Since the Motown sound went silent -- except on oldies stations -- and General Motors and Chrysler (but not Ford) required life support from Washington, there has been little to recommend Detroit, Mich., to visitors, much less its residents.
The recent conviction of Kwame Kilpatrick, the former mayor of Detroit, on multiple charges, including racketeering, fraud and extortion, adds another insult to the city's injury, increasing its misery.
During the mid-20th century, Detroit was a vibrant city with a population of almost 2 million. Today, it stands near ruin. The number of residents has now been estimated at just over 700,000. According to the Chicago Tribune, "The city has a crushing debt of $14 billion, and a budget deficit of as much as $327 million. The pay and benefit structure of public employees can't be sustained. ... The city could run out of cash in a matter of weeks." And yet the city's main courthouse reports having $280 million worth of uncollected fines and fees.
The state plans to send in an emergency manager to try and repair Detroit's finances. It might take an exorcist or faith healer.
The initial response to all of this sad news was denial. Some tried to change the subject by playing the race card. The majority of those who live in Detroit are African American. Michigan's governor, Rick Snyder, is white, as are a majority of the state's residents. But crime, corruption, malfeasance and misfeasance are not exclusive to a single race. Ask New Jersey. The problem for Detroit is something no one wants to address: one-party rule. And that would be the Democratic Party.
While the road to Hell may be paved with good intentions, the road to corruption and municipal failure seems to have been paved by Detroit's Democratic monopoly. Political monopolies invite bribes, kickbacks, misuse of funds, cronyism and a sense of entitlement.
Many businesses have fled Detroit for the usual reasons, including crime. In 2009, Time Magazine reported the city's functional literacy rate was near 50 percent and its unsolved murder rate was nearly 70 percent.
The Detroit News reported last month that nearly half of the city's 305,000 properties failed to pay their 2012 tax bills. "Some $246.5 million in taxes and fees went uncollected," reports the News, "about half of which was due Detroit..." (The other half went to county, schools and other public entities.)
http://townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/2013/03/14/detroits-decline-n1532915
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