Thread: Detroit....

Originally Posted by alexm

Come on, guys. If you want to talk about debt politics, that's one issue, but that's not what killed Detroit. It's been a one-industry city for decades, and that industry hasn't exactly been thriving lately (2008, anyone?). More importantly, "Since 2000, Detroit’s population has declined 26 percent. There are now just 706,000 people in the city, way down from 1.85 million during its industrial heyday in 1950." So the city was built for a population more than twice as large as its current one - and that shrinking means that there is a lot of infrastructure & debts such as pension promises in place that can't be funded by the current tax base. It's pretty simple.


Detroit just filed for bankruptcy. Here’s how it got there.

That part IS simple. The real debate is in how and why that industry began to fail, how and why the population shrank, and if those pension promises were a good idea. The debate comes down to the issues of government, unions, and global competition. For disaster like this, there is usually more than one element in play that creates the perfect storm.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

The real debate is in how and why that industry began to fail, how and why the population shrank, and if those pension promises were a good idea.

Josh Barro has some smart things to say about pensions:

What Congress Must Do To Prevent Future Detroits - Business Insider

Oh NOOOO! They are the worst solution to any problem. Solution, cut checks when people leave their employment, fully funded out the door including their health care for life, liability ends when they leave their jobs. . Oh! you cant afford it you say? I say yes you cant afford it. Then work out a number that you CAN afford. At that point they can take the option of buying their own annuity from an insurance company. Whatever it is , it is. No more voodoo economics no more taxes on the unborn.

For all the decades that Detroit has struggled, they picked this year to "flush" their debt, a coincidence??, I think not.
Detroit has learned, "Never let a disaster go to waist."

Originally Posted by Hirlau

For all the decades that Detroit has struggled, they picked this year to "flush" their debt, a coincidence??, I think not.
Detroit has learned, "Never let a disaster go to waist."

What's so special about this year? I don't understand what you're getting at. Is there something going on in Michigan?

Originally Posted by Hirlau

For all the decades that Detroit has struggled, they picked this year to "flush" their debt, a coincidence??, I think not.
Detroit has learned, "Never let a disaster go to waist."

"A waist is a terrible thing to mind."

Our mothers tought us we cannot spend money we don't have. Politicians tell us Mum was wrong and that's why we keep giving them our votes. As always Mum was right and the politicians get it wrong as the citizens of Detroit, Greece and other southern European countries are now experiencing the hard way.

“We refused to throw in the towel and do nothing. We refused to let Detroit go bankrupt. We bet on American workers and American ingenuity, and three years later, that bet is paying off in a big way.”

-- President Obama in his weekly address, Oct. 13, 2012.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

“We refused to throw in the towel and do nothing. We refused to let Detroit go bankrupt. We bet on American workers and American ingenuity, and three years later, that bet is paying off in a big way.”

-- President Obama in his weekly address, Oct. 13, 2012.

I didn't want to be the one to put that out there as my posts can be a lightning rod as it is. And in the next few weeks you'll see some of us trying to explain this forest while others debate the existence of trees.

He was more talking about GM and Chrysler but it makes for a good statement/sound bite