Detroit: America's Poorest Big City

[Adam's Apple]

Super Bowl Host is America’s Poorest Big City
By Associated Press

Before the Super Bowl kickoff this weekend, private planes will land here, limousines will clog the streets and lavish parties will be thrown for those with famous names or lots of money. The kitchens of Ford Field will be stocked with two tons of lobster.

Much of the rest of Detroit, though, is a landscape dotted with burned-out buildings, where liquor stores abound but supermarkets are hard to come by, and where drugs, violence and unemployment are everyday realities.

Officials in the nation's poorest big city see hosting the game as a huge boost. They say it will be a catalyst for further development and provide a chance to improve Detroit's gritty reputation. They hope visitors will take note of new restaurants, clubs and lofts downtown. To make sure the city makes a good impression, dilapidated buildings have been torn down, roads repaved and landmarks renovated.

Yet with the exception of a few square miles in the center of town, many residents say they have not seen any improvement. And they don't expect the Super Bowl to have an effect on their lives.

"They spend all that money on the Super Bowl ... but they ain't doing nothing for here," said Arthur Lauderdale, 59, who lives about four miles from the heart of downtown on Detroit's east side.

The scenery along Van Dyke Street near Lauderdale's home would be familiar to anyone who has seen "8 Mile," Eminem's movie about life in Detroit. The street's once-bustling commercial section is dominated by boarded-up stores, charred buildings and vacant lots. The only signs of activity are at storefront churches and the occasional liquor store and hot-dog joint.

Nearly 2 million people lived in Detroit in the 1950s; today it has fewer than 900,000. According to the Census Bureau, more than a third of those people lived at or below the federal poverty line in 2004, the largest percentage of any U.S. city with a population of 250,000 or more.

Detroit's 2005 unemployment rate was 14.1%, more than 2 1/2 times the national level.

for full story:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/invest/extra/P143568.asp

 

[insein]

Another liberal Utopia.

 

[Mr.Conley]

Another liberal Utopia.

Yea it was all a democratic conspiracy to screw everyone in Detriot over. Nothing to do with the near collapse of the American auto industry that couldn't compete with better, cheaper Japanese, Korean, European, and now Chinese competition. Competition that you could, argueably, say was allowed by non-protectionest trade (something I think the Repubilcans support).

Remember the Democrats aren't responsible for all our problems. Issues this big are affected by far more than just politics.

 

[insein]

Yea it was all a democratic conspiracy to screw everyone in Detriot over. Nothing to do with the near collapse of the American auto industry that couldn't compete with better, cheaper Japanese, Korean, European, and now Chinese competition. Competition that you could, argueably, say was allowed by non-protectionest trade (something I think the Repubilcans support).

Remember the Democrats aren't responsible for all our problems. Issues this big are affected by far more than just politics.

And why did said auto industry collapse? Could it be the ever increasing wages thanks to overly aggressive union tactics? Could it be the free health benefits most enjoy thanks to union deals? Could it be the unlimited pensions that retirees receive years after they have pressed their last quarter panel?

Every American car starts out in a hole. It then takes on outrageous prices to try and make up the profit. ITs no wonder the japs killed us for years. Now look at china. Once they start making cars, It will all be over.

Sure you can bitch about the demise of the auto industry, but understand who brought about its death.

 

[Mr.Conley]

And why did said auto industry collapse? Could it be the ever increasing wages thanks to overly aggressive union tactics? Could it be the free health benefits most enjoy thanks to union deals? Could it be the unlimited pensions that retirees receive years after they have pressed their last quarter panel?

Every American car starts out in a hole. It then takes on outrageous prices to try and make up the profit. ITs no wonder the japs killed us for years. Now look at china. Once they start making cars, It will all be over.

Sure you can bitch about the demise of the auto industry, but understand who brought about its death.

Exactly, a combination of Democrat supported unions coupled with a lazy corporate structure so secure in its dominance and beholden to its legacy of leading the path for fair wages got screwed by the sudden rise of non-US competition that arose from Repubilcan supported anti-protectionest trade policies.

 

[fuzzykitten99]

And why did said auto industry collapse? Could it be the ever increasing wages thanks to overly aggressive union tactics? Could it be the free health benefits most enjoy thanks to union deals? Could it be the unlimited pensions that retirees receive years after they have pressed their last quarter panel?

Every American car starts out in a hole. It then takes on outrageous prices to try and make up the profit. ITs no wonder the japs killed us for years. Now look at china. Once they start making cars, It will all be over.

Sure you can bitch about the demise of the auto industry, but understand who brought about its death.

which is why i continue to support the 'big 3' by buying their cars when we do go car shopping (every 3-5 years or so). especially GM and Ford. Chrysler now makes some appealing cars that have peaked my interest...magnum...charger...

 

[Mr.Conley]

which is why i continue to support the 'big 3' by buying their cars when we do go car shopping (every 3-5 years or so). especially GM and Ford. Chrysler now makes some appealing cars that have peaked my interest...magnum...charger...
02-04-2006 04:27 PM

Remember that Chrysler was bought by Europeans.

 

[insein]

which is why i continue to support the 'big 3' by buying their cars when we do go car shopping (every 3-5 years or so). especially GM and Ford. Chrysler now makes some appealing cars that have peaked my interest...magnum...charger...

Why support them? So they can continue to make poor management decisions and eventually a Government bail out will be needed like the Airplanes? There are many Japanese manufacturers that have American plants now that create American jobs as well. Continuing to support medicrety is the problem we face with our manufacturers. Ive owned American cars all my life. Ive paid the ridiculous fees for repairs on parts that could be cheaper. Ive paid for repairs more often then i probably should have. Ill tell you one thing though, after seeing the GM and Chrysler public mishandlings of the past year, ill be buying a jap car for my next one.

 

[Adam's Apple]

Another liberal Utopia.

Agree completely. When I read this article, I thought maybe they should try another political party once in awhile. But not likely to happen.

 

[LuvRPgrl]

Remember that Chrysler was bought by Europeans.

I thought it was Chrysler that bought Mercedes out?

 

[dilloduck]

I thought it was Chrysler that bought Mercedes out?

I thiink it was "officially" defined as a merger.

 

[William Joyce]

What gets me is that the American people buy Japanese cars. I say "gets me" not because I think that's terrible, but because it's the harsh market at work. Get mad about it all you want, but the truth is that some quiet, little yellow people on the other side of the world figured out a way to improve on the cars we invented. As a nationalistic and unified people, they didn't have unions v. management mucking things up. They got help from their nationalistic government (which in a global economy isn't really socialism, it's national competition). They didn't have incompetent blacks on the factory floor screwing up cars. They didn't have white folks who hated GM but loved the UAW taking a relaxed approach to car quality. It was one people with one goal --- and look at the result. We love to say our "differences are our strength," but not here. Here, it got us our flabby asses handed to us.

I'm not saying we should become Japan. I'm just saying that reality hit us.

 

[Abbey Normal]

Agree completely. When I read this article, I thought maybe they should try another political party once in awhile. But not likely to happen.

Not when they are rounded up into buses by Dem leaders to get to the polls, and then paid cash to vote Democrat.

 

[Annie]

Detroit has taxed all business out of the city, unless they 'exempt' an industry. Michigan in general has returned to higher taxing. They will not break out of the cycle, until they lower the costs of doing business there, in order to attract new. It may be too late, as they no longer have a work force capable of manning new businesses that might be attracted.

 

[fuzzykitten99]

Why support them? So they can continue to make poor management decisions and eventually a Government bail out will be needed like the Airplanes? There are many Japanese manufacturers that have American plants now that create American jobs as well. Continuing to support medicrety is the problem we face with our manufacturers. Ive owned American cars all my life. Ive paid the ridiculous fees for repairs on parts that could be cheaper. Ive paid for repairs more often then i probably should have. Ill tell you one thing though, after seeing the GM and Chrysler public mishandlings of the past year, ill be buying a jap car for my next one.

I don't care how many plants Toyota has here, the money still goes back to Japan, one way or another. I prefer my dollars at least stay here longer.

Poor management decisions and public mishandlings don't bother me nor do they concern me. Companies make mistakes, and rightly so. It will all work itself out in the end. Dispsite what the MSM reports (they are anti-American anyway) GM isn't doing as badly as the MSM would like you to think. They may be in a slump, but judging by their upcoming product line (as well as Ford & Chrysler's), they might just save themselves. I still like the cars, and have faith in them. I have never owned one that has yet to fail me in a massive way.

In the mean time, GM is bringing back the Camaro (looking to be in 08/09), and the Impala and Monte Carlo will be rear-wheel drive again in a few years. The new '07 Chevy Tahoe is their best one yet. With GM's displacement on demand technology (Impala and Monte Carlo already have it in their V-8's), combined with them bringing back the Vortec, it gets better mileage than my 3.8L V6 Impala LS. This one will be on our list of prospects when we truck-shop in the future.

i have never liked most jap cars to begin with anyhow. They don't feel safe when I have driven them-I feel like I am in a tin can on wheels. They even FEEL cheap. They have not enough room for a family of 2 adults and 2 kids under 3yo, no power when you need it, and really, none I have ever seen (except the Mitsu Eclipse) are visually appealing. They are boring, very unexciting cars. I believe a vehicle says a lot about the driver's personality.

They are actually more expensive to fix because their engines are mounted different, making working on them yourself (even changing oil or spark plugs), a bigger PITA than should be. My father in law has a toyota (2003 i think) and he can't even change the oil in his own car because to get the filter off, you need a special tool that only certified mechanics have access to. So he has to pay someone else to do it, not by choice. Then there's the ever increasing problems he has had to where the car has spent more time going back and forth to the dealer (because it is still under warranty) than back and forth to work. No, it hasn't been deemed a lemon either, because apparently, these problems are common for this car. He wants a Chrysler 300c, but the resale on the Toyota is practically nothing and its not even 3 years old, so he would still owe money on it.

Get even into a fender-bender with a Toyota, and even if it is still driveable, you are likely to have it deemed 'salvage', because the car's dollar worth is usually about 65% less than it would cost to fix it. Why? because most of the parts are imported, and shop labor is usually higher by 50%. So if you decide to keep the car and just fix it, good luck selling it in the future when your title is stamped 'salvage-must be inspected'. I have personally seen this happen through my last job.

before I left my last job, I was told to keep track of all the Hyundai car titles that came through my in-box. Why? Because there is a possible massive recall on every single Hyundai from 1999 thru about 2004, because there have been many accidents in which the airbags do not deploy at all, even in a head-on collision. Some have resulted in deaths. So info is being collected by insurance companies to see if there is something that can be done.

My best friend's mother was in an accident about 9 months ago, and she had a Hyundai XG350. The entire front end of the car was nearly gone, but the airbags still failed to deploy. She had her seatbelt on, but still hit her head on the steering wheel, and her legs were pinned under the dashboard. They had to airlift her because she was unconscious and not breathing. She still has memory and function problems because of the head trauma.

Hondas are too expensive to own for insurance due to their high-theft rate. Not to mention their BLATANT copy of the Chevy Avalanche/Cadillac Escalade with their so-called innovative Ridgeline. Even though nearly all the features on the vehicle, were already there in the 2002 Avalanche/Escalade. Sure they made some differences, but the thing looks like it has a Ford front end, with an Avalanche back-end. Then they have the balls to call it 'innovative'...

Hope you don't own an Acura Integra from 1995-1997. They all have the same ignition key configuration. Meaning if two people each have an Integra, even if they are say, a 95 and a 97, they can swap cars, but use their own car's key to start the other person's. Sorry I was not able to find a link to this, as it was something that I have been told by several insurance agents, including my own. I don't think this is something that they would publicize anyway, since it would likely fuel more thefts.

anyhow, that's my last word on it. from here on out...let's agree to disagree.

 

[Annie]

I don't care how many plants Toyota has here, the money still goes back to Japan, one way or another. I prefer my dollars at least stay here longer.

Poor management decisions and public mishandlings don't bother me nor do they concern me. Companies make mistakes, and rightly so. It will all work itself out in the end. Dispsite what the MSM reports (they are anti-American anyway) GM isn't doing as badly as the MSM would like you to think. They may be in a slump, but judging by their upcoming product line (as well as Ford & Chrysler's), they might just save themselves. I still like the cars, and have faith in them. I have never owned one that has yet to fail me in a massive way.

In the mean time, GM is bringing back the Camaro (looking to be in 08/09), and the Impala and Monte Carlo will be rear-wheel drive again in a few years. The new '07 Chevy Tahoe is their best one yet. With GM's displacement on demand technology (Impala and Monte Carlo already have it in their V-8's), combined with them bringing back the Vortec, it gets better mileage than my 3.8L V6 Impala LS. This one will be on our list of prospects when we truck-shop in the future.

i have never liked most jap cars to begin with anyhow. They don't feel safe when I have driven them-I feel like I am in a tin can on wheels. They even FEEL cheap. They have not enough room for a family of 2 adults and 2 kids under 3yo, no power when you need it, and really, none I have ever seen (except the Mitsu Eclipse) are visually appealing. They are boring, very unexciting cars. I believe a vehicle says a lot about the driver's personality.

They are actually more expensive to fix because their engines are mounted different, making working on them yourself (even changing oil or spark plugs), a bigger PITA than should be. My father in law has a toyota (2003 i think) and he can't even change the oil in his own car because to get the filter off, you need a special tool that only certified mechanics have access to. So he has to pay someone else to do it, not by choice. Then there's the ever increasing problems he has had to where the car has spent more time going back and forth to the dealer (because it is still under warranty) than back and forth to work. No, it hasn't been deemed a lemon either, because apparently, these problems are common for this car. He wants a Chrysler 300c, but the resale on the Toyota is practically nothing and its not even 3 years old, so he would still owe money on it.

Get even into a fender-bender with a Toyota, and even if it is still driveable, you are likely to have it deemed 'salvage', because the car's dollar worth is usually about 65% less than it would cost to fix it. Why? because most of the parts are imported, and shop labor is usually higher by 50%. So if you decide to keep the car and just fix it, good luck selling it in the future when your title is stamped 'salvage-must be inspected'. I have personally seen this happen through my last job.

before I left my last job, I was told to keep track of all the Hyundai car titles that came through my in-box. Why? Because there is a possible massive recall on every single Hyundai from 1999 thru about 2004, because there have been many accidents in which the airbags do not deploy at all, even in a head-on collision. Some have resulted in deaths. So info is being collected by insurance companies to see if there is something that can be done.

My best friend's mother was in an accident about 9 months ago, and she had a Hyundai XG350. The entire front end of the car was nearly gone, but the airbags still failed to deploy. She had her seatbelt on, but still hit her head on the steering wheel, and her legs were pinned under the dashboard. They had to airlift her because she was unconscious and not breathing. She still has memory and function problems because of the head trauma.

Hondas are too expensive to own for insurance due to their high-theft rate. Not to mention their BLATANT copy of the Chevy Avalanche/Cadillac Escalade with their so-called innovative Ridgeline. Even though nearly all the features on the vehicle, were already there in the 2002 Avalanche/Escalade. Sure they made some differences, but the thing looks like it has a Ford front end, with an Avalanche back-end. Then they have the balls to call it 'innovative'...

Hope you don't own an Acura Integra from 1995-1997. They all have the same ignition key configuration. Meaning if two people each have an Integra, even if they are say, a 95 and a 97, they can swap cars, but use their own car's key to start the other person's. Sorry I was not able to find a link to this, as it was something that I have been told by several insurance agents, including my own. I don't think this is something that they would publicize anyway, since it would likely fuel more thefts.

anyhow, that's my last word on it. from here on out...let's agree to disagree.

My tendancy was to fisk this, but I won't. Leave it to say that if the American makers were going to get it, before bankruptcy, it would have been in the 70's. They didn't read the awakening, perhaps they didn't believe it. In any case, this is beyond small car and gas guzzlers of the 70's. This is a matter of style and performance. I'm real sorry for the 'workers' but if your 'suggestions' were being ignored, you should have put them before the consumer.

American cars suck.

 

[LuvRPgrl]

What gets me is that the American people buy Japanese cars. I say "gets me" not because I think that's terrible, but because it's the harsh market at work. Get mad about it all you want, but the truth is that some quiet, little yellow people on the other side of the world figured out a way to improve on the cars we invented. As a nationalistic and unified people, they didn't have unions v. management mucking things up. They got help from their nationalistic government (which in a global economy isn't really socialism, it's national competition). They didn't have incompetent blacks on the factory floor screwing up cars. They didn't have white folks who hated GM but loved the UAW taking a relaxed approach to car quality. It was one people with one goal --- and look at the result. We love to say our "differences are our strength," but not here. Here, it got us our flabby asses handed to us.

I'm not saying we should become Japan. I'm just saying that reality hit us.

Funny, I have traveled to asia extensively and I have never seen one "yellow" person, ever.

Yep, those black folks, all incompetent. They really should go back to picking cotton.

Fact is, having a govt subsidize your auto industry doesnt raise the level of your standard of living. In the end, the workers are working for much lower wages than they realize, via taxation to pay for the subsidizing. It only makes their products sell more overseas. The proof? Did you know most japanese dont even have flush toilets?

Not to mention, percentage wise, America still leads the world in GNP, we PRODUCE more than any other country, and the percentage of the production we create is higher than it was in the early sixties, when the INCOMPETENT blacks came into the work force and the yellow chinks and nips began taking away alot of the auto market.

So, your little racists theories just dont pan out in reality. A desire to have a homogenous America lies solely in your hatred of other races, and has nothing to do with the betterment of our society in whole. But just remember this, this country is no more yours than any black person, asian, or hispanic, for you to claim otherwise is a blatant lie, which makes you a LIAR.

 

[Adam's Apple]

American cars suck.

I agree with your evaluation, Kathianne. We have always tried to support the American auto industry by buying American-made cars, but it's getting harder and harder to do so. Why Detroit (the auto industry, not the city) didn't wake up years ago to the foreign threat (when Japanese cars started selling like hotcakes and continued to do so) is a mystery to me. Where did that good old American competitive spirit go?

 

[KarlMarx]

Yea it was all a democratic conspiracy to screw everyone in Detriot over. Nothing to do with the near collapse of the American auto industry that couldn't compete with better, cheaper Japanese, Korean, European, and now Chinese competition. Competition that you could, argueably, say was allowed by non-protectionest trade (something I think the Repubilcans support).

Remember the Democrats aren't responsible for all our problems. Issues this big are affected by far more than just politics.

Actually, as already been said before, the American auto industry did it to themselves. One, for allowing unions to dictate everything, secondly, for not listening to Dr. Edward Deming (no, he's not the one who invented the kiddy pajamas), an American who was obsessed with quality. He introduced statistics into the quality control process, and other practices that are taken for granted today.

However, the Japanese did, and the rest is history.

Protectionism is never an answer, I refer you to the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930, which slapped a protectionist tarriff on everything from Rolls Royces to rutabagas. In retaliation, Canada, the European countries and others retaliated and American exports overseas plunged. As a result, the effects of the 1929 stock market crash were magnified and more people lost their jobs.

BTW.. I spent a few weeks in downtown Detroit. And it's as bad as the article suggests.... it's an awful place to be. I was in the Renaissance Center, which is owned by GM and is their world corporate headquarters. Even there, drunks would pan handle (in the lower floors, which was open to the public and had a large shopping mall)

 

[Mr.Conley]

Actually, as already been said before, the American auto industry did it to themselves. One, for allowing unions to dictate everything, secondly, for not listening to Dr. Edward Deming (no, he's not the one who invented the kiddy pajamas), an American who was obsessed with quality. He introduced statistics into the quality control process, and other practices that are taken for granted today.

However, the Japanese did, and the rest is history.

Protectionism is never an answer, I refer you to the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930, which slapped a protectionist tarriff on everything from Rolls Royces to rutabagas. In retaliation, Canada, the European countries and others retaliated and American exports overseas plunged. As a result, the effects of the 1929 stock market crash were magnified and more people lost their jobs.

BTW.. I spent a few weeks in downtown Detroit. And it's as bad as the article suggests.... it's an awful place to be. I was in the Renaissance Center, which is owned by GM and is their world corporate headquarters. Even there, drunks would pan handle (in the lower floors, which was open to the public and had a large shopping mall)

Thats what I'm saying.