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Liberals are destroying everything!!!

Published March 2nd, 2009 in abandoned, decay, urban, satire, recession, dysfunctional, news, photos, photography, poverty, rants, Michigan, politics, politicians, big three, economy and Detroit. 0 Comments

Since right wing blogs continue to link to The Motor(less) City as proof that liberals are destroying the country, I’ve decided I’d have to contribute some thoughts of my own. Claiming that Democrats are the cause of Detroit’s and Michigan’s woes, is simply as much without proof as claiming Republican’s are 100% responsible for our current National economic situation. Since Governor Granholm is responsible for the state of Michigan, former president George W. Bush is obviously responsible for the mess everyone else is in. Unfortunately, picking one particular piece of the equation, and tying all responsibility to it, is simply irresponsible in itself. Before Jennifer Granholm allowed Michigan to ignore pending doom, John Engler did the same. Almost all of Michigan’s politicians failed to position the State for the future. The generally Republican business leaders of the Big 3 and other industries failed to position their own companies for the future, and they were paid millions of dollars for such wonderful leadership.

I’m not a fan of high taxes. I don’t know anyone who is. Possibly the only people who like high taxes are those who don’t pay them. Responsible spending is what we all want (or none if you’re Libertarian). “No pork”, we say! Pork is bad…unless it benefits me. But then, of course it’s not pork. It’s a tax break, or a tax credit, or a stimulus bill. Whatever it is, it’s bad when it benefits others and good when it benefits us. Remember “the bridge to nowhere“? Yeah…me too. Who were the biggest proponents of that, almost undeniably pork, monstrosity?

I tend to fall into the camp that politicians generally fall into one category: self-serving. They don’t do things for you or me, unless we’re doing something for them…though come to think of it, that tends to be all job situations doesn’t it? I guess we all just like to think that politicians may be individuals who truly believe in public service, and I suppose it may be more true if we didn’t pay them so well (including benefits and post political career opportunities). The system works like this: I (or, more likely, a big company or other large donor) give money to a politician with the implicate agreement that the politician gives something in return. Conservatives, just as often as Liberals, play the game to large success. Think farm subsidies, or “clean coal” incentives.

Feel free to link to my site. But if you simply want to use a photo as proof of some unsubstantiated belief, and you have no background information about the image, or the location it’s from…please, do some homework first. At least present your point of view with some facts. And my feelings on this are not limited to conservative blogs, but extend to any blog. Do yourself and your readers a favor. Do some of your own research. Then link to my site. And if I print a bunch of unsubstantiated b.s., please point it out. I may not agree, or change it, but I would appreciate it.

More Kwame…Detroit’s future…and of course, an abandoned house

Published February 20th, 2009 in abandoned, decay, recession, news, Kwame Kilpatrick, dysfunctional, urban, photos, rants, Michigan, urban living, poverty, photography and Detroit. 0 Comments

It’s hard to let go of the whole Kwame Kilpatrick thing. He (supposedly) holds a party with strippers in his mayoral mansion when his wife was out of town. The stripper is killed. Police officers investigate. The mayor fires the investigating officers, who sue the city for wrongful termination. During the trial, the mayor commits perjury, over an affair with his chief of staff. The city settles with the officers for $8.4 million, and Kwame goes to jail. Kwame gets out of jail. Kwame gets six figure job with a division of Compuware.

Now you may think that given the state of the economy in this country, that it would be very easy to find a qualified sales person (who gets paid anywhere from $120,000 to $360,000 annually), who isn’t a convicted ex-mayor. So it’s not surprising that Peter Karmanos finds himself having to defend his decision to hire a corrupt, former politician, who’s just gotten out of jail after committing perjury, while having an affair, and costing his city over $8 million. Peter must owe somebody big time.

To all the unemployed, non-perjurying, non-cheating employees, who haven’t cost their bankrupt employers over $8 million in wrongful termination suits, and who would make perfectly qualified sales people…it must be your honesty and hard work that’s preventing you from finding that quarter of a million dollar per year paycheck you’ve been looking for. My faith in corporate America has been restored.

As Detroit becomes largely an abandoned wasteland, it can be difficult to imagine a different, and hopefully better future for the city. But with all of this abandonment comes a clean slate. Land is cheap. Housing and commercial space is cheap too. At one time, Chelsea, SoHo, and the Meat Packing District of New York, were places only the poor and creative wanted to inhabit. Now of course, neither the poor, nor the creative (save the few who made it big) can afford to live in these areas anymore. Where are the adventurous, creative souls, who make art, start businesses, and generally make a place into a place that the less adventurous want to live in, to go next? How about Detroit. We’ve got room, it’s cheap, and no one cares what you do.

Preaching to the choir…

Published January 25th, 2009 in moving, abandoned, decay, industry, recession, dysfunctional, light rail, public transportation, industrial, photos, politics, rants, Michigan, politicians, jobs, photography, economy and Detroit. 0 Comments

A discussion with my sister-in-law, regarding the inevitability of change, facing change, and dealing with change, somehow made me think of Detroit. Detroit’s like some people I know who refuse to face up to the fact that change is inevitable. And not only that it’s inevitable, but that you’d better prepare for it, and make the most of it. Once change is accepted, it can become an opportunity. Anyone who knows me, is well aware of how irritated Michigan’s, and Metro Detroit’s, resistance to change makes me.

As an individual, I, like so many others, had to face up the reality that the opportunities that my previous career choice, and my location in Metro Detroit, offered were limited. I mourned the loss of what I once had, and moved on. I learned new skills, used my spare time to build up some experience in my new industry, and, along with a move to a new, more economically viable location, am making a good living in an industry with a lot more current and future potential.

For Metro Detroit, it’s time to mourn and move on. The past is past. It’s time to look towards the future. Time to figure out how to become relevant in the 21st century. When I talk with friends,with similar sensibilities, I always realize how we are simply preaching to the choir. More and more, people are coming to the realization that we are in the midst of a dramatic shift away from our industrial past. When will a Critical Mass emerge, that will force the change upon the area, that is necessary Detroit’s survival? Talk is cheap, and as these articles suggest, there’s plenty of talk…plenty of preaching to the choir. How can we convince the skeptics that change is not only inevitable, but necessary, potentially the best thing that can happen to the area?

New Detroit: A Radical Vision of America’s Greenest City

Immigrants in the 313: This is where the future begins

Essay: Is mass transit in Metro Detroit for real this time?

Return to Detroit

Published January 18th, 2009 in decay, cold, urban, abandoned, industry, dysfunctional, housing, winter, photos, smoking, rants, Michigan, jobs, economy, photography, big three and Detroit. 0 Comments

I made two separate trips to Metro Detroit recently, and was reminded of both why I miss the area, and why I hate it. First, we made the usual holiday family visit to Detroit, followed shortly after by a business trip to the area. During both trips we experienced the usual irritants such as only seeing the sun twice in a week, and driving on some of the worst roads on the planet.

The first trip back started with an evening of food and drinks with friends at the Royal Oak Brewery. Even though most of the restaurant is non-smoking, the entire place filled with smoke fairly quickly. By the time we left, we reeked of smoke, and my throat was scratchy. The next morning both my wife and I woke up with terrible headaches which developed in to full blown migraines. The next night, while laying incapacitated, and doped up on anti-nausea and migraine medication, I was already cursing my return to Detroit. In most major cities (at least the ones I like), you can enjoy dinner and a drink without smelling like an ashtray, but not in Detroit.

During our trip we constantly heard how Detroit’s automotive legacy was responsible for making this country what it is today, so therefore the (not so) Big 3 deserve loans. Guess what? Nobody cares. The Big 3 have had a broken business model for years, didn’t control their costs, gave away the automobile market to their foreign competitors, and failed to conceive of rising gas prices (how could gas get more expensive). The rest of the country doesn’t care much about the Big 3, because they’ve been aware of the industry’s problems for years. Why is Detroit still trying to avoid the inevitable?

We also heard how auto workers have hard jobs, and are hard workers. Unfortunately how hard your job is does not determine pay. Sorry, but, most of the time, it’s true. The market determines pay, and if you are easy to replace the market pays less. If you are difficult to replace, the market pays more. Simple enough. Workers for the Big 3 (both management and union) were often paid rates much higher than similar jobs in other industries. The wages had to fall to what both the companies can pay, and what the market will bear.

On the second trip back, while doing a job at the North American International Auto Show, I experienced the, seemingly never ending, incompetence of Detroit. When we went to park at Cobo Hall, the ticket machine wasn’t working, so one worker would remove the ticket from the machine, and give it to the driver. The driver would advance two feet to the toll booth where another worker took that same ticket, and ten dollars. That seemed strange, but it got worse. When attempting to leave, the same worker that took the ticket and your money at the booth, asked for our ticket again. We had to explain to him how he took our ticket, and our money, when we entered. Eventually we convinced him that we’d already paid, and we headed home.

The final kick in the teeth came from a publisher of several prominent magazines in the area. I had provided photography for use in an issue of one of their magazines. After agreeing to an amount, and running the images in the magazine, the editor, after several weeks of back and forth emails and phone calls attempting to get my invoice paid, told me that the person who agreed to an amount for reuse of the images had no authority to negotiate, and therefore they would not be paying me. Thanks for nothing. I’ve been asked many times why I haven’t worked for this particular publisher in the past. Well, this is the reason.

I’m always torn, when thinking about whether or not I want to move back to Metro Detroit at some point. We still have our families, friends, and a house in the area, but going back is like beating your head against a wall. The big question is always, what will happen to the area. The problem is that, collectively, the question wasn’t asked until it was too late. If Detroit hopes to remake itself, it’s got to do better.

Suggested New Year’s resolution for Detroit

Published January 8th, 2009 in satire, urban, photos, positive, transit, dysfunctional, sprawl, public transportation, photography, economy, urban living, rants, Michigan, poverty, politics, jobs, politicians and Detroit. 0 Comments

With 2009 upon us, and the current economic situation not looking good, it’s time for Metro Detroit to make some New Year’s resolutions of its own.

Everyone knows about Detroit’s problems, and by the looks of things, the entire state is in big trouble. Detroit is not alone, however, and just like individuals, small businesses, and corporations, the city is in competition with other Metro areas, to attract (and keep) the best people and companies. Many states and cities around the country are facing very tough financial outlooks. There’s no way for Detroit and Southeastern Michigan to avoid the tough times ahead. What the area can do, however, is work together to make smart investments and chart a course for a better future. As individuals we can, in tough times, hide our money under a mattress, or make investments in our future. We can keep our fingers crossed that the job we’re in will exist beyond next week, or that the social safety net we’re relying on will be there tomorrow, or get additional training to prepare ourselves for better paying jobs in the days ahead. Corporations that fail to invest in new technologies, stop marketing, or fail to invest in there employees will be far behind their competitors that do make those investments when the economy recovers. Similarly, an area lacking a decent education system, infrastructure, and basic services, will lose out to the areas that have been making smart investments over the years.

Detroit’s got crumbling infrastructure, a pathetic school system, unreliable city services, and lacks a comprehensive transportation system. In fact the whole state has infrastructure problems and no mass transit other than a hodgepodge mix of bus systems. The area’s rapidly aging population is going to have problems getting around, particularly in the winter. Services and housing are far apart with few options for moving between them. Michigan’s mantra could be “No car? Tough shit!” Most areas in the state lack any kind of cohesive urban center, and most have no viable plan to create one.

I could go on, but I, and others have regularly bitched, moaned, ranted, and reported on the area’s problems. So what will Detroit and the rest of Michigan do about it? Who knows…probably not much judging by the past, and the unwillingness of most to embrace change. Detroit, and Michigan, are in desperate need of change. The area needs to become better. A plan needs to be formulated and pursued, no matter how difficult. Michigan needs more than just slackers who have high tolerance for mediocrity, more than a population heading quickly for retirement (if such a thing exists any more). Detroit needs young, energetic, motivated, entrepreneurial and educated individuals who will not only embrace change, but make it happen.

So my suggested New Years resolution for Detroit is: “Stop being such a crappy place.”

Dysfunctional Detroit

Published January 4th, 2009 in photos, winter, urban, decay, photography, poverty, Michigan, rants, urban living and Detroit. 0 Comments

Abandoned Detroit

Published December 20th, 2008 in decay, industrial, urban, abandoned, industry, bailout, public transportation, transit, photos, photography, poverty, rants, Michigan, politics, politicians, big three, economy, jobs and Detroit. 1 Comment

Detroit and Michigan have both been in the news quite a bit lately. Almost every evening news cast, in, and outside of, Michigan, has been focused on whether or not the Big 3 would get a loan (or a bail out, depending on your point of view). Now it appears that at least two of the Big 3 will have access to roughly $17 billion in Federal loans. The big question now is whether or not this loan, at around half of what was requested, will enable the Chrysler and General Motors to survive.

Unfortunately, even if the Big 3 do all survive, they will not be what they used to be, and neither will Michigan. The days of higher than average pay for both blue and white collar jobs at the Big 3 are over, and this will exact a heavy toll on the, heavily automotive dependent, Michigan economy. As it is, Michigan once again leads the nation in unemployment, while Detroit continues it’s downward slide, defying the belief once held by many that Detroit had nowhere to go but up. Michigan can’t seem to pass anti-smoking legislation, even as states such as Kentucky, and countries such as Italy, and France have passed smoking bans. And a decent mass transit system is still years away, though at least progress is being made in this area. Apparently the dire economic situation has made some of our previously reluctant politicians to expand Cobo Hall, and hopefully save the North American International Auto Show.

The most interesting news reports on Detroit though, have been about it’s long declining population. This is, of course, nothing new. Detroit’s population peeked in 1950 at almost 2 million. Since then the decline to roughly half it’s peek, leaves the city with around 850,000 residents. The Detroit Free Press, reports that Manhattan, Boston, and San Fransisco, could all fit in the boundaries of Detroit with room to spare. Apparently, at the rate of decline Detroit is experiencing, the city will be 50% vacant within five to ten years. The amount of vacant land has lead to an increase in the population of generally non-city dwelling animals, such as pheasants and coyotes. The city has also seen a large increase in the amount of urban farming. Perhaps Detroit will be the first American city to go from urban to suburban, or even rural classification. While the current state of the city is scary to say the least, the possibilities for Detroit’s future are much more interesting. Camilo Jose Vergara once suggested that Grand Circus Park become a skyscraper graveyard theme park. My wife always thought Detroit should turn it’s vacant land into large parks or green areas. I have been fond of recommending (tongue in cheek) that Detroit tries reverse annexation. While I don’t generally like eminant domain laws, I do think it’s impossible for a city of 850,000 (and still declining) to maintain and provide services to an area of 139 square miles. It’s possible nothing will change, and Detroit will continue it’s decline for the foreseeable future. It’s also possible that Detroit, and the Metro area, can make something better with this, potentially, clean slate.

I told you so… or am I a cynic part 2

Published December 5th, 2008 in photos, urban, housing, recession, photography, economy, Michigan, rants, poverty, jobs and Detroit. 1 Comment

I told you so. That’s what I want to say to those who said I was needlessly negative, couldn’t see the positive side of Metro Detroit, and didn’t believe the area was on the way up.

Now before anyone gets to worked up, I should state that I didn’t want to be right. We own a rapidly depreciating house that we spent six years renovating. Most of our friends and both of our families live there, own houses there, and earn their livings there.

Honestly I never thought of myself as a pessimist, but more of a realist. I’ve always felt that those who accused me of seeing the glass as half empty were painting themselves a rosy picture. They simply did not want to see the writing on the wall. The path Detroit was on has been easy enough to see. Currently almost everyone we know in Michigan is either recently unemployed or has a spouse recently unemployed. Maybe the current economic situation in Michigan shows I was right, but it doesn’t make me happy.

Hopefully Detroit, and Michigan, will recover in the foreseeable future, but I fear it’s going to be a while. The rest of the nation is hurting too, and even if the (not so) Big Three pull out of the nosedive they’re in with the help of the taxpayer loans, Detroit’s still going to have to wait for the public to start buying cars, and American ones at that.

Moved again…

Published October 24th, 2008 in moving, recession, transit, public transportation, big three, economy, Michigan, rants, poverty, angry people and Detroit. 0 Comments

After five months in D.C., an opportunity to move to Denver, Colorado presented itself. Not ones to pass up an opportunity to try out a city we’ve always thought would be great to live in, we packed up on short notice and drove the Budget rental truck to Denver. We liked D.C. The area had more than enough job, and cultural opportunities, but is just a tad expensive, and slightly hot and humid. Our plan was to stay longer than five months, but some opportunities are too difficult to pass up. Denver is a city with a feeling similar to another city we’ve lived in; Portland, Oregon. Granted, the weather is completely different, as is the geographical location, but the progressive, easy to live in feeling one gets in Denver is the same one finds in Portland. The recreational opportunities, diversity of small and medium sized businesses, and the entreprenurial spirit, also is shared between the two cities. Denver, however, beats the pants off of Portland when it comes to weather. Over 300 days of sun, and nice dry weather combine to create one nice place to locate a city.

The move, new work, new recreational opportunities, and great weather have made it difficult to post much to the Motor(less)city. Additionally, living away from Detroit for any period of time, makes the anger and frustration, which spawned this site, simply melt away. The problems the area faces are arguably worse now than they were when we left in February, but now seem more distant, and frankly, less our problem, and more there problem (and possibly if you are reading this from Metro Detroit - your problem). The Big Three are in more trouble, the real estate market, the job market, the mayor is going to prison (that’s probably actually a good thing in the long run), and the overall health of the economy seems even worse, but they don’t seem to make me quite as angry anymore. That’s bad. Not for me, but for Metro Detroit. I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels this way either.

Metro Detroit is our home. Our family lives there, and we own a house there, but our commitment to the area is disappearing. We got angry about the reliance on one industry, the lack of foresight on issues such as transit, urban planning, anti-smoking legislation, and recreational opportunities for the state. Our anger on these issues (and others) angered others in Metro Detroit. They wanted us to love the area un-conditionally. “It’s a pretty good place to live” we were always told, as if we were supposed to ignore the glaring poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and absolutely no plan for the future. Ignoring Detroit (and Michigan’s) problems is like ignoring the addiction of a loved one. You may be able to convince yourself that all is well, but it doesn’t change the reality of the situation, and eventually the price will have to be paid.

Leaving Metro Detroit, and eventually losing my anger towards the area, is like giving up on an addicted loved one. It’s better for me, but it’s worse for the one left behind. Eventually you realize that it’s not your responsibility, and the anger subsides. Unfortunately, so does the desire to force change. When enough others find themselves in the same situation as myself, Metro Detroit will have lost the very people it needs to enact the change that is necessary to make the area into what it needs to be in order to survive into the future.

So if my rants are fewer and far between, or less angry, it’s because I just don’t care as much anymore. Sure I hope it turns around. And I hope that one day I have the desire to return and start up a new business in the area, but right now, it’s just not my problem…

On the other hand, I’ve been contacted by someone at least as angry, who has also experienced the possibilities great cities offer, and who would like to get a little bit of frustration off their chest. Hopefully, they’ll be able to put some interesting thoughts on this site.

Anyone else see a problem with this?

Published May 21st, 2008 in industry, health care, economy, jobs, rants, poverty and Michigan. 1 Comment

Health Michigan: hospitals vie for affluent…

Basically Michigan’s putting all of its new eggs in the health care basket, and all of the large hospitals are vying for a larger piece of a shrinking pie. Too many beds, large expenditures, a declining population, and the population that’s being left behind is going to have a harder time paying for all of this expensive new health care. It’s looking to be another shoe to drop…

A lot of people are looking to health care to be Michigan’s saving grace, but unless other sectors of the economy pick up, who’s going to buy all of this new health care? If less people can afford it, or less are here to buy it, it will eventually lead to cut backs in the health care sector.

Seems to me many are being overly optimistic about what the health care industry can do for Michigan’s economy. I certainly hope Michigan would have learned that relying on one industry is a bad idea.

The Motor(less) City