Detroit Now 14 Billion in Debt: What Do?

[Mad Scientist]

Coming to an American City near you! (Thanks to NAFTA and GATT!)
Detroit's financial crisis now in governor's hands - Yahoo! News

The fiscal crisis plaguing Detroit is now in the hands of Michigan's governor after a state-appointed review team determined the city was in a financial emergency with "no satisfactory plan" to resolve it.

What a shock that they couldn't come up with a solution right?

I'm sure people who live in Detroit don't care HOW they ended up like this, they just want to get out of Debt Bondage. What is your solution? How would YOU handle it?

This is what I'd do: Cut the Detroit Budget. Cut taxes. Reduce services EXCEPT Emergency Services. Stop accepting Federal Funding for ANY program. Encourage Home Schooling. Allow CCW for all those Legally Authorized to possess a firearm.

That's just a start I suppose.

I know you Liberals would say "Increase Taxes!". The problem is that there isn't enough Economic Activity to support any sort of Tax Increase.

What say you?

 

[Truthmatters]

who is it that crashed the world economy and made it so hard for them to solve their problems by creating economic havack world wide?

 

[Avorysuds]

who is it that crashed the world economy and made it so hard for them to solve their problems by creating economic havack world wide?

I believe it was Clinton's policies that were created with Democrat and Republican help... then Bush era policies that was created with Republican and then a super majority of Democrats (including Obama) help... Now it's Obama and mainly Democrats.... or is going on 5 years while running over a trillion dollars a year in deficit spending not enough time for Obama to find a bottom for the collapsing economy?

Remember TM, we still are getting injections of 40 billion a month from the FEDs. Without that not only would UE be historically high but the markets would reflect some amount of reality and look like shit. The question is how long can we build debt to float a false market.

Ahh, remember when TM used to bitch all day long about the deregulation of glass segil, and how it was Bush that caused a housing bubble.... Only to find out it was Clinton. Then TM started saying it was the Republicans in congress! But if we do that then anyone can make the case Bush was the best President in US history, it was simply all the Democrats fault in congress....

 

[Mad Scientist]

who is it that crashed the world economy and made it so hard for them to solve their problems by creating economic havack world wide?

Wait, you believe in World Government? Isn't that a "Conspiracy Theory"?

And if you actually DO, then wouldn't you know that neither Bush NOR Obama crashed the economy so that means neither one can fix it right?

You DO know that right?

 

[ScienceRocks]

Get a white economist to come in and balance the budget. lol

Seriously, good luck in getting this mess turned around.

 

[Rozman]

who is it that crashed the world economy and made it so hard for them to solve their problems by creating economic havack world wide?

How many guesses do we get...

And is it one person or one party.
If it's one person who had that much power.
If it's one person why did the other party just stand around and do nothing?

Looking forward to the answer to this riddle.

 

[Rozman]

It's easy to fix Detroit's problem of being 14 billion in debt....
Let's go to that Democrat rock star economist Paul Krugman for the answer...

Detroit needs to spend more money in order to get out of debt....

Thanks Paul....you get back to us real soon...

 

[Rozman]

Maybe Detroit can raise the taxes on the last 5 rich people still living there.
You know,get them to pay their "fair share"...

That should make it all better.

 

[Deepbluediver]

This is what I'd do: Cut the Detroit Budget. Cut taxes. Reduce services EXCEPT Emergency Services. Stop accepting Federal Funding for ANY program. Encourage Home Schooling. Allow CCW for all those Legally Authorized to possess a firearm.

Establishing a budget that does not rely on borrowing, and has a hefty margin of safety in the event of shortfalls would be the place to start. I'm of the opinion that rather than rely on projections (which usually assume over-optimistic growth), all budgets should be balanced based on the previous years tax revenue. It's not a perfect plan, but I think it will give politicians a better idea of what to expect, as well as an EXACT number that they need to deal with.
Way to much "budgeting" is done under systems like: "we project an income stream of X dollars and estimate Y growth rate and we can probably get the fed to fund Z programs...etc"

What services, specifically, do you want to cut? I'm no fan of big government, but there are certainly some areas where it can be more effective than others. The currently fight here in NYC is over housing and care of the mentally-ill, and whether the state should pay for them to be housed in hospitals or if it should be something more community based (I'm simplifying, don't jump all over me, please).

For traditionally expensive areas, look at other places around the country that are trying different ways of saving money and copy their approach. In other words, Detroit doesn't need (and can't afford) to experiement, it should learn from others. For example (again in NY) there has been good success at cutting education costs in Charter schools (which are essentially government funded but privately run).


Some of the other stuff you mention doesn't really seem to be related to economic issues, like the gun-laws, and other things actually seems counter-productive (federal funding). So long as Detroit can get federal funding that it isn't required to match, they it should accept it. They are in too deep to play ideological/political games, and need to grab onto any lifeline they can.

I know you Liberals would say "Increase Taxes!". The problem is that there isn't enough Economic Activity to support any sort of Tax Increase.

QFT
Raising taxes is, IMO, a short-term solution. Over the long run people find loopholes in the tax laws, or move eslewhere. The goal for politicians should not be to raise taxes as high as the population can bare, but should be to make do with as little tax revenue as possible.

What sucks about being in debt, is that when you are borrowing, the politicians get to shower the public with things that they aren't really paying for (via taxes) and life is grand. But paying back the debt requries you to effectively spend money, and get nothing for it. And it sucks. But the sooner you start balancing the budget and crawling out from under that mountain, the better.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Some of the other stuff you mention doesn't really seem to be related to economic issues, like the gun-laws, and other things actually seems counter-productive (federal funding).

Criminal activity is lower in areas that have CCW or just plain Open Carry so less L.E. response would be necessary, fewer people arrested, booked and so on thus decreasing costs.

 

[Politico]

They could start by selling Belle Isle.

 

[Nova78]

Detroit Now 14 Billion in Debt: What Do?

BURY IT !