An eloquent proposal for solving the problems in Detroit

To whit: "git off yo' ass."


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Detroit, a case study in collapse

Apparently, Detroit is in worse shape than previously thought.

We’ve been collecting operating deficits at about $18 million to $20 million a year. That’s nobody’s fault

, I think, frankly, the mayor and the council has done the best they can with what they have. The city has probably cut as much as it can cut to the bone now, and so its been trying to operate on the basis of borrowing short-term loans all the time,” he said. No one's fault? Surely it's someone's fault.

 

The answer to Detroit?  Send camera crews and watch it burn on  TV. 

What's the Hurry? (Detroit, a case study in Collapse)

What's the hurry, indeed...

"What is the hurry?" Councilwoman Brenda Jones asked Mayor Dave Bing's administration.
The hurry, some council members noted, is a Thursday deadline for Gov. Rick Snyder to approve a consent agreement, appoint an emergency manager or declare there is no fiscal crisis in the debt-riddled city.

Why should you bother to meet a deadline that might, but probably won't can't, save your city from collapse?  After all, isn't financial responsibility racist?

The board would be tasked with consolidating departments, and more, to help the city survive financially. City Council members and residents have loudly protested the consent agreement, with some saying it’s racist and others saying it strips residents of their right to have decisions made by their own democratically elected leaders.

Remember, it's not the absolute numbers that matter in a decline, but the rate of change. Detroit over the last Thirty years has shown how quickly a strong, useful, and prosperous city can be ruined.  It was bad in the eighties and worse in the nineties, but the last five years have been similar to the startling effects of compound interest.

"This is white-on-black crime," community activist Minister Malik Shabazz said during public comment. "This is white supremacy. Before you can take over our city, we will burn it."

Yeah, I know you will.  Dumbass.

It's like this, but with Imagine Malik Shabazz as Homer.  And also Detroit as Homer.  Okay, it's really nothing like this, but it's been a long time since I've updated this thing and I don't have any appropriate pictures.  Sue me.

*Now that we've moved back to twelve hour days, I may be able to actually keep up with this blog. Eight hours is not enough to actually do my real (paid) job AND keep up with the collapse.