Turns out it wasn’t the bankers after all. It wasn’t the auto makers either. Or the Republicans.
Detroit Free Press:
How Detroit went broke: The answers may surprise you – and don’t blame Coleman Young
Detroit is broke, but it didn’t have to be. An in-depth Free Press analysis of the city’s financial history back to the 1950s shows that its elected officials and others charged with managing its finances repeatedly failed — or refused — to make the tough economic and political decisions that might have saved the city from financial ruin.
Instead, amid a huge exodus of residents, plummeting tax revenues and skyrocketing home abandonment, Detroit’s leaders engaged in a billion-dollar borrowing binge, created new taxes and failed to cut expenses when they needed to. Simultaneously, they gifted workers and retirees with generous bonuses. And under pressure from unions and, sometimes, arbitrators, they failed to cut health care benefits — saddling the city with staggering costs that today threaten the safety and quality of life of people who live here.
The numbers, most from records deeply buried in the public library, lay waste to misconceptions about the roots of Detroit’s economic crisis. For critics who want to blame Mayor Coleman Young for starting this mess, think again. The mayor’s sometimes fiery rhetoric may have contributed to metro Detroit’s racial divide, but he was an astute money manager who recognized, early on, the challenges the city faced and began slashing staff and spending to address them.
And Wall Street types who applauded Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s financial acumen following his 2005 deal to restructure city pension debt should consider this: The numbers prove that his plan devastated the city’s finances and was a key factor that drove Detroit to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in July.
The State of Michigan also bears some blame. Lansing politicians reduced Detroit’s state-shared revenue by 48% from 1998 to 2012, withholding $172 million from the city, according to state records.
Decades of mismanagement added to Detroit’s fiscal woes. The city notoriously bungled multiple federal aid programs and overpaid outrageously to incentivize projects such as the Chrysler Jefferson North plant. Bureaucracy bogged down even the simplest deals and contracts. In a city that needed urgency, major city functions often seemed rudderless.
When all the numbers are crunched, one fact is crystal clear: Yes, a disaster was looming for Detroit. But there were ample opportunities when decisive action by city leaders might have fended off bankruptcy.
If Mayors Jerome Cavanagh and Roman Gribbs had cut the workforce in the 1960s and early 1970s as the population and property values dropped. If Mayor Dennis Archer hadn’t added more than 1,100 employees in the 1990s when the city was flush but still losing population. If Kilpatrick had shown more fiscal discipline and not launched a borrowing spree to cover operating expenses that continued into Mayor Dave Bing’s tenure. Over five decades, there were many ‘if only’ moments.
“Detroit got into a trap of doing a lot of borrowing for cash flow purposes and then trying to figure out how to push costs (out) as much as possible,” said Bettie Buss, a former city budget staffer who spent years analyzing city finances for the nonpartisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan. “That was the whole culture — how do we get what we want and not pay for it until tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow?”
Ultimately, Detroit ended up with $18 billion to $20 billion in debt and unfunded pension and health care liabilities. Gov. Rick Snyder appointed bankruptcy attorney Kevyn Orr as the city’s emergency manager, and Orr filed for Chapter 9 on July 18.
There is a bunch more and you should go read it. I’ll wait for you.
All done? Good!
One more time:
“That was the whole culture — how do we get what we want and not pay for it until tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow?”
I used to be a big-government liberal. Now I am a Non-Affiliated Pragmatist (NAP). I don’t have a political ideology per se. I believe in certain concepts and values, like democracy, justice and liberty. But I’m not wedded to any one way of doing things. I am for whatever works.
We need some level of government. Reasonable people can disagree on how much we need or how it should be organized. But one thing I do believe in very strongly is TANSTAAFL – “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”
TANSTAAFL means that whatever amount of government we have we have to pay for. That’s all. A very simple concept. If you want big government you gotta pay for big government.
Starting around 1932 our federal government started getting big. Like Topsy, she just growed. And growed. Then in the Sixties she started growing even faster. It started becoming a crisis in the Seventies when voters began to rebel against high taxes. In 1980 we elected a guy named Ronald Reagan who promised to cut taxes and shrink the government.
But the voters (that’s us) had kinda got to liking big government. And they (we) still hated taxes. So the political opportunists and craven cowards in BOTH major parties came up with a solution called “deficit spending”.
Deficit spending is what happens when you give drunken sailors crackheads politicians a credit card.
What happened to Detroit is a microcosm of our federal government and many state governments (like California). Lots of local governments are in the same boat. For decades they pushed financial reckoning down the road.
In order to get around balanced budget laws they underfunded public employee pensions, then hid this fact by projecting unrealistically high returns on pension plan investments. But the politicians who made those decisions did not care because they weren’t going to be around when the fit hit the Shan.
Detroit crashed and burned first because it was also troubled with a declining population and a shrinking tax base. Several California cities went bankrupt because of the real estate crash which hit property tax revenues. There is also the Obama Recession which has greatly increased the need for social service spending. Last but certainly not least was the Obama Stimulus.
This is why OUR CURRENT NATIONAL DEBT IS MORE THAN SIXTEEN TRILLION DOLLARS!
I honestly don’t know how we’re gonna fix this mess. It took us decades to get here, and it will probably take even longer to get out. I don’t know about you but I don’t have more than 2-3 decades left. That means our kids and grandkids will be paying those debts.
As Mitt Romney said, that’s immoral.
Seems like an appropriate moment to review Republican accomplishments over the years as the press is great at distorting reality.
http://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2009/10/14/great-achievements-in-republican-history.html
No matter what good things the Republicans do, the Democrats get the credit, and no matter what bad things the Democrats do, the Republicans get the blame.
Wow, interesting snark and distortion. And their link to the original GOP page is broken. I’m shocked. I love the part where they say Democrats (soon to be Republicans)… No, actually many of those Democrats are still Democrats. They just turned their overt racism into more PC patronizing behavior and treating minorities as special who need taking care of, as long as they remain good little victims.
But I’m sure they really are concerned and have “good intentions”. Ha, just figured it out, the Dem party is the Concerned Troll party. Which I think means the Repub party is just the Idiot, head up their ass, party. Both spending like drunken sailors, not caring a lick about what happens. What could possibly go wrong.
Thoughtful. I would add, just for clarity, “if you want big government…..everyone has to pay something”. Goes hand in hand with TANSTAAFL.
Imagine if the government gave out welfare “loans” that had to be repaid. Just like student loans.
Nice but that’s stretching even my fluid imagination!
Decades ago, when I was going through a dry spell, that’s the way it was. We received public assistance for four months and then paid it back over two years.
I always liked Crowder’s Detroit video, pretty much shares the blame with the unions too.
NYT:
Kansas:
IMO, one of the reasons the bankers and the fed and the govt keep cooperating to blow stock market bubbles is because of this. People like to say its for the fatcats, and maybe partly so.
But most of the money in the stock market is not big traders’ money. It belongs to pensions and retirement plans. And if they don’t keep that bubble inflated, the political costs to them are astronomical.
Every damn one of them know that allowing the correction to occur earlier is better. That the longer it goes before it crashes, the further in the hole pensions get. But like Detroit, they go to extreme means. Means that in the long run make it worse on everyone. They do this for one simple reason: “We don’t have to face the wrath of the public today.”
Breaking: Shootings at the DC Navy Yard. I thought guns were banned in DC ?
http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/09/16/active-shooter-at-washington-navy-yard-reports-of-multiple-people-shot/
Are you trying to say that “tax more, spend more” is not a recipe for growing an economy?
*shocked face*
I didn’t say that. What I said was that “tax less, spend more” is a recipe for disaster.
the article did:
I should have included “borrow more” also.
I think increasing taxes is generally a bad thing. The govt needs to keep taxes low, figure out how to stay out of the market’s way so people can generate wealth through capitalism, and then the govt increases its revenue because it grows its tax base.
OT grumble
I seem to behave entered another “wake up with a sinus headache, feel better by around 5pm” cycle so I am very grumpy at the world.
Also the spousal unit is walking sick (on antibiotics for pharyngitis) which means I can’t really whine in real life.
So I’ll do it here/
whine whine whine
You want some cheese with that whine?
BTW – The proper cheese to go with box wine is Velveeta.
I’ll have some Pimiento Cheese Whiz 😀
awwww, feel better and remember your fellow grumps are always here for you 😉
Omg! I have to share – something cool happened this weekend! A box of Omaha steaks showed up at our door – it was for someone else but had our address on it.
I called Omaha Steaks and they said thanks for telling them, and I can keep the steak, they’ll just send a new box to the actual deliveree (because it’s too perishable to send back)
So now I have steak in my freezer! Saving it for when nobody’s sick anymore.
You have good karma. Enjoy the steaks.
Make sure you eat the free steaks for dinner because we all know TANSTAAFL.
LOLOLOL honora
Great!!! 🙂
You ALWAYS have to pay the piper. If he gets shot his kin shows up to be paid instead. This for some reason is not taught in community organizing school but the mob could have explained it to the Democrats if they had asked.
Broncobamacare is more unpopular than ever and the shit hasn’t fully hit the fan yet. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/09/16/usa-today-pew-poll-health-care-law-opposition/2817169/
So far in Bronco’s term he has failed gun control, failed economic pivot, failed sequester terrorizing of the public, failed Syria war, failed Syria diplomacy haka, and has the Godzilla of failures “Obamacare” looming. This is a historic truly second term.
In my perfect world, Romney should volunteer to be the Detroit mayor for a term since he seems to have the magic touch for turning failing businesses around.
I love the way you think !
Another OT, came across this in a book I was reading and thought y’all would enjoy it. It’s a novel set in Ancient Egypt, and one of the characters is teachings kids The Tale of Truth and Falsehood:
There was a shooting at the Washington Navy Yard this morning
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/liveblog/wp/2013/09/16/shooting-at-washington-navy-yard/
“3 shooters” accdg to police
Cold war redux
A good rule of thumb is that half of what you hear/read during the 1st 24 hours after an incident will be wrong. It goes up to 90% in the first hour.
Isn’t “spooky clown” redundant? As if there are non spooky ones.
All hail the glory of a skyscraper.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read recently that this or that CA city would solve all their problems building up. That if we all aspired to be like New York sardines things would be great, housing would be cheaper, and everyone would be rolling in the cash, etc.
But I thought High Speed Trains were the solution to every problem?
you have to get people to ride them. public transportation is not a big thing in California. can not get people out of their cars. Also you have some people in the industry that think the railroad is only for commuters. had that argument since I moved here. they thought the railroad should only be for the 9 to 5 bunch. could never get them to understand there is a very large world that work other shifts and can not use the trains as they are scheduled now
Monorail! Monorail! Monorail!
Atlas Shrugged in real life = Detroit
no John Gault to be found
the DC Naval Yard shooting in not even over, all the information is not known yet and already cries for gun control by the left
Guns are banned in DC, did they know that ? 😉
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/57944
how changes in population are effecting western countries
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/358550/congresss-exemption-obamacare-john-fund
congress fighting like junk yard dogs to keep exemption from obamacare
stolen from a commenter at Rev Amy’s Place
http://spectator.org/archives/2013/09/16/obamacares-useful-idiots
obamacare’s useful idiots
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2420399/Revealed-New-book-lifts-lid-Obama-advisor-David-Axelrod-pushed-civil-war-election-team.html
when the bus rolled over Axelrod
Waiting for Police presser at Navy Yard, waiting for Obama to give a speech on the economy ? Dueling banjos in DC ! Yeeehaww !
https://www.facebook.com/truckerstoshutdownamerica
this could get very interesting.
truckers to DC in October nationwide strike
more than one shooter. one down still looking for others
listened to a couple of minutes of backtrack. my stomach would not allow more. we are going to do all we can about the shootings in DC. yeah just like you did for Benghazi.
Aaaand, they are talking about raising the debt ceiling yet again.
So DC is gonna “Do a ‘Detroit'”.
Crisis in DC. So must be time for Obama to leave and have a fundraiser.
So we need to begin addressing our representatives as “Cankicker Farr”. for instance. I think that is appropriate. They need to be recognized as members of the 113th House of Cankickers.
love it. stole it
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2013/09/16/Forgetting%20Fort%20Hood-CNN-Anchor-Cant-Remember-Last-Shooting-at-US-Military-Facility
this is just pitiful
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2013/0914/Drudge-hates-new-shield-bill-but-is-defining-journalist-really-fascist
according to Diane Feinstein this woman is a real journalist, but bloggers are not.
something wrong with this picture
this was amazing to listen to….like they live in a parallel universe…a parallel luniverse!
but you do not have to be a doctor to perform an abortion
http://www.dailypaul.com/299365/high-school-ap-history-book-rewrites-the-2nd-amendment?fb_action_ids=10153452921400107&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B
check out what is being taught about constitutional amendments in today’s schools
12 dead in DC shooting
FBI will take lead in investigation
2 shooters still on loose
I’m sure it’s either a case of workplace violence or an evil youtube video
Spontaneous demonstration?
great picture
http://weaselzippers.us/2013/09/16/carney-entirely-appropriate-for-obama-to-deliver-sharply-partisan-attack-speech-on-economy-after-deadly-d-c-naval-yard-mass-shooting/
clueless carney : entirely appropriate for backtrack to deliver sharply partisan attack speech on economy after deadly DC naval yard mass shooting
It sure was a fucked up time for Obama to tell us what a great job he’s done with the economy despite those Evil Republicans.
Thought I was imagining things. Possible shooters on the loose, people dying, and Obama just blathering on about his glorious wonderfulness.
They’reeeee back !
http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/16/hey-remember-occupy-wall-street/
This is what I’ve been able to gather from various sources:
Two days ago (the day after the 12th anniversary of 9/11), Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of al-Qaeda, called for small lone wolf attacks on American soil whenever possible. Al-Zawahiri made specific reference to “one brother or a few of the brothers”–which sounds vague to outsiders, but could possibly have been understood within the organization as a concealed directive to a specific cell.
Shooting suspects were wearing what appeared to be military uniforms.
The Naval yard where the shooting took place is the headquarters of the Navy’s Sea Systems Command. Recently this HQ had been taking part in the Navy’s preparations for a cruise missile strike on Syria.
from a commenter at the ulsterman
All outlets now reporting shooter is Aaron Alexis, 34, from Ft Worth. Black dude, which makes sense, since the guy whose ID he stole (and whom CBS and NBC falsely accused) was a black guy.
He had a previous record, fingerprints on file – is how they ID’d him fast. No word yet on whether he is a firebreathing teapartying NRA member.
But he was from Texas. And he had numerous anger management issues. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/aaron-alexis-navy-yard-shooter-567432 How did he get hired by a contractor?
The same way Snowden did.
And of course, if this attack is tied to the most recent al-Zawahiri message. It will be the second time that Obama has been caught with his pants down, on or near, 9/11….by the same guy.
Al-Zawahiri sent out a message the day before Benghazi discussing the drone attack which killed an al Qaeda leader from Libya.
Timeline which notes al-Zawahiri’s message.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/confusion-or-coverup_654416.html?page=1
stolen from a commenter at Rev Amy’s place
Some interesting comments from another forum on the shooting
“I thought that the red brick building looked like one I’d previously had dealings with at the Yard but I couldn’t remember the numbers, I just went by which facilities were in the buildings. A friend with current acess said that the red brick building you’re seeing on the news is indeed my old building but IS NOT building 197. Bldg 197, I’m told, is a huge newer construction facility that houses intel services and is supposed to be a new and much more secure building – which begs the question of how the shooters not only got in but with weapons. Also begs the question of perhaps they are employees who got their costumes and equipment in piece-by-piece. I know that at my old USDA facility there was a strict policy that prohibited guns on the property but many many cars had them inside and everyone knew you could get them through if you entered or left during the peak traffic periods as the higher staff didn’t want inspections during high traffic loads as that would cause traffic backups. I remember one guy who had his gun hanging from a holster on his steering wheel and the guards either didn’t see it (for years?) or ignored it. Other thing was, if you came in through the front entrance you had to go through a metal detector but if you were an employee you could come in through the wide-open employee’s entrance dragging a 4.2 mortar if you wanted. Then there were the civilian contractors who’d come in driving trucks or vans loaded with tools, spare parts and closed boxes. There was no way in hell that the guards were going to stop those trucks for detailed searches ‘ They perfunctorily open the doors and look inside and if they didn’t see any large, blinking, neon cartoon-arrows floating in the air saying “BOMB” they’d pass the truck. Reasoning given to employees who’d dare to ask why this loose policy was in effect post-911 (guess whoooooo?) was that the contractor and his employees were cleared by a pre-employment contract in which he swore he and his crew were clean. You’re not seeing the head of security at the Yard on TV right now explaining how these shooters got in – any guesses why?”
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2013/09/16/monday-open-thread-september-16th/
Seems rather odd that every time Obama gets corned some kind of crisis arises…just sayin’…
Yep. Funny that.
I used to not be very tinfoil hat. Now? Here’s my take on Obama conspiracy theories: I don’t go running with them. But if any of them were proven, it would not surprise me in the slightest. At all.
this just in…
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/16/un-chemical-weapons-inspection-team-turns-over-report-on-syria-to-secretary/
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/09/breaking-dead-navy-yard-shooter-identified-aaron-alexis-of-ft-worth-texas/#disqus_thread
shooter identified
http://twitchy.com/2013/09/16/cried-i-laughed-so-hard-hilarious-must-see-putin-obama-in-best-photoshop-ever/
Fake but accurate photoshop
way off topic
I love stuffed peppers. this is something I am going to make most likely tomorrow/ make a pot eat some, freeze some for the days I do not feel like cooking
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Stuffed-Pepper-Soup?keycode=ZFB0913
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kristine-marsh/2013/09/13/government-funds-faulty-anti-alcohol-study-targets-budweiser
backtrack bunch target BEER. it is time for an uprising. this is one step over the line
http://www.fucking-hell.de/en/
who wants the first franchise to sell this beer in the USA????
during backtrack’s time in office I am sure you will sell out every day
If I remember my history we did have a whiskey rebellion
BTW
shooting, smoothing we are going to party on.
whitehouse NOT cancelling salsa party tonight
Iowa Hawk
David Burge @iowahawkblog 8h
@Time deletes Putin from cover for US market; 4 days ago Time’s editor announce new job as State Dept flack http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/16/time-mag-hides-putins-success-from-u-s-voters/ …
Suspect in DC Navy Yard attack was arrested in Seattle in 2004 for anger-fueled ‘blackout’ shooting – @SeattlePD
and a 2010 arrest in Fort Worth Texas for illegally discharging a fire arm.
did anyone do a background check on this guy?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2421980/REVEALED-Gunman-34-murdered-TWELVE-injured-15-Washington-Navy-Yard-rampage-decorated-petty-officer-left-military-2011-previous-gun-charge.html
more history on the shooter
per Fox News
gun incident at the white house.
wonder if they will still party on
Secret Service: A man threw firecrackers over the White House fence – @ReutersZengerle
never mind
We need to get the liberals off of their government focus. They should be setting up foundations to run programs funded by voluntary donations NOT running all their programs through a corrupt and wasteful government. Then we need to start building old people dorms. I know too many people over 50 who are being pushed out of their jobs in this depression and they will never work in their profession again. Many of them are shell shocked and I doubt they will ever work anywhere. They don’t have enough saved to retire. The aren’t sophisticated investors and they haven’t been able to earn any interest on the money they have saved. They are losing their homes. Unless young people want to finance them in the style they have become accustomed to or step over them while they are sleeping in the street I think someone needs to build dirt cheap dorm accommodations and start encouraging community building among them because I don’t see any other way.
I understand what you are saying. but honestly the first thing that came to my mind as I read it was FEMA camps or gulogs. At one time that would not have been the first thing I thought of
Some idiot threw a firecracker at the WH. On a day on lockdown due to base shooting. He’s lucky he’s not dead.
http://weaselzippers.us/2013/09/16/dem-sen-dianne-feinstein-exploits-d-c-naval-yard-massacre-to-call-for-new-gun-control-legislation/
strange lady diane feinstein
she wants to arm the syrian rebels (al qaeda) and disarm Americans
Poor Obamas, they cancelled their big WH party tonight, out of respect for the Navy Yard shootings. Yeah. Riiiiiight.
maybe after bob beckel of all people made it public on Fox that they had no plans to cancel it.
what are those letters CYA
Missed Beckel, the Nationals/Braves game was cancelled much earlier than The Five. Whole freaking city is in lockdown now, So I’m sure the OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PR will be about, cough, security concerns?
anybody else ever had this happen to them? facebook shut down my page due to a site issue. did not say what the problem was
No. I’ve seen FB down or unresponsive for periods of time. But nothing specific to my account or page. If it continues, push them to explain what the problem is.
it came back. I have no clue on what or why it went down