Baltimore and Detroit, examples of why liberalism is so dangerous to the viability of cities.
It's no secret that the neon example city for why liberalism destroys cities is in deep financial straits. The city of Detroit is no different then many other cities across the country. People who can afford to leave cities, tend to do just that. Progressives try feverishly to deflect attention away from the fact that their ideology and disastrous attempts at social engineering is really what placed Detroit on the ill fated path that is on. As I said, Detroit isn't alone. The day after the Baltimore Ravens had their Superbowl parade, a news story broke, and it wasn't a good one about the financial health of Baltimore. Baltimore could be bankrupt in ten years time. Of course I was shocked, when I heard the news. I was being sarcastic of course.
I do not envy the job Governor Rick Snyder going to have to do, because he is now placed in a no win situation. It's like a white police officer having to police a black inner city neighborhood, and the officer has to respond to a crime. Governor Snyder is going to appoint an emergency financial manager to try and straighten out the fiscal mess of Detroit's city government which is mission impossible without revenue to tackle it's massive debt load.
What is going to happen going forward I am willing to bet is going to have to do more about politics and false racism charges by the very same people who drove Detroit into the economy abyss that it currently finds itself then actually addressing the problem. Jay Scott Smith over at the progressive Daily Beast already proved what I was thinking is going to happen. Jay wrote a story a few days ago about Governor Snynder appointing an emergency manager. All anyone has to read is the sub headline of Jay's story to see that progressives are going to make Governor Rick Snyder out to be the bad guy racist going forward in trying to actually save Detroit. Extra, Extra, read all about it.
" "As Detroit struggles, Michigan’s white, Republican governor moves to appoint an emergency financial manager for the heavily black, Democratic city".
If I was Governor Synder, I would have let Detroit file a municipal Chapter 9 bankruptcy and let them deal with their mess, because I know I would be positioned by the black Democratic city council, the mayor and white progressives as being the villain. With Governor Synder now intervening, this does indeed gives the mayor and city council room to deflect attention away from their ineptitude and corruption to point their finger at Governor Snyder instead. It doesn't take a genius to realize that constantly raising property taxes, having under performing and dangerous public schools along with having a high crime rate does not help a city financially, it always hurts it. It's the recipe for disaster for any municipality My city of Baltimore is no exception. Baltimore has lost over 350,000 residents since it's population height back in the 1960's. It faces the same problems. Taxes continue to rise which forces people to leave the city, a school system which no parent would want their children going to if they could afford otherwise and a city in which people do not feel safe. I wish the emergency manger well in his mission impossible task of trying to stop the financial bleeding in Detroit, but I just don't see it happening. Oh well, at least Detroit won't be alone. Baltimore will be joining them soon as yet another example of how liberalism destroys cities.
I do not envy the job Governor Rick Snyder going to have to do, because he is now placed in a no win situation. It's like a white police officer having to police a black inner city neighborhood, and the officer has to respond to a crime. Governor Snyder is going to appoint an emergency financial manager to try and straighten out the fiscal mess of Detroit's city government which is mission impossible without revenue to tackle it's massive debt load.
What is going to happen going forward I am willing to bet is going to have to do more about politics and false racism charges by the very same people who drove Detroit into the economy abyss that it currently finds itself then actually addressing the problem. Jay Scott Smith over at the progressive Daily Beast already proved what I was thinking is going to happen. Jay wrote a story a few days ago about Governor Snynder appointing an emergency manager. All anyone has to read is the sub headline of Jay's story to see that progressives are going to make Governor Rick Snyder out to be the bad guy racist going forward in trying to actually save Detroit. Extra, Extra, read all about it.
" "As Detroit struggles, Michigan’s white, Republican governor moves to appoint an emergency financial manager for the heavily black, Democratic city".
If I was Governor Synder, I would have let Detroit file a municipal Chapter 9 bankruptcy and let them deal with their mess, because I know I would be positioned by the black Democratic city council, the mayor and white progressives as being the villain. With Governor Synder now intervening, this does indeed gives the mayor and city council room to deflect attention away from their ineptitude and corruption to point their finger at Governor Snyder instead. It doesn't take a genius to realize that constantly raising property taxes, having under performing and dangerous public schools along with having a high crime rate does not help a city financially, it always hurts it. It's the recipe for disaster for any municipality My city of Baltimore is no exception. Baltimore has lost over 350,000 residents since it's population height back in the 1960's. It faces the same problems. Taxes continue to rise which forces people to leave the city, a school system which no parent would want their children going to if they could afford otherwise and a city in which people do not feel safe. I wish the emergency manger well in his mission impossible task of trying to stop the financial bleeding in Detroit, but I just don't see it happening. Oh well, at least Detroit won't be alone. Baltimore will be joining them soon as yet another example of how liberalism destroys cities.
posted by Alpha Conservative Male at 10:42 PM
30 Comments:
CB;"It's no secret that the neon example city for why liberalism destroys cities is in deep financial straits".
You really get a kick out of being a political hack, don't you Tyrone? Liberalism had nothing to do with Detroit's downfall. If liberalism destroys municipalities, why hasn't the 80+ years of liberal politics in San Francisco sent it over the edge?
Being a life long resident of Detroit, I can tell you exactly what the problems are, and their causes.
1. Division of the races (a.k.a., "The Racial Divide") caused most white families and white owned businesses to leave the city. Many blacks were not as educated as the fleeing whites, as most blacks were laborers (factory workers) and were dependent upon unskilled labor jobs, less apt and prepared to become entrepreneurs.
2. When the auto industry began to falter, high tech mechanize, and further become less competitive in the world market, the industry began to bleed the jobs.
Even before the recession, Michigan lost 211,000 auto jobs from 2000 to December 2007—nearly three times the number of auto jobs lost to
date during the recession. Estimates are that in the Detroit area alone, more than a over a half million auto industry related jobs have been lost since 1980.
3. Crime... enough said on this issue.
4. Corruption in the local and state government. The last four mayors of Detroit have either been totally incompetent, and/or totally corrupt. Starting with Dennis Archer, the city began to sink. Archer lifted the city residency rule for it's employee's. Police, Firefighters, City accountants, Lawyers, Secretaries, Teachers, etc... began leaving the city en-mass. Many businesses that had city contracts also closed their offices and operations for new digs in the suburbs. Within one year the collectable tax base shrank by 28 percent.
No need to tell the Kwame Kilpatrick corruption story. After he stepped down, Ken Cockrel Jr. took over the mess Kilpatrick made. That brings us to basketball great and politically stupid Dave Bing. With every effort and sound he makes, Bing basically admits that he knows nothing about running a big city.
Mayor Coleman Young had his problems while in office. He was investigated by the fed twice, and had a less than cordial relationship with the state government, suburban governments and the media. Coleman Young was basically a poster child of liberalism. Yet, Under his administration, the city managed to balance its budget despite a dramatic cutback's in federal and state aid. Moreover, even though white's were fleeing the city in droves, the city was still able to maintain city viable services with Police, Fire and Public Schools with little or no deficits.
p allen "
You really get a kick out of being a political hack, don't you Tyrone? Liberalism had nothing to do with Detroit's downfall. If liberalism destroys municipalities, why hasn't the 80+ years of liberal politics in San Francisco sent it over the edge?"
Repeat after me allen. Liberalism aka progressivism is about ideology not politics. I can't help that the truth hurts allen or more importantly, you can't counter it. When was the last time a conservative sat on the Detroit City Council or was the mayor allen? Again, I'm just making pointed remarks based on the real deal of what brought Detroit down. As for San Francisco as you mentioned, you are right, it is a progressive mecca, but San Francisco is a mostly white liberal mecca which is populated by mostly college educated people who have good jobs thus are able to buy into the city and create a stable tax base. Furthermore, San Francisco has very low crime and is a world renowned tourist destination. What I've said before, and I should have clarified it in my last post is that liberalism seems to have a negative impact on mostly black populated cities as opposed to white populate ones like San Francisco. Another perfect example would be the comparison of San Diego to that of Oakland.
p allen "
1. Division of the races (a.k.a., "The Racial Divide") caused most white families and white owned businesses to leave the city. Many blacks were not as educated as the fleeing whites, as most blacks were laborers (factory workers) and were dependent upon unskilled labor jobs, less apt and prepared to become entrepreneurs."
You said many blacks were not as educated as the fleeing whites right? Um is it progressives who run the Detroit Public Education System allen? So why aren't the children just as educated as the white students who left? Also, do you think that possibly violent crime in Detroit isn another reason white families fled. I know that is the reason it happened here in Baltimore. There are neighborhoods here in Baltimore that are perefectly fine and are thriving like Canton, Federal Hill, Fells Point, Locust Point, Hampden, and then are are neighborhoods that are inhabited by blacks where vacant and boarded up homes stretch for miles. The thing is that the violent crime is mostly in those neighborhoods. Those boarded up houses use to be owned by white families. They left for a reason but also did many educated blacks.
p allen "
2. When the auto industry began to falter, high tech mechanize, and further become less competitive in the world market, the industry began to bleed the jobs. "
That's not an excuse allen. You said it yourself that the black population in Detroit wasn't as educated as the whites who left, so why would any of the auto manufactures hire people who weren't educated?Chrysler, GM and Ford are still in Detroit correct? Remember your hero Obama "saving the auto industry"spew? Didn't Obama go to Detroit last year to do a victory lap on that issue? Furthermore, it was dumb for a city to rely on on industry in the first place. To bad Detroit never thought about making a push to educate their population and also provide tax breaks to bring in new industries thus diversifying.
Go article, Tyrone. The day reckoning might come sooner than libs think.
Let me add a few points about Baltimore since I live in your state.
I live in Maryland, Anne Arundel right now. My family left the City of Baltimore a little over 20 years ago for Baltimore County so my younger brother and I could at least go to somewhat better public schools – just a little better. The Democrats and leftist have destroyed these urban cities, Tyrone. And all they want to do is blame it on whitey, just blame it all on whitey. Even though white male Republicans have had nothing to do with these major urban cities in decades! But let them tell it, even with their savior, President Obama, in office going on 5 years, it's still somehow G.W. Bush or some other white male Republican’s fault.
And it's funny how some libs say racism is the reason so called 'white flight' ensued in Baltimore City. You know what I know: BLACK FLIGHT OCCURED AS WELL!!!!! . And in Baltimore, the black people that are good people and law abiding citizens, if they could afford to leave right now, believe me, they would too. And some really will once they grow their incomes and get better job skills, degrees, training and so on. And yes, even a lot of the criminal, ghetto low life’s will also follow. Baltimore County and most of the suburbs surrounding Baltimore have section 8; so yeah, Pookie is out in the burbs now causing trouble. Lucky we have a little bit more (NOT A LOT MORE) conservative judges that keep Pookie’s ass locked or in jail longer when he robs, assaults, rapes, or kills an innocent person, unlike in Baltimore City where the criminal justice system is a compete joke – a revolving door. Note: I refuse to be politically correct for the leftist criminal apologist who might be offended. (smile)
Continued: And I can also assure you there’s no real gentrification going on in Baltimore, either. No one is buying the blighted, abandoned homes. Maybe some small RE Investors buy some for almost nothing, but it’s not enough, and a lot of those homes need to be knocked down – sadly. Tyrone can probably speak more to that.
Now Baltimore City has lost around 30,000 people in the last decade, and even more damaging, it lost over 84,000 people in the decade before that (the 90s). And did you know that Baltimore is the only city on the east coast that lost population? Even, Philadelphia, as bad as it is with 300+ murders per year, gain population. http://www.baltimorebrew.com/2012/04/05/while-baltimore-vows-to-grow-philadelphias-already-done-it/
More Baltimore City fun facts: Like you mentioned, Tyrone, Baltimore City also has the highest property taxes of any jurisdiction in the state of Maryland. And it also has the second highest piggyback tax as well. I think Montgomery County might have you there. Now, JUST ONE of the reasons the property taxes are so high is because 70% of the homes in Baltimore City are worth LESS than $100,000. That’s just ONE reason!
So population loss in Baltimore for the last TWO decades is over 114,000. Well, when you lose that many people in a city Baltimore’s size, one way Democrat liberals are going to make up for it is by raising taxes on the people that stay. Taxes, fees, and many, many other hidden taxes liberals love. Speed Cameras anyone? Well, they are the counties too, so… Oh and don’t forget a mayor who takes home $160,000 a year plus an expense account and uses your tax dollars to take her family go see the Ravens win the super bowl! The city is not doing bad at 56,000 or 58,000 a year – plus health benefits and nice retirement package that was voted in long ago - for piss poor job they do on a part-time job!
Baltimore is just lucky that it is so heavily subsidized by the wealthy state of MD. And Maryland is only wealthy thanks to the federal government jobs, contractors, and federal spending into MD and its proximity to Washington D.C in general. To give you another idea, the Social Security Administration in Woodlawn is the largest employer in Baltimore County. Damn, I guess who needs those evil private sector employers that liberals hate so much when you can have good paying, secure federal jobs in MD! Lol. And I believe 80 cents out of every dollar that goes into Baltimore City public schools comes from the state of Maryland. I laughed and told my cousin, don’t think because you live in Howard County, Maryland you have washed your hands of Baltimore City; whether you know it or not, you still pay for Baltimore and its piss poor joke of a school system!
So Baltimore might be ok right now due to the fact that she’s heavily subsidized by the wealthy state of Maryland, which in turn is heavily subsidize by Washington D.C., but how long can that go on? Tyrone said he is from Maryland, so he knows where I’m going.
p allen "3. Crime... enough said on this issue."
Crime is what makes people leave a city and is a major reason why people don't move into a city as I said.
p allen "
4. Corruption in the local and state government. The last four mayors of Detroit have either been totally incompetent, and/or totally corrupt. Starting with Dennis Archer, the city began to sink. Archer lifted the city residency rule for it's employee's. Police, Firefighters, City accountants, Lawyers, Secretaries, Teachers, etc... began leaving the city en-mass. Many businesses that had city contracts also closed their offices and operations for new digs in the suburbs. Within one year the collectable tax base shrank by 28 percent"
Amazing that the voting population of Detroit kept voting those crooks back into office.Oh well, the mindless idiots in D.C voted Barry back into office, so that goes without saying. I do like the residency rule idea. I know there are thousands of people who work in the Baltimore City government but don't live in the city. The residency rule keeps qualified people anchored in that city. Sounds like Dennis Archer was too stupid to realize why the residency rule was in place in the first place. How come no other mayor reinstated the residency rule?
p allen "No need to tell the Kwame Kilpatrick corruption story. After he stepped down, Ken Cockrel Jr. took over the mess Kilpatrick made. That brings us to basketball great and politically stupid Dave Bing. With every effort and sound he makes, Bing basically admits that he knows nothing about running a big city. "
I remember the infamous Kilpatrick. He was basically the black Richard Daley when it came to corruption but without the political savvy of the Daley Machine. As Bing, all I can say is that the people of Detroit electing that clown was as mental as the people of California electing Arnold. Since you are a life long resident of Detroit, what is your "honest" assessment of the problem allen. Can the problem be fixed? Also do you predict that Snyder is going to me used as a scapegoat by the dirt bags in the city government?
CB;"If I was Governor Synder, I would have let Detroit file a municipal Chapter 9 bankruptcy and let them deal with their mess, because I know I would be positioned by the black Democratic city council, the mayor and white progressives as being the villain".
The governor is the villain! Not because he's a "white guy" taking over a majority black city. He's a villain because I believe (like most Detroiters) his motives are rooted in power, control and money. The Emergency Manager Law is a farce.
Take note: I CANNOT FIND ONE INSTANCE OF WHERE A FINANCIAL MANAGER HERE IN MICHIGAN, OR ANYWHERE ELSE, HAS TURNED A FINANCIALLY FAILING MUNICIPALITY AROUND INTO FINANCIAL SOVEREIGNTY! NOT ONE!!!
List of Michigan City's with Financial Managers.
Highland Park, MI had an EM appointed by a republican governor from 2000 to 2009. Over the almost ten year period, not once were the city's finances stable. To this day Highland Park, a city with less than 12,000 residents, has a combined deficit of $21,374,821.
Democrat governor Jennifer Grandholm appointed Robert Bobb as EM for the Detroit Public Schools. In March of 2011, the New York Times wrote this about Robert Bobb;
"Since Mr. Bobb arrived, the $200 million deficit has risen to $327 million. While he has made substantial cuts to save money — including $16 million by firing hundreds of administrators — any gains have been overshadowed by the exodus of the 8,000 students a year. For each student who departs, $7,300 in state money gets subtracted from the Detroit budget — an annual loss of $58.4 million".
By the time Bobb left in 2011, the deficit had grown to $375 million. Take note;
1. Robert Bobb was paid $425,000 annually and received raises and incentive money from "private" donors, which some were un-named.
2. Robert Bobb fired district employee's and doled out hundreds of contracts. Bobb closed half of Detroit's schools and shuttered up to 70 support offices, claiming it would save the district millions.... YET IT DID NOT!
3. Bobb called the teachers unions "greedy" (where it was a known fact the Detroit teachers made less than their suburban counterparts) yet he convinced everyone to take cuts as much as 20%. All the while his salary increase as the deficit grew.
4. It was well know in local circles that Robert Bobb gave huge contracts to his friends and associates.
5. Although Bobb knew that the school system would lose money if enrollment dropped, he continued to close schools, effectively chasing away ten's of thousands of students. In many cases of closings (such as with my previous 22 year employ at Cooley High School, - I found the story reprinted on a Seattle News Paper site).
Benton Harbor is the most recent, and I believe it to have been the "test case" for Detroit. Benton Harbor is a lake front community. Lake front property has always been viewed as high value property. The lake front part given to the city's residents in the early 1920's, is now being planned for a signature major golf course with annual memberships at the golf course starting at $3,750. Needless to say that the median income of a Benton Harbor resident is less than $18,000 a year.
Yet, 2 years after the EM takeover, an Independent audit of Benton Harbor’s finances reveals problems. In reading the complete story you'll find several area's where the EM has somehow made things worse than when the elected officials were running the city. More of the same also applies to Flint, Pontiac and Ecorce.
CB;"Repeat after me allen. Liberalism aka progressivism is about ideology not politics. I can't help that the truth hurts allen or more importantly, you can't counter it".
Lol! That's exactly what a political hack would say! Moreover, the truth can only hurt is you're "telling the truth"! How can you claim your ideology is not political, and in the same breath ask; " When was the last time a conservative sat on the Detroit City Council or was the mayor?" Mayors and City Council members are POLITICIANS, aren't they? Your essay wasn't about "birds" Tyrone. You're hacking a political ideology... period!
CB;"So why aren't the children just as educated as the white students who left?".
Here's what you need to do. Post a link to a majority black district that has the same, or better level of education and resources as a majority white district. If you can't find one, go back 20, 30, 50 or 60 years (or longer) and find one. If you can't, then you'll have your answer.
I informed you that hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost in Detroit since 1980, and you response was;
"That's not an excuse allen".
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND????? What has the republicans in congress, and every republican candidate during the primaries said was President Obama's biggest unsolved failure? JOBS! But simply to dispute my "VALID" point, you claim "it's not excuse." I'm going to give you a heads up Tyrone. The next time you write an essay, or make a comment about national unemployment and how Obama has failed in turning the economy around, I'm going to link back to where you "proffer" that a lack of jobs is "no excuse" for a city, state or federal government financial crisis.
CB;"Since you are a life long resident of Detroit, what is your "honest" assessment of the problem allen. Can the problem be fixed? Also do you predict that Snyder is going to me used as a scapegoat by the dirt bags in the city government?".
I really don't know if it can be fixed. However, the only way it could begin, is if the "people", the citizens truly want, work hard toward, and demand a fix. Unfortunately, many of the people left here seem as though they don't give a damn. As far as Gov. Snyder, he's a politician. He'll just lie and tell the people "every things going great, and, we're right on track." All the while the people will continue to suffer.
Governor Snyder has made his decision to do whatever it is he has in mind. It's perfectly clear to me that he is going to do whatever he wants. He could care less what the people need. say or want.
The citizens petitioned to have a referendum placed on the ballot to strike down the Emergency Manager Law. In November of 2012 the people of Michigan vote to gid rid of the law. By December 2012 Governor Snyder had a new Emergency Manager Bill written and signed into law, effectively telling the people of Michigan, "screw you!"
I'm typically not one to make predictions. However, in having empirical evidence of what previous EM's have done in this state, I'll make claim that outcome ain't gonna be good. In every case in Michigan, the EM has come in and completely dismantled the governing body and system. In every instance employee's are fired with little or no notice, and then replaced by contractors with association ties to the EM. In every case the entity taken over becomes burdened with more debt, and in two cases (Highland Park and Flint) further corruption resulted.
When the EM takes over, I expect to see mass layoff and firings, pay cuts to Police and Fire employees (on top of the cut's they've already taken), privatization of half, if not most of city service jobs. The one thing I will "predict" is the takeover and sell-off of the City of Detroit Water and Sewage Department. Over the years, several regional governments (and private companies) have shown an interest in taking the city's water department. A simple conclusion is that, with the given examples of EM's in Michigan, Detroit is basically "up for sale."
p allen "
The governor is the villain! Not because he's a "white guy" taking over a majority black city. He's a villain because I believe (like most Detroiters) his motives are rooted in power, control and money. The Emergency Manager Law is a farce. "
lol, of course it's not because Snyder is white allen, it's because he is a white REPUBLICAN. You left that part off, and you called me a political hack.lol
It's just like I originally said, you just just proved it.Dam I am good. It is laughable to see how the Rick Snyder is doing this for power allen. He already holds the top position in the state of Michigan. Taking over Detroit offers nothing to Governor Snyder politically when it comes to higher office or more political power. As for control and money, Detroit has no money, and controlling it offers no benefits to him.
p allen "
Take note: I CANNOT FIND ONE INSTANCE OF WHERE A FINANCIAL MANAGER HERE IN MICHIGAN, OR ANYWHERE ELSE, HAS TURNED A FINANCIALLY FAILING MUNICIPALITY AROUND INTO FINANCIAL SOVEREIGNTY! NOT ONE!!!"
I actually agree. Detroit should go the bankruptcy route. I do not believe that no manger can fix a clear numbers problem. Detroit has way too much debt and not enough revenue and no manager can fix that unless the emergency manager can somehow renegotiate it's debts and contracts with the municipal union worker piggies. Snyder can't win, he's going to be the bad guy regardless to you and other black progressives allen.
p allen "
Highland Park, MI had an EM appointed by a republican governor from 2000 to 2009. Over the almost ten year period, not once were the city's finances stable. To this day Highland Park, a city with less than 12,000 residents, has a combined deficit of $21,374,821."
If the EM in both cases was appointed by a white Democratic Governor, would you still be negative about the appointments allen? It's a dammed if you do and dammed if you don't being a white republican governor in Michigan. It goes back to the white cop patrolling a black area scenario. The cop will will always be behind the 8 ball regardless of how well he does his job.
The citizens petitioned to have a referendum placed on the ballot to strike down the Emergency Manager Law. In November of 2012 the people of Michigan vote to gid rid of the law. By December 2012 Governor Snyder had a new Emergency Manager Bill written and signed into law, effectively telling the people of Michigan, "screw you!" "
What would be more devastating to a city allen, the appointment of an emergency manger of the municipality filing for bankruptcy? Just curious.If you are a union piggy and work for a city, wouldn't you have more to lose if the city goes ch 9 then if the city is appointed an emergency manager?
CB:"It's just like I originally said, you just just proved it.Dam I am good. It is laughable to see how the Rick Snyder is doing this for power allen. He already holds the top position in the state of Michigan".
Not for power...Really? Being the top exec doesn't mean you can't gain even more power. Hell, power grabs by the guy on the top happens all the time! Here again Tyrone I'm going to give you a "heads up." The next time you or your conservative cohorts accuse President Obama of a "power grab", I'm going to refer you to, and link back to your "laughable" statement! (You might think you're good, but I'm waaaaaaay better at this...)
CB'"If the EM in both cases was appointed by a white Democratic Governor, would you still be negative about the appointments allen?".
I gave the story of EM Robert Bobb (who's black) who was appointed by Jennifer Grandholm (who is a white female democrat). Bobb left the public school system in Detroit in a worse financial and academic mess than when he started. I'm way beyond being "negative" about Grandholm and Bobb.
CB;"What would be more devastating to a city allen, the appointment of an emergency manger of the municipality filing for bankruptcy?".
I really don't know which one would do the most damage. We'll just have to wait and see how much damage the EM does when the Gov. let's him, or her, loose on Detroit.
CB-"Crime is what makes people leave a city and is a major reason why people don't move into a city as I said."
How about the refugees coming from war-torn Africa? Is that any different as to why residence are leaving urban areas of Baltimore or Detroit?
The difference I've seen between the African immigrants and African-Americans who are living in crime-ridden areas, these people seem to "miraculously", according to the liberal/progressive agenda, become law-abiding citizens. I think these refugees were already law-abiding citizens when they left their home country to escape from the bloodshed and the tyranny.
P.Allen-"The governor is the villain! Not because he's a "white guy" taking over a majority black city. He's a villain because I believe (like most Detroiters) his motives are rooted in power, control and money. The Emergency Manager Law is a farce."
When the Thompson Foundation offered $200 million to build new charter schools in the Detroit school district, Mayor Kilpatrick agreed to the idea-initially. The teachers union were resistant to the proposal because they felt that it would jeopardize their jobs, their security, and their pay. They talked about how the district would be "taken over" by outsiders. Soon, they begun to play the race card. Soon Kilpatrick expressed concerns and felt for the union and did not like the idea of "white people bossing them around."
-Big Pop
The Tragedy of the (Public) Commons... after plundering the pastures and leaving nothing for those who remain behind, the root-less locusts move on.
Detroit proves that it's not hard for governments to create moral hazards
Big Pop;"When the Thompson Foundation offered $200 million to build new charter schools in the Detroit school district, Mayor Kilpatrick agreed to the idea-initially. The teachers union were resistant to the proposal because they felt that it would jeopardize their jobs, their security, and their pay".
I see you've read Larry Elders book...
What Elder didn't write is that Robert Thompson, Kwamee Kilpatrick and Dave Bing have a "history."
First off, what does a millionaire philanthropist (Robert Thompson), a former NBA star/political air-head who lied about having a college degree while campaigning for mayor/know nothing about running a city (Dave Bing), and a from the start politically and socially corrupt politician (Kwame Kilpatrick) have in common?? The answer... THE PHILANTHROPIST'S MONEY!!!
Let's look at some very important dates;
Philanthropist Robert Thompson sold his asphalt paving company in 1999 for $400 million. After selling it, he shared more than $100 million with the employees, and the started the Thompson Foundation.
In 1999, the republican governor, John Engler took over the Detroit Public School system. Dennis Archer was the Mayor of Detroit at the time.
In 1999 Kwame Kilpatrick was a state representative. However, according to a federal indictment, beginning in 1999, Kilpatrick devised a scheme to use the Kilpatrick Civic Fund to bankroll a lavish lifestyle, as well as his 2001 and 2005 mayoral campaigns.
According to a dissertation titled, "An examination of institutional restructuring and regime change in local education politics", written by Chelsea Lynn Haring, Ph.D, :
"The takeover of Detroit schools was yet another shift in local power and realignment in political alliances. The restructuring was further solidified in 2002 when when Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick joined forces with Gov. Engler to propose fifteen new charter schools in Detroit. The proposal was backed by business and community leaders including DAVE BING, ROBERT THOMPSON OF THE THOMPSON FOUNDATION, THE URBAN LEAGUE AND THE NAACP.
Putting aside any and all "conspiracy theories", ask yourself why would a millionaire philanthropist involve himself with a political crook, and a political idiot in an attempt to educate kids in Detroit? Now open your mind up to a "possible conspiracy", and ask why would a crooked politician and a know-nothing about education, schools or government, want to hook up with a millionaire philanthropist!
Sorry Big Pop, but I just don't buy that anyone (outside of the hard working teachers of the system) really cares about educating the kids in Detroit. Every "serious" study shows that Charter Schools Are No Better than Public
Schools.
Look at it this way. There are several outstanding educational institutions in the Detroit area. One of them being Cranbrook Schools. It cost's about $30,000 a year to attend Cranbrook. Cranbrook has an endowment of about $200 million. Hell, for an instant $200 mill, I'm sure they could find a way to educate 4 or 5 thousand kids from Detroit. Every more so, there are plenty of academically successful schools in Michigan, and the Detroit area, some private, some public. The question that needs answering is, "with all these idea's and efforts of supposed good intent, why aren't most black children being properly educated?"
Two worda encompass the failure of Detroit's public schools...
Teachers Union
OK Allen, you got me: I did found this in Larry Elder's book, "Stupid Black Men: How To Play The Race Card-And Lose", later retitled "What's Race Got To Do With It?"
Let's suppose hypothetically, if the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation were to for example donate $200 million dollars in funds to start new charter schools, or fix up the public schools, would the response be as what Elder mentioned, be "the same", with Kilpatrick and the Detroit's teacher union?
-Big Pop
-FJ "Two worda encompass the failure of Detroit's public schools...
Teachers Union"
Most definitely. InChicago almost 40% of the public school teachers even send their kids to PRIVATE SCHOOLS The only thing the Public School teacher union and most of their members care about is their own pay check.
So we're to believe a "study" posted to a wikispace page.
smdh
Sorry, I'll trust the parents who are begging and pleading to have their children sent to these "no better" schools because they are scared to death to send their children to the inner city schools.
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p allen "The question that needs answering is, "with all these idea's and efforts of supposed good intent, why aren't most black children being properly educated?"
Why indeed allen. Could part of the reason be that teacher unions don't really give a dam about black kids succeeding perhaps? I know you heard the story about the huge public schools scandal down in Atlanta a few years ago. People thought that the Atlanta Public School System was top notch just to find out that the teachers, students and even administrators were cheating by by changing grades on standardized tests required annually at Georgia's elementary and middle public schools.
It was one of the biggest nations biggest cheating scandals in history
Many black students who aren't ready academically to proceed to the next grade are being pushed through the public school system like cattle, only to graduate(if they are lucky) not even being able to read their diploma. Out of those who attempt to attend college, they find themselves having to take the remedial courses on subjects they should have learned while still in school.
I'm not going to say that this all has to do with the public school system and it's teachers, because a good part also has to do with the social/economic break down in black society.
It's discouraging to see you disparage the school system of your youth. A system which had some impact on you whether you attended it or not. However, your denigration of Baltimore City Public School students does more to perpetuate racial stereotypes and is less interested in exploring the data. If you take a decade long look at the longitudinal research, you would see the students are making marked improvement. This has been reflected through the Maryland School Assessment (MSA). But it's easier to blow dog whistles to an ilk who embrace such dogma
CB;"Could part of the reason be that teacher unions don't really give a dam about black kids succeeding perhaps?".
The teachers union in Detroit has been decimated. For more than 5 years, now not one increase in pay has been added. Not one in or out of the classroom incentive has been granted. In fact, pay and incentives has been drastically reduced. Yet every one I work with has continued to do there jobs to the best of their abilities.
So, if indeed it were teachers unions, even in part, the cause of students not performing, the students in Detroit would be the best in the entire country because the teacher union here is effectively "POWERLESS."
The cheating scandal in Atlanta was not perpetrated by "the union." Bear in mind the Georgia is a "Right to Work" state. The union is basically powerless with no collective bargaining rights. In fact the union in 2005 "blew the whistle on this, and it was ignored because there was this enormous pressure to meet testing targets". Since the scandal broke it has been shown that the "administrators" were basically the culprits. Teachers were literally under pressure (threats) to boost the test scores.
CB;"I'm not going to say that this all has to do with the public school system and it's teachers, because a good part also has to do with the social/economic break down in black society".
EXACTLY!!! You're 100% right!
So, what is the cure to a social/economic breakdown of a community? I'll tell you what's not a cure. There's no proof whatsoever that any "political ideology" can turn the tide of a social/economic breakdown. The cure has to come from within the black community itself. The cure can only be implemented and successful if the black communities (and the people within) come together a form a perfect union.
If you are a lifelong resident of Detroit, then you of all people should know what has been happening all of these decades. Are you living under a rock or just plain ignorant? I have to correct some folks here though. It is not so much Liberalism that effects Detroit but Statism, note that the Welfare State play a large role here to. Anyone with half-a-brain will know this. What caused the racial divide, might it have something to so with the Welfare State, Government Education... I wonder... Ask yourself what exactly was Government up to during the 1960s onward? There is something called the Detroit Pattern.
Does anyone study real history anymore or just watch the news and read revisionist crap from academia?
Why not get rid of Public Schooling entirely?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zg74Tw1bTo&feature=share&list=PL621B7BC246421588
Here is a great video on Public Schools, enjoy.
http://youtu.be/P1r-r6iLBEI
Just one more thing about Schools. This blew my mind.
http://youtu.be/aDoO4GsPt24
Allow me to tackle this first...
Eddie;" I have to correct some folks here though. It is not so much Liberalism that effects Detroit but Statism".
Eddie, you can't "correct" anyone here by offering an opinion. I, like you, offer opinions here also. Your opinions are just that...an "opinion." You or no one else can unequivocally prove that Statism caused anything in Detroit. It's just your "opinion."
Eddie;"If you are a lifelong resident of Detroit, then you of all people should know what has been happening all of these decades. Are you living under a rock or just plain ignorant?".
I have lived here all my life, and I've seen what has happened over the decades. Detroit, at one time, was the bastion of "free market enterprise." I don't think anyone would call Henry Ford or any of the automobile entrepreneurs "Statist." During the time of the booming automobile industry, people came from all over the country/world to work and live in Detroit. When the auto/manufacturing industry and market began to shrink in Detroit, so did the prosperity.
Anarchist?? You can't be serious. A country without a government, is no longer a country. No government means, no military, no police, no courts, no regulation and no laws. Sounds like Somalia to me!
That last video is funny Eddie. If 80% of New York City school graduates cant's read, it would suffice to say that 80% of the parents of the city's school children can't read themselves, or they just don't care. Either way, the child was doomed from birth. Yet you want to blame that on government?
The cure has to come from within the black community itself. <<<<<<
Hey Eddie, what the hell is the "black community"????? Do you feel all communities inhabited by African-Americans are slums full of poor people and drug addicts?
Did you know that over a third of African-Americans are in the middle class? I've been around a lifetime. I've seen universal "white flight". Studies show that when a community becomes more than 10% black, all white people leave. It doesn't matter what socioeconomic class the blacks come from. Ask Tyrone about the middle class black communities in Baltimore. These are communities which doctors, lawyers and even mayors live in. Yet, white people don't wish to live with them.
At some point you're going to have to acknowledge your own racist tenancies
Gov't screws Detriot for Wall Street
http://youtu.be/Ube4iOqtn2E
Wake up Black America, its later than you think!! Read the new book"The Unfinished Business of the Civil Rights Movement:Failure of America's Public Schools to Properly Educate its African American Student Populations.."
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