Is there any possible outcome for Detroit that isn't a disaster?

Government clearly cannot pay their way out of this. Business's returning is the only way out but with a workforce that's uneducated and addicted to government handouts, how in the world can enough business's start up to the level needed to initiate a recover?

I can't think of a situation in the US like this ever before. We are literally going to "lose" a major US city.

While we keep sending billions overseas.

Jog I agree with you about Ron Paul. I know his son is not his father but if he runs I will vote for him. All the Pubs run last time were complete idiots and Rand is no idiot. I definitely don't want Hillary running the country.

Warning to all police, firefighters, schoolteachers: Most government pensions to be confiscated within a decade
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(NaturalNews) Last week, Detroit declared bankruptcy, becoming the largest city in U.S. history to take such drastic action in the face of financial insolvency. A declaration of bankruptcy isn't what most people think it is, though: it's not just a statement of "we're broke!" It's actually a way for the city to clear its slate of all financial obligations and not pay the retirees it owes.

What are the largest financial obligations the city facing? Pensions. $3.5 billion worth of pensions, to be exact.

Yes, Detroit owes former government employees -- teachers, firefighters, cops and more -- a whopping $3.5 billion in current and future payments. Except Detroit doesn't have $3.5 billion to pay the pensions. The city is in a state of economic collapse. Remember, the U.S. government used billions in taxpayer money to help General Motors move its manufacturing offshore to countries like China. As a result of economically-insane actions and criminal mismanagement, a city that used to be the hub of industrial output in America has become a ghost town of abandoned buildings, crumbling infrastructure and financial destitution.

But even as all this was becoming apparent, the government workers there continued to collect fat paychecks and pensions, all based on the promise that endless population growth would out-pace the rise in pension obligations. Many pensioners are owed over $100,000 a year from the government, and this is true across California, Illinois and many other states as well.

Chicago, for example, owes $19 billion in pension payments that it doesn't have, and the city of Los Angeles is more than $30 billion in the hole. The story is much the same in every major U.S. city.

As the Detroit Free Press now reports:

Early this year, the Pew Center released a survey showing that 61 of the nation's largest cities -- limiting the survey to the largest city in each state and all other cities with more than 500,000 people -- had a gap of more than $217 billion in unfunded pension and health care liabilities. While cities had long promised health care, life insurance and other benefits to retirees, "few ... started saving to cover the long-term costs," the report sai

"Is there any possible outcome for Detroit that isn't a disaster"?WM

130 miles south of me is Detroit USA...Motown. The motor city, the automotive capitol of the world, the only city in America where you go directly south into Canada... And it's not what you think it is. It's a great city USA.

************************************************************************
By Mitch Albom

Detroit Free Press Columnist
Dear America,

Yeah, we’re broke.

But we got up this morning.

Yeah, we’re broke.

But we woke the kids. We went to church.

Yeah, we’re broke.

But we ate breakfast. We cleaned the plates. We called friends. We lit the grill.

Yeah, we’re broke.

But we carry on.

Yeah, we’re broke. But we saw it coming. We’ve had an outsider (a Republican stooge from the Gov's office) in charge for the last four months. His background is bankruptcy. The first word of his job title is “emergency.”

Yeah, we’re broke; we’re not naïve. We know it. We expected it. We watched for years as our leaders mismanaged funds, made patchwork repairs, borrowed and borrowed and didn’t pay back.

Does that sound familiar? Hasn’t our federal government done the same?

Yeah, we’re broke.

But we’re not the first — or the last.

Yeah, we’re broke.

It was the perfect storm. We’re built for 2 million. We’re down to 700,000 people. We’re too big for our numbers. We’re too small for our britches.

Yeah, we’re broke. Our city grew on automotive explosiveness and shrunk on economic implosion. Manufacturing died or was sent away. Jobs dried up. So did tax revenue. Our pension funds teetered; when the big recession hit, they fell over. Other cities suffered similar fates. We just took it harder.

Yeah, we’re broke.

But we’re not some national joke. We didn’t “have it coming.” What happened to us nearly happened to New York City — the great New York City — 38 years ago. Our No. 1 ranking on Forbes’ “Most Miserable Cities” list might sting, but Chicago is listed as No. 4 and Modesto, Calif. — home of “American Graffiti” — was No. 5, which means misery is equally scattered across this nation.

Yeah, we’re broke.

But we’re uniquely built to handle it. We don’t give up. We don’t start crying. Some had us buried when the auto industry nearly sank four years ago.

It’s still here. So are we.

Yeah, we’re broke. But there’s a lot of people out there filing Chapter 11, Chapter 7, Chapter 13, a lot of people having their houses yanked away, their life savings depleted, their companies shuttered.

Yeah, we’re broke.

How’s your city doing?

Or your bank account?

Yeah, we’re broke.

But it’s not who we are. It’s not our first name. We’ve been “Burning Detroit” and “Rust Belt Detroit" "and snow belt Detroit” and “Unemployed Detroit” and “Abandoned Detroit” and “Racially Divided Detroit.” We’re not any of those.

We’re not “Bankrupt Detroit,” either.

What we are is a city of dogged citizens, all races, all ages, who still work, pay our bills and take care of our responsibilities — even if our leaders don’t do the same.

What we are is a city whose kids want to stay here and live downtown, whose business folks refurbish office buildings and build new stadiums, whose volunteers board up rotting houses and beautify decaying neighborhoods, because beneath the bad news, we still believe in green shoots of a good future.

What we are is a city of Americans who trusted Americans would buy American cars, trusted our elected officials would look out for us, trusted the U.S. economy could withstand anything.

If we were guilty of anything, it’s putting our trust in the wrong places.

Which — in this housing crisis, government secrets, Wall Street-wins era — makes us pretty typical, doesn’t it?

Yeah, we’re broke.

But we’re no different than you. Just maybe geographically unluckier. Cities rely on many things: industry, taxes, labor forces, local leadership. Those things may have collapsed under the weight of decades here, but we, the citizens of Detroit, have not. We still get up, go to work, kiss the kids, believe tomorrow could be better.

We still call this place home. Proudly.

Yeah, we’re broke.

But we’re not broken.

And if you know anything about us, you know this: We’re not going anywhere

Detroit is viable property for the privately run prison with the guaranteed capacity we've been hearing so much about.

Anyone watch Boondocks? Or ever watch The Shield?


--Steve

WebsterMark wrote on 07/22/13 at 07:02:47:


That movie was a classic ... no way Detroit ever gonna turn that cool ...
Now Escape from LA is more like it ...

BTW large swaths of detroit needs to be levelled and planted with forest.
Its a city with the population of charlotte, that will fit manhattan, boston and San francisco. Leave it as 3-4-5 burgs and a center and raze the rest and turn to a forest. Run trains across from the 4-5 spokes to the center and forget about it. Have a loop connecting all of those and it can be 5-6 small towns in a circle round "detroit".

Detroit was a worthless city in the mid 90's when it was supposedly in its hey day.

Cool.
Srinath.

My immediate prediction is more anarchy than civilized prisoners.

Anyway, there was an episode of Boondocks and the main idea of one of the season's of The Shield where people in power tried to drive surrounding property values down to purchase the land cheap with the idea of rejuvenating the area afterwards.
Buy cheap = win.
Rejuvenate the town and look like a hero = win
Make money = win.

Not saying this is the case. I think Detroit was already too much of a nuts show. But it's going to be interesting to see how it pans out. Especially if someone gets "government grant money" to buy land in Detroit under what will eventually be realized as false pretenses.


--Steve