Detroit files for Bankruptcy

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edwest2

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money.cnn.com/2013/07/18/news/economy/detroit-bankruptcy/

The writing was on the wall years ago when unnamed entities began buying parcels of land around the Masonic Temple in the downtown area. One property owner was paid an outrageous sum for a house but was sworn to secrecy regarding who bought it. The same mystery surrounded the purchase of an abandoned hotel in a neighborhood where the average yearly income was very low. Speculation was that a new stadium will be built there and the current news says that’s the plan. Meanwhile, the city of Detroit is for sale. All assets are up for grabs and the wealthy should be swooping in soon to get whatever is of value to them for pennies on the dollar.

Sad. I was a resident until 2003.

Peace,
Ed
 
Sad, but inevitable.

I hope all goes smoothly but I’m afraid it won’t.
 
I find this very sad. I am originally from Lansing and have visited Detroit several times. I know people who live in the Detroit suburbs. My prayers are with the people who will be affected, especially those with pensions.
 
shockerfan said:
The only time ahead is contemplation on the fruits of voting for incompetent leaders
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That’s certainly not the only culprit. The tax base has cut in half, and the city is on the hook for pensions for tens of thousands of workers. All of these pensions have been being paid in full, while city services fall apart and property taxes go up. Not a recipe for growth.
 
I predict the wealthy will simply walk in and pay a little to get a lot. Detroit will continue but only in the direction they want it to go. Detroit will make a comeback but only on their terms. Everyone in charge of anything in Detroit will have new masters now.

In the past, a number of plans were designed to revitalize Detroit but none of them went through. I suspect the reason was money. The wealthy like to buy low and sell high. Not pay going retail rates.

Peace,
Ed
 
That news has me wondering. Are the Catholic parishes in Detroit doing ok?
 
mexolic said:
That news has me wondering. Are the Catholic parishes in Detroit doing ok?
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Not really. Most of them spend much of their money paying heating bills, and have few resources for outreach. The Archdiocese has sunk a lot of many into sustaining unsustainable parishes, unfortunately. I’m sure it seemed like mercy at the time.

It’s a sad situation.
 
Detroit has so many issues. Its so sad. I live in a suburb of detroit, and when they say ruins of detroit they really mean it. If you are ever near there, check out some of the churches. Sweetest heart of mary is phenomenal, as well as st. Josaphat and st. Josephs. These three are in the inner city and are almost in walking distance from eachother, in the east side. Although i wouldnt reccomend it. St. Annes in mexican village and old st. Marys in greektown are breathtaking as well
 
Prodigal_Son said:
That’s certainly not the only culprit. The tax base has cut in half, and the city is on the hook for pensions for tens of thousands of workers. All of these pensions have been being paid in full, while city services fall apart and property taxes go up. Not a recipe for growth.
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Not even that, the pension programs were substantially underfunded.
 
arcangel49 said:
Detroit has so many issues. Its so sad. I live in a suburb of detroit, and when they say ruins of detroit they really mean it. If you are ever near there, check out some of the churches. Sweetest heart of mary is phenomenal, as well as st. Josaphat and st. Josephs. These three are in the inner city and are almost in walking distance from eachother, in the east side. Although i wouldnt reccomend it. St. Annes in mexican village and old st. Marys in greektown are breathtaking as well
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You just named two of my favorite parishes, St. Annes ( where my grandmother used to go to church) and Sweetest Heart.

I’m a little more partial to SS Peter and Paul than Old St. Mary’s though 😉
 
I watched Detroit gradually fall into a planned collapse. Nobody noticed shrinking tax revenues for decades? Don’t buy it. Not for a second. What was the purpose of the People Freaker… uh, Mover? To take people where?

Take a drive down Jefferson Avenue. It looks like the area was carpet bombed, but, 100 feet later, Grosse Pointe. Large homes and even larger homes, flowers, people walking their dogs and wooden - that’s right - wooden street signs.

I hope someone writes a book about Detroit and its planned demolition. Oh, things will still look the same from the outside and the arson and stripping of valuable material from abandoned homes and buildings will continue. But the Detroit Medical Center was recently picked up by a new owner.

Something’s not right.

Peace,
Ed
 
Prodigal_Son said:
That’s certainly not the only culprit. The tax base has cut in half, and the city is on the hook for pensions for tens of thousands of workers. All of these pensions have been being paid in full, while city services fall apart and property taxes go up. Not a recipe for growth.
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When the tax base was cut in half, did the elected leaders reduce spending proportionally? As far as the pensions go, the elected leaders negotiated those pensions that were unsustainable.

Agree that its a mess, but sometime ago leaders needed to make tough decisions in order to ensure future financial solvency. They were not up to the task.
 
shockerfan said:
When the tax base was cut in half, did the elected leaders reduce spending proportionally? As far as the pensions go, the elected leaders negotiated those pensions that were unsustainable.

Agree that its a mess, but sometime ago leaders needed to make tough decisions in order to ensure future financial solvency. They were not up to the task.
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I agree there was incompetence. But downsizing a sprawling city like Detroit is awfully hard. And leaders have been hamstrung by the decisions of previous leaders.

Moreover, investors fled the city in droves, so that all the citizens go outside the city to shop. It’s easy to sit in an armchair and judge, but the incompetence in city hall is not only a cause, it is an effect, of the city’s troubles.
 
Prodigal_Son said:
I agree there was incompetence. But downsizing a sprawling city like Detroit is awfully hard. And leaders have been hamstrung by the decisions of previous leaders.

Moreover, investors fled the city in droves, so that all the citizens go outside the city to shop. It’s easy to sit in an armchair and judge, but the incompetence in city hall is not only a cause, it is an effect, of the city’s troubles.
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I absolutely agree that its easy where I sit, but at the end of the day, you cannot sustain any entity that spends more than it takes in. You play the hand you’re dealt.
 
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