Detroit reminds me of a famous movie

First, Detroit has no economic diversity. All its eggs are in one basket - automotive, and it's been like that for years.

Second, the riots in the 60's left a huge racial divide between whites and blacks, that continues - de facto - to this day, unfortunately.

Thirdly, the city is in a major, major downturn. Unemployment is through the roof. Structural decay is clearly evident. Why our federal government doesn't invest in reviving some of these rust belt cities like Detroit is hard to understand.

Movies? What a joke. What Detroit needs is a robust manufacturing comeback. If that means greener and cleaner cars, fine. Just produce something of value, and put people back to work for goodness sake. People working would have a major impact on the city.

CM I am inclined to think that Detroiters need to learn to take care of themselves and not wait for someone in government to bail them out. They need to take responsibility themselves for digging their way of the mess they are in.

Detroiters - the blue collar auto workers that work on the line, in particular - are very hard-working and industrious folks. They don't need or want a handout. At the white collar level, we have a lot of engineers, and computer science folks here, too - and they aren't slouches either.

Detroit is and always has been an auto manufacturing town. It's a rough and tumble kind of town.

Unfortunately, one person cannot fight market forces that are much, much larger than just a single individual. When your whole town is crumbling around you, it's not any one individual's fault - It's just the reality of how things are right now.

You have very, very talented, well-educated auto workers and engineers that lose their jobs not due to anything that was their own fault - It's the nature of the auto industry right now.

Having said that, I get the impression that the governor is doing a lot of work trying to diversify and bring in green businesses. That is the right approach. Become less dependent on the multi national companies who really have no allegiance to anyone anymore except their trustees.

With all due respect to the governor, her bottom-line results have been abysmal. By any measure, she has done very little to bring good, high-paying jobs to the state of Michigan. It's actually quite comical, unfortunately. People need jobs. They need income to live. The clowns in Lansing haven't got a clue about how to bring jobs to Michigan. It's really a pathetic state of affairs. Well-meaning people - sure - as I believe the governor is well-meaning - But being well-meaning doesn't pay the bills and put bread on the table. The antiquated tax structure, and the wacky restrictions that they have placed on start-up manufacturers in this state can be directly attributed to our lousy Michigan economy. Our politicians in Lansing haven't got a clue - It's so sad.

We need to shift the tax burden from income to imports. Eliminate the income tax and increase tariffs by 100% or more. That will bring some jobs back to America.

The answer is quite simple. But America is owned by european banksters now, so it will never happen.

The stench of poverty and death is going to spread across America. These are sad times we live in, truly sad times.

Originally posted by EMPIRE
The stench of poverty and death is going to spread across America. These are sad times we live in, truly sad times.

indeed, Detroit is America's increasingly near future

It's a sad statement, but it is very true, unfortunately. I don't see things getting any better in Detroit, or in a good portion of our country for the near-term. Too much unemployment, too few good-paying jobs, the demise of manufacturing in this country (we don't make much of anything anymore), our record deficits, our insane bailouts of Wall Street... I could go on and on. I am ready to move to a deserted island, lol.

Originally posted by CookieMonster09
(we don't make much of anything anymore), our record deficits, our insane bailouts of Wall Street... I could go on and on. I am ready to move to a deserted island, lol.

Wall street has become the current scape goat, but it's not their fault beyond the fact that most of the financial big wigs are morally bankrupt and only self interested.

The fault lies squarely on congress and their handlers. It was congress who created Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and then it was congress that refused to pass legislation to curb the excess even when offered to do so by a Republican minority.

Our debt precisely equals the amount of money squandered to fight the bottomless pit of poverty. No human agency can remove poverty, it's a spiritual curse.


Finally it was the Federal Reserve that monetized the debt and then artificially froze credit via overnight loans to precipitate the financial collapse. We're being played and sucked dry just like any other third world IMF client.

Just look at who got paid the bailout money. The foreign bank creditors of the recipient banks thats who.