Federal judge approves Detroit’s blueprint to exit bankruptcy

A federal judge on Friday approved Detroit’s plan to emerge from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, fueling hopes that the revival of a city that for decades has been a national symbol of urban decline is at hand.

The city’s blueprint for moving forward allows it to shed $7 billion of its staggering $18 billion debt, even though many creditors — including some bond holders and the city’s 21,000 pensioners — will have to endure far smaller cuts than were originally contemplated.

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Federal judge approves Detroit

Good news for Detroit, but still… The born place of American industry is in such a state that it is forced to struggle for survival. The methods it’s left with are a shame, IMHO. And though I’m glad they have some way out and I wish all the best in this fight, I can’t stop thinking that instead of restoring our economy the government is spending loads of money on useless and even ridiculous stuff.
Just think about it:
Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties.
Government auditors spent the past five years examining all federal programs and found that 22 percent of them -- costing taxpayers a total of $123 billion annually -- fail to show any positive impact on the populations they serve.
The Pentagon recently spent $998,798 shipping two 19-cent washers from South Carolina to Texas and $293,451 sending an 89-cent washer from South Carolina to Florida.
The Congressional Budget Office published a "Budget Options" series identifying more than $100 billion in potential spending cuts.
Washington will spend $2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job.
The Securities and Exchange Commission spent $3.9 million rearranging desks and offices at its Washington, D.C., headquarters.
The refusal of many federal employees to fly coach costs taxpayers $146 million annually in flight upgrades.
50 Examples of Government Waste

And this is just some of them! Don’t you think those money could help Detroit and other bankrupt cities to come back to life?

I expect that no matter how much money gets thrown at Detroit, it will still be the same pathetic place it has become. Money can't fix what's wrong with that city.

Tameamea said:

Federal judge approves Detroit

Good news for Detroit, but still… The born place of American industry is in such a state that it is forced to struggle for survival. The methods it’s left with are a shame, IMHO. And though I’m glad they have some way out and I wish all the best in this fight, I can’t stop thinking that instead of restoring our economy the government is spending loads of money on useless and even ridiculous stuff.
Just think about it:
Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties.
Government auditors spent the past five years examining all federal programs and found that 22 percent of them -- costing taxpayers a total of $123 billion annually -- fail to show any positive impact on the populations they serve.
The Pentagon recently spent $998,798 shipping two 19-cent washers from South Carolina to Texas and $293,451 sending an 89-cent washer from South Carolina to Florida.
The Congressional Budget Office published a "Budget Options" series identifying more than $100 billion in potential spending cuts.
Washington will spend $2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job.
The Securities and Exchange Commission spent $3.9 million rearranging desks and offices at its Washington, D.C., headquarters.
The refusal of many federal employees to fly coach costs taxpayers $146 million annually in flight upgrades.
50 Examples of Government Waste

And this is just some of them! Don’t you think those money could help Detroit and other bankrupt cities to come back to life?

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No. Rewarding economic failure, especially due to gov't mismanagement, only begets even more of it. Redirecting, even wasted, federal tax money to cover for local waste (fraud and mismanagement?) is a bad idea. It is bad enough when gov't picks winners (among losers?) in the private sector, using the goofy "too big to fail" logic, but totally insane to to have the federal gov't reward local gov't failure.

lizzie said:

I expect that no matter how much money gets thrown at Detroit, it will still be the same pathetic place it has become. Money can't fix what's wrong with that city.

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Has to hit rock bottom, they're close but not there yet. If politicians in Detroit stop being so damn hostile to business, they may have a chance.

Fishstyx said:

Has to hit rock bottom, they're close but not there yet. If politicians in Detroit stop being so damn hostile to business, they may have a chance.

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I'm not sure that even that can do it. It took decades for it to decline to this point, and much of the problem is the crime. People don't want to set up businesses in high crime neighborhoods. From what I understand, there are entire large neighborhoods in Detroit that don't even have a grocery store. Maybe I am mistaken, but I remember reading several similar accounts of that from a few years back.

lizzie said:

I'm not sure that even that can do it. It took decades for it to decline to this point, and much of the problem is the crime. People don't want to set up businesses in high crime neighborhoods. From what I understand, there are entire large neighborhoods in Detroit that don't even have a grocery store. Maybe I am mistaken, but I remember reading several similar accounts of that from a few years back.

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We have grocery stores in high-crime areas here (in the nearest town). The owner and clerks wear Glocks on their belts, and the lunch counter lady keeps a shotgun behind the counter. They have no problems.