Brother, can you spare a dime?

Yeah. The politicians could scfew the whores which would give the less time to screw the other citizens.

canary in the coal mine... at the rate we're going the whole country ain't going to make it either.

Motor broke

Detroit hasn't had a Republican mayor in the past 50 years.

Ain't sayin' the GOP would solve the problems, but geez, maybe ya think it's time to let someone else try? Even the Chicago Cubs have tried a new manager and GM.

You mean, a retired NBA star ain't a great financial manager?

Quite EXPORTING the jobs in the City.

Democrats and Unions! Rules, laws and control. Detroit was built by innovative, enterprising people who put their money down, took chances and - win or lose - kept working. Then the unions wormed their way into the political scene. Democrats made deals with union leaders to gain control over the city and union leaders sold out their unions to share in that power. Like a cancer the unions and the democrats ate everything that was good about Detroit. But up to the very end, the democrats and the unions kept making rules and laws and pretended they were actually in control.

"Detroit, Michigan - once the nation's fourth largest city - has filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. "

Guess they must have been following txtittyfan's financial advice all these years.

We need a single national taxation system that allocates money to local governments according to need.

There is a simple way to eliminate the problem of prostitution -- money given in exchange for sex should be considered a gift, relevant only to the government for determination of eligibility for food stamps and other such programs.

Oops. Detroit is the epitome of corruption in government. Don't put money into the infrastructure and the source of you taxes leaves. The wealthier people leave for the suburbs and businesses leave for other environs taking jobs that provide even more of the tax base and then you don't even have enough money to keep the schools open. Now about all that is left is American Pawn & Jewelry and their customers.

Orange County, California is heavily Republican and filed bankruptcy back in the early nineties.

Orange County went bankrupt in 1994.

Slick,

My point wasn't to blame or support either party - I'm just pointing out that maybe it's time for a change. If you're in Vegas and you've been losing at the Blackjack table for 50 years - when might you say, gee, maybe i should try my luck at the roulette wheel.

I'm not against you Moto. I ain't a Dem or a Rep. I just wanted to chime in about bankruptcy.

Urban sprawl, the downfall of American city planning. Wasteful in every sense. Abandoned infrastructure, wasted resources, inconvenience, leaving our cities to rot..... Maybe incorporation of the suburbs is the only way; didn't Indianapolis do that? Reorganize creating "reclamation areas" in the city boundaries that become parks or farmland.

[ The 1970s and 1980s ushered in a period of planning and revitalization for the urban core of Indianapolis. Changes came early with the reorientation of the city’s government. Unigov was created as the result of a 1970 consolidation between city and county government. The city of Indianapolis merged most government services with those of Marion County. For the most part, this resulted in a unification of Indianapolis with its immediate suburbs. This caused the boundaries of the city to grow tremendously and would be reflected in Indianapolis’ jump to the rank of America’s 11th largest city in 1970 ]

Detroit is the classic example of government control. The government has had complete control of Detroit since the riots of the sixties. They kept taxing and taxing all the businesses and force feeding the unions onto the businesses which in turn cause businesses to close or leave. Detroit burned in the 60's LBJ stepped in and the feds "rebuilt". By the 70's rebuilt Detroit was falling apart again so the Carter government poured "redevelopment" money and again in the early 90's. All planned by corrupt DC bureaucrats built by overpriced corrupt union labor staffed by corrupt union workers, it sat empty. Union leaders are always corrupt as is government. Behold Detroit is Obama and the federal government's vision for all of the USA: complete government control of all aspects of our lives... bankrupt, corrupt, destitute, and starving in the dark.

@Magnum; Note the only period of negative growth in Indianapolis was under a democratic mayor and Indy is still paying for that mistake today.

You can carry the demo/repub control thing out to states. As a prime example, CA/TX.

Given a choice, people will gravitate to liberty and free enterprise. Once they are gone, then you will have left, those that have made poor life choices in the past.

Urban sprawl definitely has destroyed so much of California. These developers will build strip malls, housing tracts, and storage units in Yosemite Valley if they could.
I can't stand housing tract architecture. Cookie cutter homes that look shitty. Whatever happened to Cape Cod, Bungalow, Mission Style, Craftsman, Victorian, and Tudor homes? These houses had style and class. The modern day ranch or two story house is blah.

Detroit has a myriad of problems, few really unique. The major problem they share with many other large cities is the commitment to defined benefit pension plans for its employees. These sweetheart deals allow the city to purchase labor peace currently at the expense of enormous costs at a later date. Well, in Detroit that later date has arrived. Could this happen elsewhere? Of course and for the same reasons.

SS,

I was lucky enough to purchase land out near the Everglades in an AG area, design, and build our own home. No cookie cutter here, but according to your definition, it may be "blah". That sort of comes with the territory, hurricane building codes being what they are. :)

I understand that, Clubber. I just have an appreciation for a certain aesthetic. I love the feel of a well maintained, older neighborhood.

I wonder if they'll make them sell off the DIA. I would actually find that a little amusing.

SS,

Part of the attraction to living in a rural area is the lack of a "neighborhood". I am happy that many prefer that. Also, who gives a crap about weeds! :)

Communism is the ultimate form of government control – how did that model work in the 20th century?

Papi,

Why do so man Cubans support obama AFTER they or their families fled from castro's communist Cuba?

@ Clubber:

Just as there are differences b/w Americans (blue vs red; etc.); there are differences b/s Cubans.

Many of the Cubans that have immigrated in the last 15 yrs or so were born under that regime and don’t know any different. Many of these Cubans came more for economic reasons than political/freedom reasons.

These “economic” Cuban refs are not necessarily against the big-style of government like Communism –thus they tend to support the big-government style of Democrats – again b/c they are more of “economic” refugees than political decedents.

Many of the older generation of Cuban immigrants did come seeking freedom and are def. more Republican leaning/supporting. Many of the older gen Cuban immigrants are starch opponents of the Castro Communist regime and support the traditionally strong Republican anti-Castro anti-communism stance.

Papi,

I can agree with you, but I would think those that came here back in the 60's would pass down their knowledge to the younger generation. I don't see that. I guess that was my point.

@ clubber,

Point taken. But each generation is different just as here in the U.S.

Some in the next generation carry on their previous generation’s views and others don’t.

There is actually more to it than that w.r.t. the different views of the Miami Cuban community – but it would take too much typing – perhaps sometime over a beer!!!

Papi,

You're on!

Papi & Clubber, you two know how to have a conversation like gentlemen. I tip my drink to you.

Papi, Yes, the younger Americans of Cuban decent lean liberal, however the majority of those were born here and never lived under the communist regime in Cuba.

I can agree with the sentiment, but I wasn't around during the depression or WWII, but I sure knew about it and what my parents went through. That alone will keep me from "libing" out!

Since Slick brought it up, while the OC is strongly conservative politically, the person responsible for the bad investments that led to the bankruptcy was the Democratic treasure.

I knew this would happen - some libtards in the media have already come out suggesting that the US taxpayers bail out Detroit.

I'm a believer in evolution. Survival of the fittest. Why reward bad decisions.

motor,

That is so UN-American, UNFORTUNATELY!!!

I'm all about the republicrats and demofags taking over and confusing the youth.

I heard one person on tv make the following (tongue-in-cheek) suggestion.

Turn Detroit over to the illegal immigrants. See if they can clean it up and start a thriving economy. If successful, illegals would be offered amnesty and Detroit will be a safe-haven. Solves two problems at once.