Detroit Files for Bankruptcy

Look man, you got to pick your battles and defending Detroit is not a good battle. I am really not exaggerating when I say that Detroit is pretty much a case study on near EVERYTHING one SHOULD NOT do.

The income tax wasn't instituted to pay off pension obligations, those would continue to mount for another 40 years. The income was put in as social justice issue. Tax the rich to pay to rebuild the poor areas destroyed in the riots.

As for pensions, the first step to get out of hole is stop digging. Washington also had a VERY generous and unsustainable pension system for public employees (PERS 1). Thankfully it was closed in 1977 replaced by PERS 2. We're now 4th best in the nation in terms of pension viability. We have enough current assets right now to pay 93% of all future liabilities (of current employees obviously).

http://www.tre.wa.gov/documents/pensionFundingReform13.pdf

I haven't disagreed with the fact that Detroit is a case study in what shouldn't be done. I am disagreeing with the two dimensional nonsense being spewed about it being a "liberal problem" as it isn't even remotely that. In short, I'm trying to educate people on the complexity of the problems which lead to the current state of affairs even if some people really don't care and instead want to continue to pretend it is a binary world.

We all know why this happened.

Nobody is addressing the big fat gorilla in the room.

Look, as well-merited as it would be, this bankruptcy is not God's punishment for the Aztek.

I'm pretty sure, anyway.

I wouldn't rule that out. I know God doesn't usually get involved in aesthetic matters, but a car that ugly should be enough to earn a smiting from anyone.

For a few years there, Toyota was making some really good Tacoma trucks, but the grills on them were just butt-ugly, which caused God to smite Japan with the tsunami.

Anna disagrees!
Ancalagon disagrees!


Truth hurts? That MONKEYS destroyed Detroit?

Ancalagon disagrees!

Go ahead. Refute me.

But you already know your sorry ass stupid pathetic reasons cannot.

It's good to see Megatron back and making friends again.

Its good to be back.

"Ancalagon disagrees!"

VERY good to be back.

I'm impressed by the way Muad and Volpone can debase themselves by agreeing with Tasvir, all in the name of making an invalid point about rep rules.

Hey, somebody wants to have their name show up as "agreeing" with that swill, that's their business...

You're surprised that Maud is a agreeing with a racist piece of shit like Tas?!?

I'm sure your status as a Confederate apologist had nothing to do with that statement.

What apologist?

It's nice that when it comes to this issue Dems don't want to politicize it. Almost makes you forget the last five years they'be spent pointing fingers at George W. Bush. Almost.

Oops...Guess it is okay to politicize it once you find the right angle....

So, when we we break ground on Delta City?

Even if you're a liberal, how can you take Ed Schultz seriously? Is he really saying that Detroit's problem is that there's too little government there? Is there any employed person left in the city who isn't either on the public payroll or working for a health care company to administer benefits to a retiree of the public sector?

Anyhoo, I think Detroit's situation offers a number of lessons we should take to heart:

1. Strict controls must be maintained on the growth of the public sector and taxes must be collected commensurately, lest the government find itself in the very difficult situation of having long-term obligations without means to pay them.

2. Taxes based on social justice are likely to backfire when the wealthier people they target simply move away. Taxpayers might stomach higher taxation if they perceive the environment the city creates is worthwhile. But if it's punishment? Yeah, good luck with that.

3. Your city must attract businesses, not repel them.

4. When you reach the point where your city has difficulty maintaining very basic public services, it is well past time for substantial reform. I heard that 40% of Detroit's streetlights are not working. Streetlights have been a reliable service in most cities for almost 100 years; they're not a difficult or expensive technology to maintain.

The fuck?

I've heard people argue that Detroit has too much privatization and de-investment in government NOW, but that's just in the past few years. Detroit has been a test ground for every liberal economic policy imaginable to be amplified to the nth degree.

Calling a Spade a Spade isn't racist.

Just like calling you a lower middle class Bokchodd without any life isn't wrong.

At all.

A much more interesting fix to this problem would be for us (As in Canada) to just buy Detroit and make it our own.

Should Canada buy Detroit

Interesting post with some good links.

http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/jim-russell/165936/pittsburgh-booming?

Federal Judge has told the state judge to fuck off. Bankruptcy is back on.

So, Detroit can restructure? Wonder how that is going to jive with Michigan's retarded protection of pensions in its constitution.

The cynic in me is convinced no substantive changes are going to happen and overpaid union workers and their retired slug counterparts are going to continue bleeding Detroit dry. And even if a miracle happened and pensions were threatened, Saint Barry would fly by on a hopey-changey cloud and air drop in some gub'mint cheese packages.

Seems clear to my inner cynic that the Ripley Solution (tm) is the only way to clean this mess.

In watching this entire thing with fascination because I live in Memphis. Detroit is like our Damn Yankee older brother, and I feel like knowing its medical history would be helpful.