Mark Steyn succinctly explains how six decades of “progressive” policies have absolutely destroyed a once great American city:
Given their respective starting points, one has to conclude that Detroit’s Democratic party makes a far more comprehensive wrecking crew than Emperor Bokassa ever did. No bombs, no invasions, no civil war, just “liberal” “progressive” politics day in, day out. Americans sigh and say, “Oh, well, Detroit’s an ‘outlier.'” It’s an outlier only in the sense that it happened here first. The same malign alliance between a corrupt political class, rapacious public-sector unions, and an ever more swollen army of welfare dependents has been adopted in the formally Golden State of California, and in large part by the Obama administration, whose priorities — “health” “care” “reform,” “immigration” “reform” — are determined by the same elite/union/dependency axis. As one droll tweeter put it, “If Obama had a city, it would look like Detroit.”
In Canada, one wonders if devout NDP and Liberal supporters are taking note of Detroit’s destruction?!
This was posted by Revenant Dream yesterday.
“Progressivism” is a code word first coined by the 18th century patriarchs of modern social Darwinism technocracy. It is a wonderful weasel word used to disguise the social agenda designed for the soiled masses who must not realize they are being manipulated/controlled by a technocratic social engineering elite.
In Detroit’s case “progressivism” has run its course to its desired goal – total control through mass austerity and total reliance on the control system – reliance is slavery, and the goal of technocracy is to have a servile controlled population of unthinking automatons who show reflexive conditioned loyalty to the system (of mental and materialistic slavery) and the elites who run it – mission accomplished in Mo-Town.
Also from Steyn . . .
“America’s Ruling Class has, unfortunately, gone parasitic and outgrown its host.”
“If Obama had a city, it would look like Detroit.”
And back in his old hometown of Chicago:
http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Moodys-Downgrades-Chicagos-Debt-Rating–215980021.html
“In Canada, one wonders if devout NDP and Liberal supporters are taking note of Detroit’s destruction?!”
Of course! They’re revving up their efforts, emboldened by the success of the Detroit program.
What is it anybody thinks they’re trying to create? They want DETROIT, all across the Western world. A world where the misery is spread equally, and the masses are easily controlled with nothing more than free food and leaky roofs.
Detroit is a Leftist success story, not a failure. They took a city of vibrant capitalism and destroyed it in thirty years, and they all got rich doing it. Win!
…six decades of “progressive” policies have absolutely destroyed a once great American city:
There used to be great herds of buffalo as well. There isn’t that much ‘great’ about herd behavior. I notice they even travel in herds up and down the highway. The city type seems to fear being alone. Hence the socialism.
No great loss.
“In Canada, one wonders if devout NDP and Liberal supporters are taking note of Detroit’s destruction?!”
Are you kidding? They must have done something wrong. FORWARD! The unicorns await us at the end of the rainbow!
Why would progressives start worrying now about the direction they have taken? The majority of voters have supported whatever they promoted so far. Alarm bells/red flags simply do not cause any sober second thought. It is all about what works today and to hell with what happens tomorrow or next week.
Why acknowledge that one has made mistakes when the country’s balance sheet still indicates a significant portion of the population having a positive net worth. Even if lenders won’t buy your bonds it makes no difference as you can buy your own bonds and jimmy your books to show them as assets.
It is a truly laughable situation if it was not so sad. I am sure there were many Romans who saw the end coming and could not change anything.
Where did those boxes of money come from?
We were just cleaning out our offices and getting ready to move.
Ronald Zajac, of Northville, Michigan, the general counsel of Detroit’s two pension funds, and Paul Stewart, of Detroit, Michigan, a former trustee of Detroit’s Police and Fire Retirement System, were both charged today in a superseding indictment with participating in a bribery and kickback conspiracy involving over $200 million in investments before the two city of Detroit pension funds United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today.
Will the last Detroit public union employee please turn off the lights..
Mark Steyn as always is so on the mark with the analysis with humour as icing on information. But seriously, what does Kim Kardashian and Beyonce think about all this, and where are they getting their curvy bras these days. That is America these days, no one steeped in Americas current media cares or even knows about the forward thinking titans of industry like Ford and Dodge bros., this is hip hop and shuck and jive America where its so cool to vote for failure and not even know it. The president is a “DUD” America, to think you led the world and now with your obsession with all things Hollywood and Unions and Oprah you have sunk to these depths, sad
Unicorn mayonnaise, but back on topic….
Anyone who’s ever had to deal with the red tape and bureaucracy of the City of Edmonton (specifically the Planning Department) or watch in disgust as the mayor and council put all their eggs in one basket (new arena) while infrastructure is crumbling (or being swallowed by the roving gangs of killer potholes) will know that Alberta’s capital is well on it’s way to becoming Detroit.
Detroit DESERVED to fail. Detroit was once a one trick pony with the auto industry, but Japan rebuilt from the war and threw a wrench into the North American market. The writing was on the wall for decades, but in the true form of liberal collectivism, they ignored the obvious and kept feeding the alligator/whistling past the graveyard.
Bread and circuses for the lazy masses. Just pacify everyone, hope and change and we’ll turn this baby around. Yeah right. You can’t live on past glory. This ain’t your Daddy’s Oldsmobile (what’s an Oldsmobile, btw?) and Wayne Gretzky ain’t coming back either.
I can remember in my (much) younger socialist days when I used to believe wholeheartedly that “capitalism” would be our ruin and socialism our road to utopia that there was always this singular exception which obstinately refused to obey the leftist dogma to which I adhered, namely, Singapore. Here was a city-state with virtually no natural resources (it still imports water) and none of the “progressive” welfare policies “essential” to the welfare of the population, heck they didn’t even have public education, and yet it was and still is an economic powerhouse with a standard of living higher than most countries in Europe. It’s, effectively, the anti-Detroit. Between the study of its system, and my separate studies on the rise of fascism in Europe which brought home the left-wing, totalitarian inclinations of fascism/socialism, reality’s bitch-slapping of me was complete. Unfortunately, the sugary terms in which government sanctioned parasitism is couched seem to have a soporific effect on the lazy-minded of whom there is no shortage amongst the governed, and serve as sufficient cover for the either lazy-minded or, more likely, cynical who seek to govern under its aegis. The struggle against Detroit’s malaise by those who can see its long-term effects must be constant since there seems to be no shortage of those such as the Dippers and the public sector unions who are more than happy to grab the short-term benefits of reproducing Detroit’s journey.
You just know if the zero trots out the cheque book, there’ll be a lineup of other Dem-rat cities bawling for their spot on the gravy train.. My guess is, Birmingham will be the next in line..
Has any one of you, enlightened ‘conservatives’, ever asked a real question?
‘How do they manage to control things?’
Protocols of the elders of zion contains an answer for 100 years, but you still willfully blind and hiding behind ‘it’s a forgery’ nonsense. If it’s a forgery, why is it being implemented to the letter?
Detroit is 83% Black.
They expect their Brother to raid his stash and make the money flow.
They delivered OBummer into the White House with their votes and want payback.
They failed to notice “payback” in ObamaSpeak involves throwing and the bottom of busses.
The loyal are screwd the most.
Re-elect Kwame Kilpatrick!!!
Detroit voted. Idiots lent them money. Everyone gets what they deserve. No hard feelings.
Bill B –
Anyone who believes the crap you cite has severe mental problems. Anyone who blogs approvingly about it is either a malicious and leftist troll who wishes to obscure the truth, or, as mentioned above, grassy knoll nutso.
The so-called Protocols of he Elders of Zion explains nothing about the decline of Detroit: it is the liberalism of the governing officials, and their cowardice in failing to make their city solvent that killed Detroit.
Detroit, just another corpse in Karl Marx’s march to world dominance.
So many great comments above.
And the masses will believe the lies and fabrications that the progressives will spout.
However, obviously someone still believes that Okhrana Mathieu Golovinski fabrication.
As long as the Union bosses for generations have used Detroit for the Money stings what do they care. They are banking the rest of America will pay for the pillaging of a City they fleeced.
Besides Obama said Detroit could not fail.
So other will pay the price of the Collectivists greed.
Progressivism is the rot of nihilism, the cancer of souls so callused that only results decay of not only the beings it effects. It demolishes the physical landscape as well.
People say sin does not exist but in the minds of men. I think Detroit proves them wrong.
Let’s see Darwin became a Lamarckian because the empathy of human’s could not be explained by his “survival of the fittest” theory. There was a perceived benefit for the usual scurrilous politicos to discontinue the failing religious replacement. Therefore Social Darwinism emerged. (think global warming and climate change)
Provide empowerment to the weak and establish a new political process. e.g. Unionism
Establish an internal enforcement process. e.g. Union goons
Reward the enforcement cadre; e.g. revolutionary guards Iraq/Iran/China/South Africa-before and after Mandela.
Establish a cult of secret police e.g. Chretien’s RCMP; Hoover’s FBI (ongoing)
Don’t read the “Prince” Machiavelli, not the entertainer.
Follow the Greeks; Romans; Germany; English; into a controlling minority described by Mandela as abhorrent. (until he too must coexist).
The evolution of Western Culture in decline as described by Pierre Barzun.
The answer is only possible through adherence to a Social Contract which is my understanding is how North America is supposed to be governed, But! Cheers
Greetings Rev.
Say rather that Detroit is the wages of sin writ large. Sloth, avarice, theft and murder all in one neat package tied with a Red ribbon.
Saw this somewhere last night: “Compare Hiroshima and Detroit today, and it makes you wonder just exactly who won WW2”.
LOL.. I know Obama is watching (WTF?) So I declare bankruptcy and its cut in benefits as illegal under Detroit’s city constitution..
Why oh why did America give the Democrats and their disappointing golden boy another 4 years to bore us to death with their bullshit I will never know.. The media has become the equivalent of a rush hour bus ride.. grit your teeth and get through it.. Except your stop never comes, your stuck on the bus with hate mongers that you wouldn’t waste the water to spit on..
I think its time for a family conversation that our cable subscription has out lived its usefulness..
The question that remains unanswered is how white liberals and other progressive activists can ignore the horrific outcomes of their policies? Strong unions drive off job creators – hurting the poor. The existing public education system is dysfunctional – hurting the poor. Welfare policies create dependancy – hurting the poor. Even the existing student loan programs drives up college costs while simultaneously decreasing the value of degrees and low income students have higher dropout rates so crippling debt without a degree. Regulatory burdens and licensing schemes favor established businesses meaning less competition/higher costs hurting those of limited means and prevents entrepreneurship (the war on food trucks and hair braiders etc as documented in Reason magazine)Green policies in the UK and EU have created fuel poverty and loss of jobs – hurting the poor. The list could go on and on but thought leaders on the left cannot even bring themselves to acknowledge the issue let alone work on solutions (other than more taxes, more government, more redistribution)
The list could go on and on. Sadly republicans are neck deep in the same game so cannot credibly argue against it or are too focused on social issues that they lost decades ago.
This is the kind of politician I would expect to go for a “Running Man” type of “instant death penalty”. It’s right there on his campaign sign posted on the news link below. Funny they focus on the fence rather than the death penalty aspect of the platform.
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/07/19/should-hamtramck-erect-a-12-foot-wall-to-keep-out-detroiters/
I felt sorry for a man who had no shoes
Before I met a man who had no feet.
In Canada, one wonders if devout NDP and Liberal supporters are taking note of Detroit’s destruction?!
They blame it on free trade and KORPORASUNS. Don’t hold your breathe waiting for them to learn anything.
LC Bennett….No. They can’t learn or admit their policies are anti-human. Remember…leftardism is a devastating mental disease which I don’t think there are enough clue bats in the universe to even stablelize it.
Exactly. It’s all the fault of those lazy unionized workers, who not only designed gas guzzling cars but also opened up trade with countries like Japan, where workers were paid much less and would not permit the import of North American cars. Seeing that this was not suicidal enough, they negotiated trade agreements with Mexico so that the cars they used to build locally could now be built by Mexicans for a fraction of the wage costs, and then sold back to American purchasers for the same price. Free trade and corporations had nothing at all to do with the gutting of Detroit.
Thirty-five years ago, Detroit could have been Obama’s city.
It will be the country he was elected to lead. Detroit is the most extreme example of ruin in the post-modern age. It stuns me that no one would not try learning from this. They had the unions, they had the bail-outs, they had the graft and now they have the sucking up to a useless narcissist of a president. If the Americans had any sense, they would seal off Detroit and start restructuring their own cities and states. Screw Obama’s visions. They can survive or die.
> The so-called Protocols of he Elders of Zion explains nothing about the decline of Detroit
LOL. You are not seeing forest behind the trees.
Raiding of personal incomes, country after country, is exactly what PEZ are about.
Kittens!
Given that other car manufacturing-centric cities in America are doing just fine, yeah, free-trade had nothing to do with Detroit’s collapse.
The main reason Detroit has failed as a society is because it is no longer an American City. It is an African city-state within American Borders. Question: Why is every single nation in Africa an abject and dismal failure? Answer: Because they are all full of Africans. The truth can sometimes hurt.
Subaru is investing $400 million in their plant in Indiana. So much for the doofus argument earlier in this thread
When the Japanese car companies built their US plants, they avoided Detroit at all cost. Most are in the South. Toyota has all of theirs in the South except for one in Indiana 10 miles from its southern border.
Its simple.
When you tax people to the limit for your own gain. In a once free society they move. Than goes the Tax money. IF you try to recover your looting by going after merchantmen. They to flee the government sanctioned highway men.
Eventually your left with no one with any money left.
What the left never gets is their are only so many people that work. So many businesses to take from. To them its an endless sea of money to filch from.
Than your left with the Bums, the lazy indolent’s who supported theft by fiat.
The Micawber Principle:
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery.”
“…one wonders if devout NDP and Liberal supporters are taking note of Detroit’s destruction?”
Absolutely! And laying the blame exactly where it belongs: on the shoulders of Mike Harris and W.
Jamie, not wanting to hear the truth or accept the truth is a character defect. Canada is not far away from the point where the parasite consumes the host. the importing of millions of third world immigrants that help to drain our productive worth is not helping. it seems that even our so called conservatives are not really very conservative. we also are producing a semi literate populace. it will not end well.
Ontario has a by-election in Windsor, NDP capital of Ontario. If they could see past their noses, get their heads out of their nether parts, they might take some heed to the mess that is Detroit.
Trouble with progressives they have to be hit hard to see common sense, it doesn’t come naturally to them.
Urban guru snake-oil salesman Richard Florida:
“If you think of a place that was close to death and is now entering into a new life, that’s Detroit. Why does that happen? Well there’s great space available, there’s affordability. But cities attract different people … Detroit is a place where anything goes. It’s a place that’s open to people.”
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/special-report/detroit-rising/