It would no doubt be controversial, but the idea of dissolving the fiscally struggling city of Detroit and absorbing it into Wayne County is being tossed around in Lansing.
Then again, what does one do with Detroit? It’s probably – almost certainly – the largest utterly failed city in American history: large portions of it have already been abandoned. Would it perhaps make sense to shut down the rest and relocate as much of the population that wishes to leave? I honestly don’t know at this point.
What is happening in Detroit Metro and Wayne County is likely to happen where I live too in a few years. THe County and City are trying to put as much cost as possible onto the back of suburbs to prop up the city.
They forced a merger of city-county school systems. The other municipalities (munis) were able to get a law passed in TN legislature to allow us to have our own muni school district. Citizens voted overwhelmingly to support it, but the County sued it’s own people over the law and the muni districts won’t happen.
They are forcing county students into a school system that has aptitude in math and reading for grades 3-8 in the 27-28% range.
County and City officials have accused munis of racism. It is about performance and management. THere is nothing quite like sitting in a county meeting hearing government officials subtly accuse you of racism to make you really angry.
It may be that I’ll have to home school my kids so the RNC can skip my house next election when looking for cash.
Same thing’s going on in Alabama, earlgrey.
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Illinois has some far worse examples, including that State (and Fed) money flows into the Regional Transit Authority, and while the RTA is supposed to fund the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra (light rail), and Pace (suburban bus service) .. somehow, most of the money – tax dollars from Peoria farmers, mind – flows to the CTA while Metra fares are pegged to stay below the cost of driving, but not by much.
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Mew
thanks acat. I was really angry when I wrote that comment. I just am so sick of people claiming they have some kind of moral highground and then do nasty things like use race to divide a community and deprive my kid of a decent education.
I am curious though, what it will take for suburbanites to get involved. Is that some kind of side-effect of living in the suburbs? You don’t get involved. Because the progressives are gunning for the suburbs.
I wonder what the turnout will be in suburbs in future elections. Or if people are content to sit back and let someone take over their lives.
It also makes me sick to go to planning meeting and having wealthy property owners arguing against the property rights of others because they like things to “look pretty”.
I would support dissolving Detroit, break it up, break it all up and restart with cantonments(i.e., Fort up).
Breaking up of Detroit should then be used as a symbol by conservatives of liberalims gone awry. Somehow though libs will blame it on Bush or at least repubicans. Nothing they do is every wrong.
Nuke it from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
(Cue accusations of racism in 3, 2, 1…)
I’ll know Detroit is serious about fixing itself when they start using eminent domain to forcibly relocate the one or two people living in houses on an otherwise abandoned street, then bulldoze the whole street back to farmland.
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Until then, they’re just posturing to get more money out of the State to keep the rot going unchanged.
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Mew
You’ve inspired a thought in me, acat. For all the people looking to move to New Hampshire [Free State Project], or to start a new nation (or transnational business concern) on the open ocean [seasteaders], or other similar brands of libertarian activist/dreamers…here’s a new option. Move to Detroit. Take over (I mean “purchase,” not “occupy”) a few streets that the civic authorities have basically abandoned. Provide your own security, run your own businesses and services, and rebuild Detroit a block at a time. It’s like the Free State Project, only within a city, and with less initial resistance from the people. It’s like seasteading, only with all the benefits of being on land and having a ready-built infrastructure. And it’s like a post-zombie-apocalypse survival scenario, only…no, wait. It’s EXACTLY like that.
Assume for the moment that there is the political will to dissolve Detroit back into Wayne County, both within and without the city. Wayne County wouldn’t have to absorb Detroit’s debts as part of the deal, since the city would no doubt have declared bankruptcy. And they’d still have the same tax base. It still wouldn’t matter, because the same people who helped cause and/or accelerate the death of Detroit would be there too. It seems to me as though we have only two choices — either 1) we can relocate Detroit’s entire political class to a place where they won’t be able to hurt their communities and states nearly as much [say, Manchester NH or Anchorage AL], or 2) we can change Detroit’s name to Gotham, and then watch the coming chaos with the knowledge that at least the name now suits the situation.
Would not matter much. Wayne county is already corrupted and fraught with its own legal problems. Plus mixing Detroit with Dearbonistan could be dangerous for the entire SE MI region
Step 1: Sweet, cleansing fire.
Step 2: Fleet of bulldozers to crush any debris that looks at you funny.
Step 3: More sweet, cleansing fire.
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After the dust settles and the sky stops burning, make it clear that rebuilding the city has the condition that they have to act like a first world city. Those who don’t want to cooperate are given the option of relocating or being subjected to steps 1-3.
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Hm. I think I see why I have no future in politics.
Indeed. Although if you subtle your plan up some, you could apply to the League of Shadows. 🙂
Can we just give it to Canada?