Detroit Area Businesses to Come to City's Rescue

[mini me]

Detroit now has an emergency financial manager in place. As such, the Detroit City Council, where any positive ideas or thoughtful discourse goes to die, has been marginalized.

It should be no surprise that coincident with the appointment of the emergency manager and with the city council pushed to one side, city business leaders are now stepping in to do what they can to assist the city. The current plan includes getting more emergency vehicles - police, fire, EMS - back on the city streets.

http://www.freep.com/article/2013032...o-help-Detroit

Nice to see these businesses stepping up now that the problem children in the city council have been side-stepped.

[ebacon]

Do you live in Detroit?

[icenine]

What about the total disregard of the Detroit voter, who placed the local government in charge of their city? I see this as disenfranchisement.

[ebacon]

Detoit has way bigger problems than just getting some shiny new cop cars. This is just frosting on the shit cake.

[mini me]

Originally Posted by ebacon

Do you live in Detroit?

Western suburbs

[mini me]

Originally Posted by icenine

What about the total disregard of the Detroit voter, who placed the local government in charge of their city? I see this as disenfranchisement.

Its the total disregard for the well-being of the Detroit voter by the local government that resulted in the appointment of an emergency manager. What's more, the voters in the city - most of them - know it.

Maybe you've missed the on-going stories of corruption and looting of the city by the former mayor, bureaucrats reporting to the mayor, and members of city council.

[JBS...]

Originally Posted by icenine

What about the total disregard of the Detroit voter, who placed the local government in charge of their city? I see this as disenfranchisement.

What ever...

What about using Reconciliation to pass a health care law. Dosen't that disenfranchise Senators & those that they represent.

[piece-itpete]

Originally Posted by mini me

..., the Detroit City Council, where any positive ideas or thoughtful discourse goes to die, .....

ROTFLMAO!!

Pete

[ebacon]

Detroit's biggest problem is that it does not have large enough of a middle class population. That, and half of it is vacant.

Since the 1970s the middle class population has been developing farmland that surrounded Detroit. That process leaves the city core empty while at the same time burdened with legacy costs for infrastructure (which now serves the new suburbs). It is a known phenomon called "donut-holing" or "ringing" and it is enabled by poor planning and easy credit in the suburbs.

There is one businessman in Detroit that is trying to address the problem. He has a program called Hantz Farms. In a nutshell his plan "was" to reclaim the donut hole and turn it back into productive farmland. He ran into a problem with Detroit City Council due to a law from the 1980s. In general it says that existing farmland within the city limits cannot be destroyed. The issue then, if he converts the donut hole into farmland, is that he cannot easily develop it later. Once it is designated as farmland it is caught in legal quagmire.

The next best use, and the one I think they settled on, is basically park land. The legal construction is something to the effect of experimental use, which allows them to redevelop the land if people move back into the city limit.

http://www.hantzfarmsdetroit.com/

[icenine]

Originally Posted by JBS...

What ever...

What about using Reconciliation to pass a health care law. Dosen't that disenfranchise Senators & those that they represent.

Reconcilation was necessary so the low information voter will have access to the cheaper health insurance exchanges that will be set up next year. Hopefully you can save money and be covered, thus reducing the exorbitant premiums those with with coverage face now.