Detroit

[HopAlongBunny]

Well, if it walks like a rat...

[ReluctantSamurai]

This has to do with detroit because we're now discussing how the parties manipulate racial tensions.

While racial tensions certainly exacerbated an already bad situation, Detroit's problems went far beyond that and started long before race became an issue. The decisions made by corporate execs and government officials alike had much more to do with Detroit's economic decline. That, and the general trend across the Midwestern factory belt of moving from a producing environment to a consumer environment.

[Fisherking]

I think it is fair to blame city government for the bankruptcy. It is machine politics and a one party system. Since they have no political opposition the city blames it problems on Outsider interference.

Detroit is one of the few cities with a full time legislative body. Most city councils are part time affairs.

It does not make them the only cause of the tragedy of course. But if you want to be in charge and expect credit for what goes right, you also have to take the hit when it goes bad.

[Xiahou]

This bankruptcy is very quickly going to be a case-study in how to screw those people over for the rest of the broke cities in the country to follow.

They'll be getting the shaft- there's no way around it. But do you think the people of the city shoulder some of the blame for voting the morons who screwed the place up back in time and time again?

The public service unions would scream and squawk every time they weren't going to get their unsustainable raises and pension increases. And now it's crashing down all around them. There's plenty of blame to go around for it.

I'm in a state-wide pension program... and I'm uneasy about even that. If I were a part of a municipal or county level pension program, I'd pretty much write it off. If you manage to get some of it- great. But don't plan on having it.

[Xiahou]

Well, at least they can still come up with the nearly half a billion taxpayer dollars to build a hockey arena. It's all about priorities, right?

[ReluctantSamurai]

Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College economics professor and a sports business expert, said the Red Wings are one of the few profitable teams in the National Hockey League, and there is no chance they would want to leave Detroit, even for the suburbs.

Now consider all of the other 31 cities that host an NHL team and......

....there's a clue to the hockey fever in this town. In a city that's filing for bankruptcy, and tickets at the "Joe" going for $50 to $100 a pop for the 'cheap' seats, World Cup soccer fans have nothing on Red Wing fans.....