Detroit Tries Hard to Come Back

How does a city commit suicide? Detroit wrote the textbook on that subject in the 1980s and 1990s. People were fleeing from the inner city area simply because it was too dangerous. Twelve skyscrapers downtown were abandoned. They were not sold. The owners just left. Thousands of houses were left vacant. I would love to sit down with you over a long cup of coffee and talk about how it happened and who was responsible. Nevertheless, our guide assured us Detroit is now making a genuine effort to come back from the abyss.

This city had enormous financial and economic advantages. The auto industry provided jobs for millions of people. We saw the little studio that became Motown records. Certainly songs such as “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “My Girl,” and “Baby Love,” by the Supremes, changed the musical cultures throughout the world. Entrepreneur Berry Gordy recorded these songs in a modest house he dubbed “Hitsville, USA.” Detroit was once the fourth largest city in the country. It was a city that was as rich culturally, financially, and artistically as any in the nation. Yet somehow in the last two decades Detroit died.

Despite our guide’s assurances of his hometown’s resurrection, we still see many abandoned houses and blighted neighborhoods. Vacant lots now mark swaths of houses that were demolished after being abandoned and becoming drug havens. Some of the abandoned homes we saw were neoclassical mansions boarded up. The city now is offering many cleared lots for $100. Yet, our guide, who is a Detroit native, assures us that things are much better now than they have been during most of his 28 years.

I hope he is right, but there are only a few automobile plants operating here now. Ford moved many of its operations to other states that provide more tax incentives and fewer union demands. General Motors is still here, making ends meet. Chrysler and American Motors would have gone out of business without a major bailout from the federal government and an amalgamation with Peugeot, Fiat, Cotroën, Opel, Maserati and Vauxhall. There is no Chrysler anymore. The consortium is called Stellantis.

Detroit is trying hard. A great deal of tax money is being spent to revitalize downtown. Yet when the government runs short of money it repeatedly devises ways to increase taxes. For example, city property taxes must be paid quarterly. If an individual fails to show up at city hall to pay his property taxes, a $25 fine is imposed. At the end of the year the city sends out a statement demanding the property taxes plus a $100 penalty plus interest. High taxes prevent many new companies from coming to Detroit.

Our guide points out some newly renovated parks and arenas in the city, but admits there are also still problems. In spite of the country’s highest salaries for public school teachers, Detroit still has a teacher shortage.

Our guide says he thinks that Detroit is on its way back. I sincerely hope he is right. Check out this article and tell me what you think.

https://theweek.com/articles/461917/what-killed…En savoir plus