The city of Detroit is going to be
completely broke within a matter of days. The manufacturing capitol of America now is perilously close to going into
receivership unless the Motor
City can reconcile a $300 million debt. Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., says the city
has to find ways to increase revenue coming into the city to combat the significant
reduction of a reliable tax base.
Making Detroit’s precarious
position even more unstable are the Big Three automakers’ struggles to stay afloat and their unilateral elimination of blue-collar
positions. There is no quick rebound from the precipitous downfall. Moreover, the Motor
City’s already high crime
rate has skyrocketed even as the city’s unemployment, high school drop-out
rates, foreclosures and exodus of citizens continue
to spiral out of control. Just recently, Deputy Police Chief Herbert Moreland
was robbed outside his car.
“Michigan, being the epicenter of our largest
manufacturing base, is struggling, and of course, our largest city in Michigan is struggling most,”
says Kilpatrick. “Unfortunately, the state of Michigan is not helping the city. It has its
own fiscal problems, although I think that they can do better. I think we need
better, stronger leadership in the statehouse, in the governor’s office, that would
help the larger cities. They don’t get much.”
Kilpatrick says
the noxious combination of massive layoffs, foreclosures and loss of businesses
is robbing Motown of its capacity to provide basic necessities such as police,
fire, and trash services.
“So our job is
to find dollars,” Kilpatrick says. “As an appropriator I am banding together, bringing in millions of dollars … working on different programs and working
with Mayor Bing to try to save some of the things.”
The
long-serving congresswoman said the city must save itself. “At the same time, the mayor and the city
council have got to look for new revenues. They’ve got to be creative and look
for things to bring new revenues into the city. A lot of the recovery money,
the stimulus money, as they call it — the cities and villages and states have to
access it. They have to apply for it. They have to put a grant in. It’s really
money with no interest to the unit of government, but you have to apply for it.
So it’s my job to make sure that they have the information.”
Kilpatrick says the conditions in Detroit
will worsen before they get better. Pooled resources, community collectivism and leaning on
a Higher Power will help insulate residents against these adverse
conditions of historic proportions.
“I always tell
my people [to] first of all, pray to God and be thankful for what you have. Time
out for any of the petty, not-liking, hate kind of thing — the distractions that
get in the way and [which will not] allow the positive flow of God’s energy into each of us. All of
that, and working together, will make us better,” Kilpatrick added. “I do
believe that God never gives us more than we can bear. And when we know this
and believe in Him, that we can come through some of this, that we can put
things together ourselves, and save ourselves. That’s what we’re going to have
to do, because there’s no hope coming to save us.” – terry shropshire
