A Dying City

Detroit is a city that is slowly dying. The city government is recovering from several scandals. The mayor was forced out of office after he forgot that his text messages were public record. The head of the city council was forced out after criminal charges were sent her way because of bribery and theft. That is just a sampling of the criminal activities of those put in place to run and protect the interests of the city.

The unemployment rate as of July 2009 is at 17.7 percent. That is up 8.4 percent in one year. Long time companies are shutting down or leaving faster then the banks can handle.  These numbers do not include those that have given up the job hunt who were not employed. The numbers may be considerably higher. Despite news of an improving economy, many residents of Michigan have not felt the impact of the nation’s stimulus programs.

The streets are becoming more deserted all the time. The national rate for home foreclosures is one in 300, yet Detroit has the highest rates in the country. Empty lots and empty houses are becoming more numerous then the occupied homes. When some one wants to build or acquire land, the city offices are making it difficult. New homeowners are forced to pay taxes, fines, and utilities left by the person before, even when such things are billed incorrectly.

The shells of burnt buildings are often left for years. They are unsafe, attract criminal behavior, and have even become the deathbed of the homeless. The utility companies that are in such a rush to turn off service to the poor often neglect to ensure that the abandoned properties are without service.  Basements full of running water breed nasty environmental hazards. Gas leaks cause fires in once salvageable homes. They too must take a bit of the blame for the blight.

Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

In addition, the biggest resource the city has for a future is being let down on a daily basis because the schools are failing. Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb closed schools and laid off 600 teachers to address a $306 million deficit. The current teacher contract is up in October and he asking them to take too much of a hit. There are no longer help on the special education buses. The schools are not safe, are not antiquely supplied, and the teachers are not paid enough to deal with all the problems the district tosses at them.