to Detroit when you could relocate to Atlanta, Houston, Vegas, etc...? Housing is cheap, but there are bigger problems going on.

I am not an expert on Detroit, and I haven't been keeping up with what is going on there outside of the bicycling and gardening developments. I haven't really watched any of the documentaries on Detroit either. DETROPIA

But, we need to figure out what happened. And how to fix it. The issue is that some good people might get hurt by losing jobs or homes, some social programs might have to change, maybe get the county to put a tax on gasoline to bring back some revenue for the city from the suburbs, figure out a pension plan for police and firemen. They need to clean up the gang image. They need some immigrants where they will get quick approval, but have to live in Detroit for at least 6-10 years. They need to come up with a new building code for a 21st century Detroit home. The education system will need a complete overhaul, with a focus on how each individual child learns best and excels at what they are good at. There is plenty to do, just someone has to do the boring task of analyzing what helped turn other cities around, and what it would take to do the same thing in Detroit.

 

Relevant: 21 Pictures That Capture The Powerful Resilience Of Detroit

 

I believe in labor unions, but only to a certain extent because they can become their own, and hence the workers, worst enemy.

Many years back, perhaps three/four decades, one of the big three (See what I did there?) networks did a piece on an autoworker whose performed one job only on the assembly line--I can't recall with auto company--while wearing a suit. He made about $19.00 an hour.

There were other reports about the union wages paid to autoworkers. A person who tightened down lug nuts made $15.00 an hour.

For reference, during the same time period, I worked as a machine operator (not to be confused with being a machinist) for a major/leading oil field equipment company. Some of the parts that I machined required many tolerances about 1/2 the thickness of a human hair. I was in a union and made about $12.00 an hour.

 

...

 

Damn just four years.
And I'm willing to bet a bank owns those houses.

 

and are willing to sell them cheap

 

Reading a book about Detroit (Mark Binelli, Detroit City Is The Place To Be). Some great passages.