Show Detroit Their Future

-

When officials talk about the stakeholders in Detroit's bankruptcy they mention the creditors, pensioners, state, city, Mayor, DIA, Judge Rhodes and others. Very rarely do you hear anyone mention the citizens of Detroit. Recently a balanced budget was submitted for the upcoming year but there was no mention of where the city is going from there and what is the plan to get there. The Citizens of Detroit need to rise up to Judge Rhodes, Rick Snyder, Kevyn Orr, Mike Duggan and City Council and demand the same thing Cuba Gooding, Jr said to Tom Cruise in the movie Jerry Maguire... "Show Me The Money".

In the case of the city it is "Show Us The Long Term Plan".The budget that was recently released reminds me of someone who is dying being taken off of life support without discussing how the patient is going to return to a "normal" life. It is time to show the citizens the plan. After reading a White Paper on Chapter 9 bankruptcy written by Jones Day, Detroit's lead bankruptcy attorney, it is my understanding that Judge Steven Rhodes cannot prevent the city from selling assets and using the funds to make needed improvements to the city in order to maintain and/or achieve a viable, flourishing municipality.

"...a municipality does not need the approval of the bankruptcy court to use, sell, or lease property during its chapter 9 case...", An Overview of Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code: Municipal Debt Adjustments, Jones Day, August 2010

The same White Paper goes on to say,

"Of course, nonbankruptcy state or federal laws that otherwise regulate the process that municipalities must follow to take such actions would still apply."

It appears the state could block the sale of assets during a Chapter 9 bankruptcy but why would the Governor do that if it was in the best interest of the city and state?

The core objective of a long term plan must be to promptly grow the middle class population in Detroit. The basic necessities of a middle class include safety of family, quality and affordable housing and a better than average primary and secondary public school system. Without these attributes the city has no chance of returning to normalcy let alone prosperity.

The assets to be used to accomplish the plan are stored at the DIA. Let's put them to work for the city of Detroit and its citizens.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Keep Freedom on The Internet!

-
Image
Net neutrality under attack:   Don't let Verizon and Google dictate the future of the Internet. Contact the FCC! This post reflects a comment received from Common Cause. It is time to stand up with them and keep the internet free . As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considers how to write the rules to protect freedom and openness on the Internet,   who should they turn to: consumers like you and me, or the oligopolistic telecommunications companies?   Verizon and Google announced this week that they have it all figured out when it comes to net neutrality.* They unveiled a policy framework that would give telecom companies the right to speed up or slow down certain kinds of content, and to block outright  applications or content on wireless networks.
Read More

What Can Free Market Conservatives Do?

-
I am a free market conservative. I voted republican in every presidential election since 1968, except one. It is obvious that our government must live within its means and do so in a manner as not to interfere with a functioning free market economy. If we desire to take control of government, we must demand government carry out one of its primary functions; protecting free markets from tyranny, both public and private. We are vocal about defending it from public tyranny, but silent when it comes to tyranny in the private sector. “Experience should teach us to be most on guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficial. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greater dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.” Justice Louis Brandeis 1928 Today our focus seems to be only on the tyranny of government when it comes to free markets. We need t
Read More

China And The Five Baits

-
Image
If you are under the age of 50 you should be concerned about China from an economic and global power standpoint. Some believe China is seeking peace with the rest of the world. Based on their long history, I am not convinced. For China long term is hundreds of years and for the United States it is the next election cycle. China's focus is always on the long term. Much of this post is drawn from a book,  On China , written by Henry Kissinger, the Secretary of State under President Nixon and a research paper of the National Intelligence Council titled  Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds . Whether the future will prove China's desire for peaceful co-existence depends on whether its middle class will sufficiently benefit from economic growth and not allow their leadership to throw it away by creating enemies with trading partners.  This requires the country becoming more democratic and less inclined to be a threat to the remainder of the world.  The jury is still looking
Read More