Michigan-based militant group indicted for 'waging war' on US gov't

[Cavegirl]

The city of Detroit is a bit of a special case and not a refecttion on the state of the rest of the US as a whole.

 

When I was a schoolboy in California in the 1950s and ’60s, the freeways were new and big and smooth—like the new roads being built all across China. Today’s California freeways are cracked and crowded and old.

 

A Chinese student I knew in Shanghai who has recently entered graduate school at UC Berkeley sent me a note saying that the famous San Francisco Bay Area seemed “beautiful, but run down.”

 

“My daughter was 6 when the World Trade Center towers went down, 8 when lights went off on the East Coast, 10 when a major U.S. city drowned—I saw things built, and she’s seen them fall apart.”

 

These quotes are taken from the following link, they suggest that the issue is much more far-reaching than just Detroit, although Detroit is undoubtedly the most advanced.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/01/how-america-can-rise-again/7839/

 

A city is only as good as the brains who administer it, who are capable of attracting outside investment and businesses and the leaders of Detroit from what I see lack those qualities

 

It's strange to me that you would only blame the administration of Detroit for this situation. Many would argue that it was the fact that the Japanese began to make better cars than GM and Ford (ie. it was Capitalism) that led to the decline in this US industry. The UK lost its own motor industry for the same reason- we've never blamed Birmingham City Council.

 

I wouldn't argue that this decline is inevitable, but as the UK often follows the lead of the US, I'm definately curious about what's happening over there.

[Harleyman]

It's strange to me that you would only blame the administration of Detroit for this situation. Many would argue that it was the fact that the Japanese began to make better cars than GM and Ford (ie. it was Capitalism) that led to the decline in this US industry. The UK lost its own motor industry for the same reason- we've never blamed Birmingham City Council.

 

I wouldn't argue that this decline is inevitable, but as the UK often follows the lead of the US, I'm definately curious about what's happening over there.

 

The city of Detroit did not run the auto industry. Had no say in how it was run All the city did was collect the business tax revenues from the auto manufacturers. The auto industry unlike that in the UK was/is not owned by the government. Short sighted management at General Motors and to some extent at Ford and even more so at Chrysler was the reason for the decline in the industry. They continued making big gas guzzlers when the writing was already on the wall that oil prices were going up and would stay up. They made cars that were throw aways. After 50,000 miles the average American car in the 40s, 50s and 60s needed a major engine overhaul and rebuild. They built these kind of cars intentionally, the mind set being "Get rid of your old car after 50,00 miles and buy our latest, bigger shinier newest model". More cars off the line, more profits, more jobs.

The Japanese were smarter. They saw the need for reliable cars that were more economical to run, would last longer and would attract a steady following amongst future customers. I suspect that the demise of the British car industry was due to militant unions, frequent strikes, shoddy products, mediocre management and the coup de grace administered by the industry being nationalized. Governments do not have a very good record of managing businesses. Far worse than private management

 

The city governement and politicians of Detroit saw the decline in the auto industry coming two decades ago yet instead of planning for the future, attracting a base of diversified industries from outside more or less just sat on their hands while the rot continued to set in.

 

I've driven thousands of miles on US interstates. They get a lot of wear and tear on them, especially from heavy freight trucks which are almost as numerous as cars. There are some places where stretches of interstates are not in the best of shape but there is also a lot of roadwork going on to fix them. The freeways of Los Angeles are probably the most heavily used of any city in the world. Currently a long overdue system of commuter rail travel is under construction all over the region which is hoped will reduce freeway traffic.

 

Many cities in the US are doing well economically. Seattle, Portland (Oregon)

Atlanta are gleaming examples of what good planning can achieve