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Originally Posted by jonathan.jam
While I agree with a lot of what you're saying, this point is not completely valid. Other cities in Michigan (i.e. Grand Rapids) have demonstrated what can be done with good governance. Yes, Grand Rapids may be less racially divided than Detroit, but that is not the main differentiating factor. Even as Grand Rapids' population has remained stagnant for the past half a century, the city has continued to grow. Population changes and racial make-up are not all-encompassing excuses.
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I think Grand Rapids demographic makeup makes your comparison apples to oranges, with all due respect. Also, I am not willing to give “grades” without there being a standardized test. Certainly Grand Rapids has not faced the difficult situation of residents and businesses leaving in droves and devastating the tax base. The situations of the two cities are like night and day. The racial composition of the city is VERY important. Why? In America, black poverty is 3 times the rate of whites, black unemployment is twice the rate of whites and black wealth is 13 times less than whites. Thus, a majority white city will reflect the better economic feasibility of government given the greater taxable income and wealth (from homes mostly and revenue from property taxes). Not only that, but when half the population leaves, something that never happened in Grand Rapids, and the same square mileage has to be serviced and the pension of retired workers from the city when it was much larger still have to be paid, then the situation becomes untenable.
I will say that in regards to corruption and such, cities like Chicago and New York have a long history of such, without it resulting in the conditions of Detroit. The last 4 Governors of Illinois, I believe, have served prison time for corruption charges and certainly the state of Illinois has not been abandoned like Detroit has.
As far as incompetence goes, which is another charged leveled at Detroit leaders, what does that really mean? Does failure to turn conditions around make one incompetent? Maybe, however, it first has to be demonstrated that it is realistic that the leadership, or any leadership, is dealing with a situation that can be turned around by their actions. If Detroit leaders had to bench press 500 lbs, and continued to fail, sure they are incompetent at their given task, but what percentages of people are competent to do it?