• Detroit Resumes Cutting Off Water to 150,000 Residents, Prompting Appeal to United Nations for Help
    83 replies, posted
If it gets much worse I would say Detroit will, at worst, see a localized set of martial law with national guard deployment to enforce peace and a complete reconstruction project to destroy all the old infrastructure and rebuild new, smaller infrastructure. I'm pretty sure that isn't going to happen though, highly unlikely anyway.
[QUOTE=avincent;45210790][IMG]http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/4480/1842204-e892035a68ec0be5dd5a3eac6a4aadfe.png[/IMG] What are you, chicken?[/QUOTE] "An ACTION-PACKED trip to Detroit." It makes me snigger and feel terrible about myself every time.
[QUOTE=draugur;45216407]If it gets much worse I would say Detroit will, at worst, see a localized set of martial law with national guard deployment to enforce peace and a complete reconstruction project to destroy all the old infrastructure and rebuild new, smaller infrastructure. I'm pretty sure that isn't going to happen though, highly unlikely anyway.[/QUOTE] This would hugely benefit Army Corps of Engineers for urban reconstruction training.
[QUOTE=urbanmonkey;45215935]I feel like the rest of the world finds it fashionable and funny to make fun of Detroit, but kicking us while we are down only adds to the problem. People say "lol fuck Detroit turn it into a prison" yet you don't hear many people try to figure out (feasible) solutions. Just frustrating, man.[/QUOTE]Yeah, I don't know why this post is getting boxes. To me that says, "fuck you, urbanmonkey, you're stupid for telling us we can't talk shit about where you were born." Yeah, real cool guys. I think part of the reason why Detroit is so shitty is it's reputation is literally scaring away anything that will make it better. If I was a millionaire or something, I'd be setting up factories in Detroit like fucking crazy and hire a lot of security to watch over them because, well, it is Detroit after all. Since the infrastructure to move goods out of the factories is already in place, the setup costs would be low and I'd have a large pool of workers, many probably having worked in the auto plants and thus would have relevant experience for whatever I was doing. I could possibly set up some type of intentional community, move the workers into cheap residential buildings I purchased and ferry them via shuttle to work.
Detroit is such a shithole, even Robocop abandoned it
As long as this thread is still up, and the general subject is Detroit's financial woes: [URL="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/26/us-usa-detroit-bankruptcy-syncora-guaran-idUSKBN0F10CQ20140626"]Bond insurer Syncora is stubborn city rival in Detroit's bankruptcy[/URL] [QUOTE]Since Detroit filed the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history last July, Syncora has objected to the city's moves nearly every step of the way - from an early agreement with investment banks over interest rate swaps to the more recent “grand bargain” designed to save the Detroit Institute of Arts. The company's latest pleading, set for argument Thursday in a federal courtroom, demands information on the current assets and income of all Detroit's retired workers - some 20,000 of them. ... James H.M. Sprayregen, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis who represents Syncora, said Syncora's request is reasonable given [B]the city is citing the greater economic harm to retirees versus financial creditors for justifying the disparate treatment of those creditor groups.[/B] He added that Detroit's plan will not win confirmation from Judge Rhodes because it does not meet a standard under Chapter 9 bankruptcy law that all similarly situated creditors must be treated fairly. ... Regulators in 24 states have yanked Syncora's license to insure debt, and the last time Syncora insured new muni debt was in 2008, according to Thomson Reuters data. Sprayregen said Syncora is facing a near-total loss on its Detroit exposure, a circumstance that motivates its hard fight. "Our recovery is virtually nothing, so anybody who portrays what we’re doing as irrational isn’t really understanding the situation," Sprayregen said. "If you’re offered nothing, what choice do you have but to object?” Stephen Selbst, a bankruptcy attorney with Herrick, Feinstein in New York, said Syncora may be seeking to maneuver Detroit toward settlement. "If you’re a holdout creditor, doing everything you can to make everyone else miserable is an old-fashioned strategy and the core of that is make it so uncomfortable for the debtor that they want to come to the table and settle,” he said. [/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=urbanmonkey;45215935]Really hard to see everyone generalize and generally talk shit about your city :/ A lot (most) of you have never been here and have only seen this stuff on TV. It's a bad situation, yes, but we aren't hopeless here. Detroit is thriving in many areas, downtown is awesome, companies like QuickenLoans and it's subsidiaries bring in thousands of interns every summer and has been voted one of the best places to work in the America. A lot of Detroiters are incredibly hard working people who have been dealt a bad hand. It's not easy for people to just up and leave, there are no jobs, there is no money. There is only so much we can do for ourselves. I feel like the rest of the world finds it fashionable and funny to make fun of Detroit, but kicking us while we are down only adds to the problem. People say "lol fuck Detroit turn it into a prison" yet you don't hear many people try to figure out (feasible) solutions. Just frustrating, man.[/QUOTE] I hear people talk shit about my hometown(Buffalo, NY) all the time. The only solution Detroit has is to rapidly destroy a majority of the unpopulated neighborhoods, and make way for farmland, refining plants for Bakkens Oil/Natural Gas, and possibly begin reforming the city into a small town image akin to the one adopted by most midwest cities.
Good job on promoting some new riots detroit, why don't you just turn off half the cities power next and see what happens?
[QUOTE=avincent;45210790][IMG]http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/0/4480/1842204-e892035a68ec0be5dd5a3eac6a4aadfe.png[/IMG] What are you, chicken?[/QUOTE] i read that in Jensens voice
[QUOTE=layla;45209284]Sure, but a country just doesn't become a third world country over night, it starts with one city.[/QUOTE] No it doesn't. It starts by combining poverty, ignorance, famine, plague, mass governmental corruption, and racial tension together. If what you said is true all of Blighty would be a third-world country because of Blackpool or Glasgow.
I keep hearing plans like "turn it into farmland".... I'm sorry but the truth of the matter is- your government doesn't create (private) industry jobs. It's unlikely there will be plans that (directly) involve employment. What the federal government can do- allocate monies to demolish unused sections of the city, monies to downsize local public services, job training opportunities, and monies for debt forgiveness. Take these water bills- half the ppl are defaulting. Raising the cost of water just means more default next month. So write off those bills and do everything possible to cut the cost of the service over time. This is going to get worse before you see an improvement. This downslide has been happening for over 50 years- this is not going to be a quick or easy recovery.
[QUOTE=H8Entitlement;45218305]I keep hearing plans like "turn it into farmland".... I'm sorry but the truth of the matter is- your government doesn't create (private) industry jobs. It's unlikely there will be plans that (directly) involve employment. What the federal government can do- allocate monies to demolish unused sections of the city, monies to downsize local public services, job training opportunities, and monies for debt forgiveness. Take these water bills- half the ppl are defaulting. Raising the cost of water just means more default next month. So write off those bills and do everything possible to cut the cost of the service over time. This is going to get worse before you see an improvement. This downslide has been happening for over 50 years- this is not going to be a quick or easy recovery.[/QUOTE] Get off the crack, it's melting your brain.
[QUOTE=JoeSkylynx;45218500]Get off the crack, it's melting your brain.[/QUOTE] I find your counterargument to be concise, well thought out, and brilliant in its eloquence. Well it was concise at least. Any particular part you didn't understand/ don't agree with?
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;45209142]Pretty much. And turn it into a prison for our most dangerous criminals. And send Kurt Russell there.[/QUOTE] I'm seeing an Escape From Detroit movie.
[QUOTE=H8Entitlement;45218709]I find your counterargument to be concise, well thought out, and brilliant in its eloquence. Well it was concise at least. Any particular part you didn't understand/ don't agree with?[/QUOTE] About 90% of what you stated I do not agree with. Not getting into specifics as it would be blowing steam regarding things I have stated in other posts regarding how farming and oil refineries are the future of Detroit for the most part.
[QUOTE=JoeSkylynx;45218887]About 90% of what you stated I do not agree with. Not getting into specifics as it would be blowing steam regarding things I have stated in other posts regarding how farming and oil refineries are the future of Detroit for the most part.[/QUOTE] hnnngg more OIL!
Despite everything going wrong in Detroit, the people who don't live here or near the city only get their news from the media. I live in the suburbs of Detroit and have plenty of relatives still in the metro area, and the city is still lively. Yeah, the media reports on the crime that happens in the bad parts of town, but they're completely missing the positive aspects of the city. Detroit has history. It's home to the big three automotive companies, has a mixture of cultures(Seriously, there are more cultures than I can even count), some of the best sports fans whether the team is doing good or not(*cough* Lions *cough*), one of the best farmers' markets; The Eastern Market, we've got Motown, and the residents here, despite everything going on, still have pride.
[QUOTE=JoeSkylynx;45218887]About 90% of what you stated I do not agree with. Not getting into specifics as it would be blowing steam regarding things I have stated in other posts regarding how farming and oil refineries are the future of Detroit for the most part.[/QUOTE] So... Farming and refineries? The refinery thing is workable- with enough tax breaks a company could be enticed. This would provide some employment- a step in the right direction. To be frank- it would probably take some doing. There was nothing stopping companies from locating there in years past. As for farming- demolishing tracts of a city does lead to large tracts of land available for use. Doesn't quite seem like a city activity though. Anyone know of any precedents to this- cities of 500-800k population with agriculture being a job base of any significance?
[QUOTE=H8Entitlement;45219180]As for farming- demolishing tracts of a city does lead to large tracts of land available for use. Doesn't quite seem like a city activity though. Anyone know of any precedents to this- cities of 500-800k population with agriculture being a job base of any significance?[/QUOTE] Earth after the galactic civilization fell to shit in Asimov's Foundation series. Other than fiction, I haven't heard of it.
showed this to a friend who's pretty familiar with detroit, he went off about the reporter in the video- [quote]Wouldn't be surprised if it's a publicity stunt cooked up by Nancy Grace She's a former Atlanta prosecutor who filled in on TV for Larry King a lot in 2002 during the "summer of missing children" and was actually a good advocate of victims back then But now, she sensationalizes every case she "reports" on, and just guesses who the killer/kidnapper is and convicts them on TV. Most often, she ends up being wrong, and one mother she accused on live TV of killing her kids (she didn't) ended up committing suicide.[/quote] if she's really that sensational, looking at that video again she seems to be acting like a villain at the climax of a 90's action movie, reaching for a knife or a gun just down out of reach while pretending to surrender [t]http://i.imgur.com/dmuq0vB.png[/t]
[QUOTE=urbanmonkey;45215935]Really hard to see everyone generalize and generally talk shit about your city :/ A lot (most) of you have never been here and have only seen this stuff on TV. It's a bad situation, yes, but we aren't hopeless here. Detroit is thriving in many areas, downtown is awesome, companies like QuickenLoans and it's subsidiaries bring in thousands of interns every summer and has been voted one of the best places to work in the America. A lot of Detroiters are incredibly hard working people who have been dealt a bad hand. It's not easy for people to just up and leave, there are no jobs, there is no money. There is only so much we can do for ourselves. I feel like the rest of the world finds it fashionable and funny to make fun of Detroit, but kicking us while we are down only adds to the problem. People say "lol fuck Detroit turn it into a prison" yet you don't hear many people try to figure out (feasible) solutions. Just frustrating, man.[/QUOTE] I don't know why this post is getting dumbs, doubt those people have been to Detroit. It's not a shit city, yeah it has crime and poverty, so does New Orleans, yet I don't see the news saying that it's fucked, when in reality New Orleans is doing way worse than Detroit when it comes to crime, poverty, corruption, etc. At least Detroit is trying to get back in its feet, and is still fighting to stay relevant. It's a wonderful city with history and nice people.
[QUOTE=WoodenSpoon;45209672][video=youtube;YSp2KGMQEk8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSp2KGMQEk8[/video][/QUOTE] This is false, aliens would just avoid Detroit altogether.
[QUOTE=layla;45209284]Sure, but a country just doesn't become a third world country over night, it starts with one city.[/QUOTE] Not really. Virtually every western or western world nation has a city like Detroit somewhere. It's often semi ethnically segregated, tended to be n industry boomer and as the industry shifted away, so did most of the more affluent workforce. What you ended up with was an insufficiently educated, non-mobile workforce that required said industries to function or else all would go to shit. It's incredibly tough to get a city out of a downward spiral like that. Add to it, that with rising poverty, rents and similar things go brutally down, which in turn attracts further poorer people who just cannot bring money into a city like that. The thing is, that similar crashes don't happen across the entire city. I wouldn't be surprised if Detroit's city center actually worked and was vibrant. It's usually the old industry quarters that suffer the most as well the places where those industry workers live. Just consider how some cities in Northern England look. You basically end up with zones which were built to house far more people than end up living there in the end. Super common in a lot of eastern european places that just didn't survive the economic shifts.
i don't know what all these goofs are going on about, Detroit is a-okay. when me and the gang go on our weekly segway route around the city, I can tell you that it is definitely up and kickin' there is so much culture to absorb and sights to see. just the other day I was with my buddy Chet at the Whole Foods (gluten free) in midtown and we had a blast, definitely no sign of poverty as far as I can see.
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