The Detroit Free Press published a good story in September, How Detroit Went Broke: The answers may surprise you. This story might be relevant, as Chokwe is importing Detroit talent into Jackson government. Enjoy.
Detroit is broke, but it didn’t have to be. An in-depth Free Press analysis of the city’s financial history back to the 1950s shows that its elected officials and others charged with managing its finances repeatedly failed — or refused — to make the tough economic and political decisions that might have saved the city from financial ruin.
Instead, amid a huge exodus of residents, plummeting tax revenues and skyrocketing home abandonment, Detroit’s leaders engaged in a billion-dollar borrowing binge, created new taxes and failed to cut expenses when they needed to. Simultaneously, they gifted workers and retirees with generous bonuses. And under pressure from unions and, sometimes, arbitrators, they failed to cut health care benefits — saddling the city with staggering costs that today threaten the safety and quality of life of people who live here.
The numbers, most from records deeply buried in the public library, lay waste to misconceptions about the roots of Detroit’s economic crisis. For critics who want to blame Mayor Coleman Young for starting this mess, think again. The mayor’s sometimes fiery rhetoric may have contributed to metro Detroit’s racial divide, but he was an astute money manager who recognized, early on, the challenges the city faced and began slashing staff and spending to address them. .... Article
20 comments:
I remember chokwe appointing one person from Detroit to a position, but how many people from Detroit has he appointed to positions in our city government, what are those positions, and what powers do those positions carry? Just trying to get a full picture of the story.
Wall Street not only profited from the failed pension
restructuring gambit, but from various bonds issues
Sold to the city. The real cost of Wall Street's
deals is a lot higher than reported.
How can I get a copy of Tate Reeves' "transparent" budget? Is it transparent or invisible? Is it online?
One Detroiter is too many.
The Street Committee says more on the way.
It is an international true story but you can't find a better account of how the big financiers feast on debtors heading down the swirling money drain than Paul Blustein's And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out). Read that book then think about how the Malachi types are screwing over the cities and counties in Mississippi populated by leadership dolts who don't have the remotest of clues as to the future financial disasters they are creating.
What is the street committee. And what other detroiters hold positions in Jackson government, what are their positions, and what do they have authority to do under those positions?
county administrator of hinds is another Detroit disciple.
Very informative article, KF.
I hope your readers will actually read it.
Rewarding your supporters and hoping to buy loyalty/votes is one of the things that got out of control.
That Wall Street touted Detroit as being fiscally well positioned when it clearly wasn't, is also quite interesting.
I'm glad one corrupt politician is going to jail but sadly, it's more often a matter of " getting mine while I can and to hell with the consequences in the future". Political office becomes a license to legally steal.
Chokwe has already sent this city on a dangerous path. He and the mindless city council have adopted an irresponsible bloated budget that could haunt the City of Jackson for many years. In fact, this could be the beginning of the end of any chance that the city has of being turned around. I'm glad Chokwe has momentarily checked his racists behavior, but I'm concerned that he is totally out of his depth. He has surrounded himself with folks that know nothing of economic development or routine matters of governance. It's only a matter of time before they all lament the day they casts votes for this guy.
I would take a minute to defend Mayor Chokwe, at least so far. I didnt vote for him in any of his elections, but I must say that so far he is getting things done -- some good, some less so. He tore down all of the old shotgun houses that were burned up on Farish Street and has torn down abandoned houses on a number of other properties all over Jackson. He has rid the govt of the foot-draggers and is getting things finished, not just started. He addressed the issue of the street repair tax and is putting it up for a vote. I hope he doesnt regress by hiring the failed Detroit crowd, but so far he is much better than I expected.
Chuckie has also implemented some massive tax increases. Wait till next year when the supposed one year property tax bump becomes permanent.
@ 3:24. I'm glad to see the shot gun houses gone too, but the fact is they were owned by Chokwe's former law partner Harvey Freelon. The mayor just greased the skids so that Freelon could partner with Charter Development to build a low income housing project. Just what Jackson needs; another downtown slum. In15 years you won't know the new projects from the old shot gun houses.
4:41 keep dreamin yo negative thoughts. There is no one year property tax bump. If you tell a lie enough times, some people will believe it. Alinsky play book.
City of Jackson millage increased. You obviously don't know jack shit. Or, maybe you're a loser who doesn't own any property in Jackson. Or maybe both.
3:52 I may not know "jack shit" but I do know that the milleage increase was not that at all. The city simply kept the part of the mileage that JPS nwas supposed to get b/c of the bond referendum.
Next year the taxes will be the same, but the city won't get that part. True, the city could have refunded the overage, but elected not to and I would agree. (See crumbling pipes and shitty roads)
Keep up!
The city is not simply keeping the JPS overage as the JPS millage was decreased. The city millage was increased a commensurate rate to the JPS decrease. Next year Lumumba will cry a sob story and not rescind the city increase because he is growing the size of Jackson government beyond that level servicable by the previous millage rate. The actual millage rates changed for this bait-and-switch but your head is buried so far up your ass you don't know the difference.
"The problem with idiots is they know so much that simply isn't true" Ronald Reagan
"you're a loser who doesn't own any property in Jackson"
So, "doesn't own property in " = "loser".
Okaaaaaaaay - seems like there's a Bobby Bare song that would be perfectly appropriate to insert here for all you self-proclaimed "winners", but the irony and sarcasm would surely go over your pointed little head.
5:22 I hope CL does just that. We need the money. Also, read 5:54. Mirror, meet 5:22.
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