20 Things Detroit Can Teach Us About Our Future
Share this Article
Do you want to know what the future of America is going to look like? Just check out what is happening to Detroit. The city of Detroit was once one of the greatest industrial cities in the history of the world, but today it is a rotting, decaying, post-apocalyptic hellhole. Nearly half the men are unemployed, nearly half the population is functionally illiterate, more than half of the children are living in poverty and the city government is drowning in debt. As economic conditions have gotten worse, crime has absolutely exploded. Every single night in Detroit there are frightening confrontations between desperate criminals and exasperated homeowners. Unfortunately, the police force in Detroit has been dramatically reduced in size. When the police in Detroit are called, they often show up very late if they even show up at all. Detroit has become a lawless hellhole where violence is the currency of the streets. If you want to survive in Detroit, you better be ready to fight because there are hordes of desperate criminals that are quite eager to take literally everything that you have got. But don’t look down on Detroit too much, because what is happening in Detroit will soon be happening all over America.
The following are 20 things we can learn about the future of America from the death of Detroit….
#1 People don’t want to live where the stench of failure and decay is constantly in the air. Back in the 1950s, Detroit was a teeming metropolis of approximately 2 million people. According to the 2010 census, only 713,000people live in Detroit today. The U.S. Census Bureau says that Detroit lost a resident every 22 minutes during the first decade of this century.
#2 When the economy falls apart, desperate people will do desperate things and many homeowners will fight back. Justifiable homicide in Detroit rose by a staggering 79 percent during 2011.
#3 In major cities where people are scrambling just to survive, any confrontation can quickly escalate into a life or death affair. The rate of self-defense killings in Detroit is currently 2200% above the national average.
#4 When there is not enough money to go around, a lot of local governments will choose to cut back on police protection. Ten years ago, there were approximately 5,000 police for the city of Detroit. Today, there are less than 3,000.
#5 The essential social services that you are enjoying today will not always be there in the future. Officials in Detroit recently announced that due to budget constraints, all police stations will be closed to the public for 16 hours a day.
#6 Economic decay is a breeding ground for chaos and violence. Last Friday and Saturday, a total of nine shootings were reported in the city of Detroit.
#7 More Americans than ever are realizing the benefits of self-defense. The following is what 73-year-old Julia Brown recently told the Daily….
The last time Brown, 73, called the Detroit police, they didn’t show up until the next day. So she applied for a permit to carry a handgun and says she’s prepared to use it against the young thugs who have taken over her neighborhood, burglarizing entire blocks, opening fire at will and terrorizing the elderly with impunity.
#8 When crime gets go bad that the police are powerless to stop it, vigilante groups begin to form….
In fact, crime has gotten so bad and the citizens are so frustrated by the lack of police assistance that they have resorted to forming their own organizations to fight back. One group, known as “Detroit 300″, was formed after a 90-year-old woman on Detroit’s northwest side was brutally raped in August.
#9 When criminals become desperate, they will steal literally anything that is not bolted down. In Detroit today, thieves have stripped so much copper wiring out of the street lights that half of all the lights in some neighborhoods no longer work.
#10 As things fall apart, eventually a time comes when it is not even safe to drive down the road in the middle of the day. 100 bus drivers in Detroit recently refused to drive their routes out of fear of being attacked on the streets. The head of the bus drivers union, Henry Gaffney, said that the drivers were literally “scared for their lives“….
“Our drivers are scared, they’re scared for their lives. This has been an ongoing situation about security. I think yesterday kind of just topped it off, when one of my drivers was beat up by some teenagers down in the middle of Rosa Parks and it took the police almost 30 minutes to get there, in downtown Detroit,” said Gaffney.
#11 One of the clearest signs of decline in America is the state of our education system. Only 25 percent of all students in Detroit end up graduating from high school. Many other major cities will soon have graduation rates similar to Detroit.
#12 When local governments run out of money they are forced to make tough choices. After already shutting down dozens of schools, officials in Detroit have announced plans to close down 16 more schools.
#13 A growing percentage of Americans cannot even read or write. This is a very frightening indication of what the future of America could look like. According to one stunning report, 47 percent of all people living in the city of Detroit are functionally illiterate.
#14 Sadly, child poverty is absolutely exploding all over the United States. Today, 53.6 percent of all children that live in Detroit are living below the poverty line.
#15 The employment situation in America is a lot worse than the government is telling us. An analysis of census figures found that 48.5% of all men living in Detroit from age 20 to age 64 did not have a job in 2008.
#16 When a major city becomes a hellhole, home prices fall like a rock. The median price of a home in Detroit is now just $6000.
#17 When crime and looting become commonplace, homes in an area can become absolutely worthless. Some homes in Detroit have been sold for a single dollar.
#18 When depression-like conditions exist in an area for a number of years, large numbers of people will move on to greener pastures. As of a few years ago, there were more than 40,000 vacant properties in the city of Detroit.
#19 Just because we have a high standard of living today does not mean that will always be the case. Detroit is just a rotting shell of what it once was, and what is happening to Detroit will happen to much of the rest of America very soon. The following is what one British reporter found during his visit to Detroit….
Much of Detroit is horribly dangerous for its own residents, who in many cases only stay because they have nowhere else to go. Property crime is double the American average, violent crime triple. The isolated, peeling homes, the flooded roads, the clunky, rusted old cars and the neglected front yards amid trees and groin-high grassland make you think you are in rural Alabama, not in one of the greatest industrial cities that ever existed.
#20 When government finances collapse, politicians look for things to sell off and “privatize”. Unfortunately, the Detroit city government is so broke that it is now considering selling off some of its most famous assets….
Now, the city of Detroit’s most venerable assets — from Belle Isle to the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel — could end up on the auction block as the city fights for its financial life.
Facing mounting debt and the prospect of a state-appointed emergency manager, the city is looking at all options to shed expenses and raise revenue. If city officials can’t come up with a viable budget plan, an emergency manager would have the power to sell assets as part of a financial takeover of Detroit.
But Detroit is not alone.
Lots of other cities all over America are flat broke and out of options.
For example, just check out what is happening in Scranton, Pennsylvania….
Mayor Christopher Doherty is blunt when asked about a court order forcing his Pennsylvania city to pay about $30 million in wages withheld from police and firefighters under a state-approved fiscal recovery plan.
“I don’t have the money,” said Doherty, 53. As for the chance of borrowing the cash, more than half of the city’s projected general-fund revenue, he added, “there’s no financial institution that’s going to give me $30 million to pay it.”
The U.S. economy never recovered from the last major financial crisis, and now another one is on the way.
As the economy crumbles, so will the fabric of our society.
The American people are terribly spoiled and they do not possess the character to handle depression-like conditions with grace and dignity.
In the years ahead, we are going to see rampant rioting and looting in our major cities. The crime sprees that we will witness in future years will be absolutely unprecedented.
Things did not have to turn out this way, but unfortunately the consequences of decades of really bad decisions are starting to catch up with us.
So what do you think the future of America will look like? Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below….
|
11:46 am
You may not know it but a major employer in Detroit is the Treasury Department. They require that any US citizens with an aggregate of more than $10,000 in foreign financial accounts send in reports on them to the Treasury department office in Detroit. Processing these takes a lot of manpower. Theoretically nearly all expats have to file these forms. There is a $10,000 fine for not sending them in. Without this major employment source things there would be even worse than they are.
12:28 pm
what do you expect from a city that has been turned over to black and muslims?
with a don't care atitude and no work ethic this is what happens. Most are on
some tipe of goverment assistant.
2:59 pm
Yep…leave it to #$#$#$ THUGZ to try and destroy our society!!!
3:39 pm
Well if the good ole WHITE boy network hadnt created such a financial disaster and run….do you think the city would be that way?
4:03 pm
Do you have a clue as to what you are talking about?
9:57 pm
Your intelligence level matches your grasp of the English language.
1:48 pm
The author does not mention the major influence on Detroit's decay, caused by the UAW. The UAW's outrageous wage and benefit demands emaciated the Big Three, causing them to lose market share to the non-union import transplants.
1:34 am
The country has a poor way of dealing with unions. Membership in a union should not be different from membership in any other organisation. Union shops should not exist and employers should see unions as partners. So much emphasis is put on team play in the US but it lacks where it counts most.
The car companies dug their own graves. They agreed to benefits that were ridiculous. When the profits were lacking they borrowed money to pay dividends. How stupid is that?
The country has another unsolved problem: Companies used to offer benefits not thinking that life expectancy would increase dramatically, though it is still poor in the US compared to Europe. Health care should not be offered by employers but should be mandatory for everyone (like the much maligned Obama-care). Also, companies should not offer pensions. Instead they should give bonuses to workers for a job done well. The workers can then decide for themselves what to do with that money.
Furthermore, Social Security should be structured in a way that everyone gets enough out of it to survive. SS should not be funded by "taxes". It should be a non-profit insurance that collects "premiums". Get the @#$% politicians out of that.
On top of all of that: Nobody forces people to commit a crime. The US society developed individualism and selfishness as top values. For years the kids were catered for limitlessly and they did not develop respect for people or laws. Now the bill is being presented.
2:13 pm
That is definately going to happen everywhere if we don't get rid of this Kenyan in office.That is exactly what he wants to happen.I cant believe that blacks vote for him just because he is 1/2 black.I guess they are spiritually blind and cant read the writing on the wall or they just dont care and lack common sense or self respect! What ever it is,if this keeps up,they are going to be in store for a very very rude awakening!!! Wake up now before it is too late!!!
1:38 am
Look in the mirror! Why are people calling Obama black? Why not white? Why not green? It is an old prejudice that comes to the surface and labels people, no matter what.
2:39 pm
This is the result of unions and liberals running the city for many years. Don't let Obama and the unions do the same to the rest of the US. Are teachers and other government employees getting above average pay raises and big pensions like in many other areas? How much are they spending on welfare? Liberals seem to think police and fire are the lowest priorities, because they always want to cut them first.
1:43 am
Police and teachers should be civil servants. In exchange for job security they should not get any overtime pay.
it is ridiculous that a policeman earns 180k a year like in Oakland. It is also ridiculous that these guys are above the law. In South Florida an investigation showed that officers off duty often exceed speed limits by more than 50%, cause crashes and fatalities but only one case is on record with a policeman serving 2 months in prison. That is encouraging!
3:00 pm
The unions HAVE to take some responsibility for this deplorable situation. If they hadn't kept on asking for more money vs. less work, the jobs wouldn't have gone overseas and people would still be working there. In the beginning, unions were useful. However, they have long since outlived their usefulness; now they are nothing but a bunch thugs who have gained extraordinary power over this country. The sooner we have a FEDERAL Right-to-Work law, and the unions are required to abide by the same laws as the rest of us, the sooner we can put a stop to this kind of tragedy. Look at the horrible situation Gov. Clark is facing!! All in the cause of self-aggrandizement…not in improving living conditions for the working man…yes…I said working man.
4:49 am
Always blame the unions! the real problem is that the wealthy in this country are setting up factories in other countries and using our tax dollars to protect them militarily as they exploit their workers with neo slavery wages and labor practices. And at the same time they destroy our enviroonment by operating with no pollution controls. Yahoos like yourself wave your flags and praise the soldiers enabling them in these enterprises.
Imports should be banned from producers who fail to pay living wages with decent working conditions and ditto that for the polluters as well. You will see how competitive American products will quickly become. Statistically, Americans always been more productive than our competitors, even the highly touted Japanese. Foreignimports only win by cheating.
3:09 pm
The city of Detroit, and the state of Michigan have been under the control of so-called Democrats for a very long time….socialism at its zenith…..Pure CHAOS…….Don't forget, vote for Barack Hussein Obama again if you wish to see all of the USA look exactly like DETROIT! California is on its way in many places….. It doesn't take long. Poor politics leads to poor everything. Raping the rich will make them flee…..to somplace they are not raped….then the poor who are left…rape each other….read the above….No money…no jobs….chaos….decline….civil war in the neighborhood….death of the individual…..the city….eventually the country. Folks better wake up to see what PROGRESSIVISM…..SOCIALISM…..DEMOCRATS…..COMMUNISTS, ETC. are doing to all of us.
4:19 pm
The major reasons for the decay of Detroit (any other industrial cities) are 1. Liberal politicians and 2. Labor unions including the great Detroit Teachers Union (the biggest bunch of losers in any big city) I was born in
this city but won't admit it in mixed company. LOL. I have seen firsthand the destruction caused by each of the
above. The "Me first and only" social and political are major failures. Wake up America, your last chance may
very well be November, 2012. Get rid of these clowns and crooks, fire their butts before they destroy you right along with America. Vote again for the Libtards and you might as well get up and leave right then, it ain't gonna get any better. You voted for it, now you fix it!!
1:45 am
Sorry, all politicians are alike. Elections only change faces.
4:44 pm
Limiting Union power and repealing the minimum wage might let Romney do something more important than running for President, like investing some of his $200,000,000 in a Michigan company that could compete with China.
4:50 pm
Limiting Union power and repealing the minimum wage law might enable Romney to invest some of his $200,000,000 in a Michigan company that could compete in the world economy and reverse the ugly trend.
1:56 am
Romney is just power hungry. Because his father was governor he want to get higher. What a loser!
Michigan may have had good workers at one time but that is not enough. A company needs to have products that are better than anybody else's. That's where the US fail. They always want it cheaper. Anybody can do cheaper. "Better" is the result of good relationships between companies and unions (please no union monopolies), Fair pay is part of loyalty and rewarding a job well done helps. "Better" takes hard work from sales to engineering to the guy cleaning the bathrooms. It takes respect on all levels. It is not good enough that I can call the CEO by his first name. He/she needs to see and appreciate good work on all levels. If you get that done the company will be successful.
But in this stupid interpretation of capitalism the owners and leaders of businesses believe all the earned moneys are for them only and the workers are just an unwanted cost factor. Wrong attitude!
7:04 pm
ditto ditto ditto to all of the above comments! I'm so glad some of us are AWAKE – all we need to do is take the scales from the eyes of those who still do not see!
12:16 am
I live in Baltimore and Baltimore is just as bad and is run by progressive socialist dumb asses also just like Detroit….the city has scared off every productive citizen…Now its mostly welfare wards of the state…the dumacrats have been running things for years and have run everything into the ground…….its happening all over the country…
12:54 am
So could some body in the Detroit Area!!==HELP me I live here in Australia I am about to buy an investment property…A department of the city of Detroit pays the rent for the use of the building, they have done this for a number of years and never not paid the rent…Should I buy this building….
5:08 am
Want to know why our country is in the dumps? What is happening here has happened many times before in countries that become empires. ever think about why people were so poor in Dickens' England? England was by far the richest and most powerful empire in the history of the world and much of it's native population was starving in the streets. How could that be? Easy, The ruling elite was making way more money abroad than they could at home. They could mercilessly exploit third world populations and steal their resources. And they didn't even have to pay for it. They just taxed the Britons to pay for the military to protect them.The same thing is happening here. ALL OF OUR NATIONAL DEBT doesn't equal the amount of excess military spending that has been going on. Our jobs are being exported overseas just like they were in England.
An easy fix? A ban on imports from manufacturers who don't pay living wages, who don't have humane working conditions. who wantonly pollute. Americans have always been the most productive, all we need is a level playing field.
10:16 am
I was born and lived in MI almost all my life. Anyone who was watching out could see it coming, Detroit, then Pontiac,Flint, Saginaw…all run by democrat political machines, almost all by minorities. People who were totally incompetent except they knew how to game the system and take for themselves. The caucasians were shamed into letting it happen because they bought into the victimhood of minorities…I now have lived in VA for 18 yrs…right to work state, run by caucasians, on the way to removing tenure for teachers, a concealed carry state soon to have a castle doctrine law…we recently removed all of our county/school officials who had severed 30+ years (minorities) and replaced them with well educated caucasians who are already turning the county around to the right direction. Folks I am here to say that it can be done if you have the will and are willing to work hard our country can again be the America all the world wanted to come to.
3:28 pm
speaking of well-educated, it's served, not severed, and the anti-women measures being adopted show how well educated the tea-party idiots now in control are.
6:50 pm
I drop a leave a response whenever I appreciate a article on a blog or if I have something to add to the conversation. It’s caused by the fire communicated in the post I looked at. And on this article 20 Things Detroit Can Teach Us About Our Future — YOLO (you only live once). I was actually excited enough to drop a leave a responsea response
I do have a few questions for you if you tend not to mind. Could it be only me or do a few of these responses appear like they are coming from brain dead individuals? 
And, if you are posting at other places, I’d like to keep up with anything new you have to post. Would you make a list all of your shared sites like your linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed?
9:37 am
Hi, just wanted to mention, I enjoyed this article. It was inspiring. Keep on posting!
3:25 pm
Sounds like the Bronx in the 70's- a victim of suburbanization and white flight as well as industrial collapse.