City of Detroit declares lights out for thousands of residents

[GTH]

Got this off MSN this am.

A huge part of Motor City is about to go dark. Officials in Detroit have a plan to get the area's residents to live in a smaller space within the city by shutting off nearly half of the streetlights. The city's population is less than half what it was back in 1960, and almost 40 percent of its existing 88,000 street lights don't work. The cash-strapped city can't afford to fix them, and the initiative would save nearly $10 million a year. Maintaining a smaller city would help ease the strain on services like police and public transportation. However, the city can't force residents to move, and many feel the encroaching darkness will be a welcome environment to criminals.


Does anybody else see something wrong with this? Violence in the MotorCity is bad enough with the lights on! Wanna bet there will be a spike in CCW permits and gun sales?

 

[S&W645]

Other cities in the rust belt have been moving people in closer to city centers and turning the suburbs back into farmland. Saves them money by not having to maintain infrastructure. Youngstown, OH and Flint, MI are two examples.

 

[Domineaux]

Good ol' union states...lol

 

[Phillip Gain]

Trying to "contract" the city is a good idea. But it needs to be done the right way. Start with revitalizing the city center, and create incentives for existing residents on the outskirts to move inwards. Then as the outskirt neighborhoods are vacated, start condemning, bulldozing, and rezoning to "rural residential" etc.

Use more carrots, and fewer sticks.

 

[titaniumman]

closer to the city , farther from me...sounds good!

 

[araczynski]

simple math, pay more taxes, or do with less. at least they're doing the responsible thing, unlike the numbnuts all over europe and washington d.c.

maybe they should stop giving everyone tax breaks (read: corporations, since they're now 'people' too, with feelings), as soon as the tax breaks expire, the companies bolt to a different location to get new tax breaks, or china.

 

[silvia0073]

Lived in the bad part of Detroit once... lasted 3 months. BAD was and even more so now a huge understatement.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[stovepipe]

Sounds like a muggers dream come true .

 

[fudo]

If they want to save money, they should keep the lights on and cut the pay of the jackasses in the city government that put them in the position they're in.

 

[fuhr52]

Let's look at how Detroit got to this point? Who's policies have been implemented though out the years? :help:

 

[Iam2Taz]

I going to venture and say that Detroit will not be the first major city to begin turning off lights. (As noted above.) As much as we disliked living in Michigan for 2 years, I wouldn't wish that on those that have to stay. The "gimme more" folks up there are about to find out that the gravy train is slowing down.

 

[longslide10]

Detroit's decline in Time:

Link Removed

Shanghai China--then and now

http://img.weburbanist.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/urban-development-shanghai.jpg

QUIT buying crap from China.....thanks Wally World

 

[eagleeyes]

ahh longslide i've seen that time link about detroit thanks for posting it i will check it out again later
i grew up in detroit through the 60s and most of the 70s before coming to florida
went through the riots and all which was fueled by the media mostly and most saw right through their charades
i was up visiting when the hudsons blg was demolished and that was when i realized that city was on a slippery slope downwards for certain
i think the only way they going to get back on their feet is to demolish most of the dilapidated structures and try to farm it if possible which would give the citizens there jobs and something to eat if their crops don't fail........
shame because there were so many great architectural beauties up there i'm hoping they can salvage what they can as well
it's a crime and a shame how that city went to hell when the big corporations began pulling out and the democratic mayors totally mismanaged funds and let it go to waste.......it's up to those who reside their to clean it up and get back they can do it if they put their minds to it
in my heart i'd love to see the citizens there do the right things to revitalize and renovate it to make it a decent and safe place for all and education is key not the stupid stuff they teaching at the malcom x school with their skittles and iced tea days that crap has got to stop if our children are to begin to see a brighter future
Link Removed

 

[rappini]

Would the last one to leave Detroit/Dearborn please turn out the lights.

 

[mappow]

Further example of what Socialism combined with the Unions will wrought.

 

[SR40c]

simple math, pay more taxes, or do with less. at least they're doing the responsible thing, unlike the numbnuts all over europe and washington d.c.

maybe they should stop giving everyone tax breaks (read: corporations, since they're now 'people' too, with feelings), as soon as the tax breaks expire, the companies bolt to a different location to get new tax breaks, or china.

Tax breaks are the problem? In Detroit? PUUUULEEEEEASE! AHHHHH HA HA HA HA HA! What a scream, I tell ya. WOW!

:sarcastic::sarcastic::sarcastic::sarcastic::sarcastic::sarcastic::sarcastic::sarcastic:

Not only can you not do the math, you aren't even on the right planet.

 

[eaccents]

Other cities in the rust belt have been moving people in closer to city centers and turning the suburbs back into farmland. Saves them money by not having to maintain infrastructure. Youngstown, OH and Flint, MI are two examples.

Flint, MI has a reputation as one of the worst crime-ridden cities in the state (if not beyond). I can't remember the exact details, but an article that I read sometimes last year made me very afraid for relatives of ours who live near there.

In the article (likely the Detroit News), they listed the total number of City of Flint officers (possibly 62?). I took the number and roughly divided by 3 (3 shifts?) and was absolutely appalled by the ridiculously small number of officers that could be patrolling the city at any one time.

While I can certainly see the benefits of consolidating resources into a smaller geographical area, the process/progress has to be done properly and methodically in order to be successful. Shutting off the lights to force people to move closer to the city center--is the message "either move or die?"

 

[gsim]

I can't think of a reason i'd ever go to Detroit. It is going to be in the same class as Oakland, Camdem, Compton, Baltimore, ect....crappy neglected urban areas that tax payers have abandoned. Scare away the folks who pay the bills and you get a city who can't afford to keep the lights on.

 

[eagleeyes]

perhaps they should invest in solar lights

 

[longslide10]

ahh longslide i've seen that time link about detroit thanks for posting it i will check it out again later
i grew up in detroit through the 60s and most of the 70s before coming to florida
went through the riots and all which was fueled by the media mostly and most saw right through their charades
i was up visiting when the hudsons blg was demolished and that was when i realized that city was on a slippery slope downwards for certain
i think the only way they going to get back on their feet is to demolish most of the dilapidated structures and try to farm it if possible which would give the citizens there jobs and something to eat if their crops don't fail........
shame because there were so many great architectural beauties up there i'm hoping they can salvage what they can as well
it's a crime and a shame how that city went to hell when the big corporations began pulling out and the democratic mayors totally mismanaged funds and let it go to waste.......it's up to those who reside their to clean it up and get back they can do it if they put their minds to it
in my heart i'd love to see the citizens there do the right things to revitalize and renovate it to make it a decent and safe place for all and education is key not the stupid stuff they teaching at the malcom x school with their skittles and iced tea days that crap has got to stop if our children are to begin to see a brighter future
Link Removed

\

Yeah, it has to start in the schools. The govt pc commies started the no child left behind program which has devastated our future. We (maybe England too) were at one time number one in education and every year we slip down a few more notches. I saw an article where we are #17th in science---wtf? If we don't clean the ****** up in D.C. (by force is what it's gonna take) then this country will be a third world country in less than 50 years and our children and their children's children will be miserable overworked and underpayed sweatshop and corporate slaves similar to commie China and old Russia.