Vision presents a "Scary" Scenario to wanna-be Detroiters

    Dr. Claude Anderson is coming to town, and this time he is bringing friends. While he is definitely not Santa Clause he is a person with grand ideas and plans to achieve them. But to others he is an obstructionist, a troublemaker, a person who stirs up the masses and puts wild, radical, militant and even progressive ideas into our heads. Dr. Anderson presents ideas and policies which would prevent the financial and economic plans from moving forward in Detroit that have been pushed onto the city since the late Coleman Alexander Young left office in 1993. These plans have hurt Detroit and drove the city into constant deficits since Mayor Young. Under Young Detroit had rainy day funds for emergencies and bad financial years. But Detroit no longer has any money to fall back on and has frequently borrowed money or sold city property to pay its bills. Additionally the people have not prospered in the years since Young was mayor. There are less jobs than ever before, the average wage and household income has not increased. The only persons to prosper have been those who have been connected to the power structure who can leverage their connections to gain personal wealth. This is always at the expense of the citizens.

Destroying Detroit's Revenue – Part Five

    Two successive politically weak mayors have hurt Detroit. Dennis Archer and Kwame Kilpatrick have worked to support interests and the interests of their supporters that did not help the city. They both employed the adage of winner take all. Only they supported this believe after their victory in their political campaigns. Prior to their victory their message was to share everything. After they were the political victors they refused to share resources with the entire city. Their policies have mirrored the worst of economic principles while ignoring the best of democratic beliefs. Under Archer and Kilpatrick, the government has spent more money but the quality of life in Detroit has fallen. While the number of jobs has decreased the unemployment rate has increased. Housing values have risen but more people are losing their homes, many due to high taxes, others to gentrification. Also the number of low-income homes in Detroit has fallen to an all time low. Archer demolished every housing complex in the city and refused to construct new places for those displaced residents to live. They moved out of the city and took Detroit’s population to below one million residents. The population change was a historic event and a black eye for the city. The next mayor of Detroit needs to be someone who can ignore corporate interests and push for actions that will benefit the people.

Destroying Detroit's Revenue – Part Four

    Detroit has today at its roots a strong Black community. Like many American cities it didn't begin that way but the lure of jobs and prosperity helped to increase the numbers of Black families in the city and stabilize the patterns of migration. Once the Black community was firmly established, the power structure began a process of attempts at destabilizing the Black community to disrupt its growing political influence.

Destroying Detroit's Revenue - Gentrification

    Gentrification is to some people a means to an end. To those losing their homes it’s a cruel abuse of power. Detroit has been enduring gentrification for many years. Every time a community becomes a political threat to the current power structure. When the first freeway was built and as the others were constructed, it was placed through the most vibrant parts of the Black community. Today, more than 40 years since the last freeway was built, new housing is being placed on old housing locations. But those old housing locations are not empty. Rather they are inhabited and the owners are being forced to sell and relocate to make way for the new development.

Destroying Detroit's Revenue – Part Two

    Detroit’s past two mayors have made questionable decisions on the city’s revenue generating departments. Seemingly giving money away, or poring money down the drain, these actions might have gone un-noticed if a deficit which threatens hundreds of city jobs and rising taxes was not a current reality. But instead of looking to reverse bad decision making, the policy has been to continue the hurtful programs or actions. But there is always a limit to what can be cut, eliminated or transferred to eliminate debt.